On This Day 03/03/2005 Electric Six

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On this day, 3 March 2005, American rock band Electric Six played Cardiff University.

Formed in Detroit in 1996, they are known for combining elements of rock, disco, garage rock, metal, new wave, and punk rock.

Since achieving widespread recognition in 2003 with the singles "Danger! High Voltage" and "Gay Bar", they have released 20 studio albums, two rarities albums, one live album and one live DVD. Each band member is given a unique stage name; the line-up has undergone changes over the years; co-founder, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter Dick Valentine has been the only constant member.

The band's second album, Señor Smoke, was released in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2005. Since the band had been dropped from their previous American record label, a North American release of the album was delayed until February 7, 2006, when it came out on Metropolis Records.

The first single from the album put the band at the center of controversy with Queen fans, following a cover of the hit Queen song "Radio Ga Ga". The controversial music video showed lead singer Dick Valentine portraying the ghost of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and performing with a backing band of poodles. Queen drummer and "Radio Ga Ga" writer Roger Taylor said that he was "unimpressed" with the video, though Queen guitarist Brian May reportedly liked it.

Valentine addressed the controversy and said, "Some have claimed this video portrays me dancing on Freddie Mercury's grave, but that wasn't the idea. Actually it's more like we are resurrecting Mr. Mercury for the duration of the song and his grave is the logical starting point. [...] I guess a video like that can be taken the wrong way, but we hadn't looked at it like that. [...] Everyone knows we disliked the fact that we had to put this song on our record, so this ridiculous video took a little bit of the sting out of it for us and made it somewhat bearable. [...] I definitely respect Freddie and his work."

On This Day 02/03/1973 Labi Siffre

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On this day, 2 March 1973, British singer, songwriter and poet Labi Siffre played Cardiff’s Cory Hall. Support was provided by Magna Carta

Claudius Afolabi Siffre (born 25 June 1945), better known as Labi Siffre. Siffre released six albums from 1970 to 1975 and four from 1988 to 1998. His compositions include "It Must Be Love", which reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart in 1971 (and was later covered by the band Madness), "Crying Laughing Loving Lying", and "(Something Inside) So Strong"—an anti-apartheid song inspired by a television documentary in which white soldiers in South Africa were filmed shooting at black civilians in the street—which hit number 4 on the UK chart. The latter song won Siffre the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and it has been used in Amnesty International campaigns.

Siffre has published essays, the stage and television play Deathwrite and three volumes of poetry: Nigger, Blood on the Page, and Monument. In 2022, his life and work was explored in the series Imagine, under the title, Labi Siffre: This Is My Song.

Multiple parts of Siffre's 1975 track "I Got The..." were sampled in popular hip hop songs in the 1990s, most notably in the 1999 Eminem single "My Name Is". As a result of the song's newfound fame, it was finally released as a single in 2003. The track was also featured in the Better Call Saul episode "Bagman".

Siffre's 1972 track "My Song", the 10th track on his album Crying Laughing Loving Lying, was sampled by rapper Kanye West on the song "I Wonder" on his third album Graduation.

In February 2022, the BBC broadcast Labi Siffre: This Is My Song, as part of the Imagine series, in which Alan Yentob presented a film exploring Siffre's life and work.

On This Day 01/03/1997 Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci

Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci pictured at the Coal Exchange 1 March 1997 - Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, St David’s Day, 1 March 1997, psychedelic folk and alternative rock band Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci played Cardiff’s Coal Exchange on their Barafundle tour. Also on the bill were the Stereophonics.

The band were about to release their fourth album Barafundle. The album's title comes from the name of a beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Songs are often sung in both Welsh and English, and the album's influences range from twee-pop to traditional folk music. Lynn Childs, father of singer Euros and violinist Megan, plays shawm and other traditional instruments on the album's occasional medieval interludes (for example, on "Starmoonsun").

Two singles were released from the album. The first single, "Patio Song", was released in late 1996 and became the band's highest-charting single in the UK, peaking at #41 in early 1997. The song also ranked #8 on John Peel's 1996 Festive Fifty countdown.

The second single, "Diamond Dew", reached #42 on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1997. A contemporaneous non-album single, "Young Girls & Happy Endings", was also released in 1997 and appeared as a bonus track on some American copies of the album.

While in the band, Childs said that one of the most frequent questions he was asked was about the origin of the band's name. After struggling to come up with one, they decided "we might as well stick with the most ridiculous crap name we could think of."

Gorky's came from the word "gawky"; Lawrence says that "gork" was school slang for a dimwit.

Zygotic was "hijacked from GCSE biology"; it refers to the state of being like a zygote – a fertilized egg cell.

Mynci is a spelling of the word "monkey" using Welsh spelling rules, rather than a direct Welsh translation (the actual Welsh word is "mwnci") and is pronounced like "monkey".

On This Day 28/02/2000 Alber Lee and Hogan’s Heroes

On this day, 28 February 2000, legendary guitarist Albert Lee and Hogan’s Heroes played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

In 1987, Lee was invited by Gerry Hogan to headline at a steel guitar festival in Newbury, Berkshire. Lee was at first intimidated by the prospect of having to front a band; however, the gig was successful and he toured as Albert Lee & Hogan’s Heroes on a regular basis until 2015.

The lineup of the band included British musicians Peter Baron on drums, Gerry Hogan on guitar and Brian Hodgson on bass. Pete Wingfield was the original keyboard player, before leaving to be replaced by Elio Pace and later Gavin Povey.

They were renowned for attracting celebrities to their gigs. Stars such as Eric Clapton, Tommy Emmanuel, Lonnie Donegan, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Marty Wilde, Willie Nelson, Nanci Griffith, Don Everly, Emmylou Harris, Sonny Curtis and Rodney Crowell have all jammed with the band at one time or another. In 1988 Lee toured Australia along with Vince Gill, then a comparative unknown, and has returned to tour the country on several subsequent occasions.

In the early 2000s Albert Lee toured with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. In 2002, Lee appeared at the Concert for George [Harrison]. Also in 2002, Lee received a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" from the CD Earl Scruggs and Friends. In September 2006 Lee took part in Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar, a documentary about the history of the guitar.

Lee appeared at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival on 28 July and performed with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute show at The O2 in London on 10 December. A new album entitled Like This was released in spring 2008 to coincide with their European tour. He lives in Malibu, California.

On This Day 27/02/2002 Alexander O’Neal

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On this day, 27 Feb 2002, American R&B soul legend Alexander O’Neal played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

In a music career spanning more than 40 years, O'Neal is an accomplished R&B and soul singer. O'Neal came to prominence in the middle of the 1980s as a solo artist following the release of his self-titled debut album under the production of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

In 2002, he released an album on Eagle Records, Saga of a Married Man, his seventh album with the album produced by former Prince drummer, Bobby Z.

Review - South Wales Argus

O'Neal was honoured with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.

Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh.

On This Day 26/02/1960 Gene Vincent / Eddie Cochran

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On this day, 26 February 1960, rock legends Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran played Cardiff’s Gaumont theatre. Also on the bill was Vince Eager.

Review - Teenagers - Your Theatre Manners are Shocking

After going along to Cardiff's Gaumont Theatre last Friday night to see the Gene Vincent/Eddie Cochran show, I came away feeling disgusted at the way in which teenagers welcomed certain acts on the programme. Despite the fact that newcomer Tony Sheridan gave one of the best performances of the night singing When You Walk Through a Storm, impatient teenagers waiting for Gene Vincent, could think of nothing better to do than throw lighted cigarette ends at him during his act. The least they could have done was to give him a chance to prove his worth. After all they weren't bound to remain in their seats whilst Tony was appearing, as there is always plenty of room in the foyer of the theatre.

I'm pleased to say that those teenagers were in the minority, as this fast-moving "Beat Show" descended on Cardiff with a frenzied swoop, evoking screams galore from the majority of the 2,000 strong audience. The pity was that both these artists could scarcely be heard against the instrumental backing and the audience shouting.

Both Gene and Eddie were making their first visit to Wales and welcomed the opportunity of personally meeting some of their Welsh fans. Between shows they recorded special messages for transmission on the Hospitals Request Hour show. Interviewer was Vic Dawe, who has had the pleasant task of interviewing leading names in the world of entertainment visiting Cardiff over the past six months. Through Hallelujah! Eddie in tartan shirt and leather jeans built up to an earlier hit C'Mon Everybody and soon had the customers in the beat mood.

Twenty-one-year-old Gene Vincent on the other hand, is a more flamboyant showman, almost cuddling his microphone, kneeling and crawling on the stage and generally leaping about like some leather-clad spaceman from another planet. This rock'n'roller built up to a frantic finale before all the artists joined on stage for a frenzied rock session. It was a pity however, that Gene didn't have The Bluecaps (his original group from the States) to back him. The Wildcats didn't appear to be strong enough. Making a return visit to Cardiff with the show was handsome six-foot-plus Vince Eager, star of television's Oh Boy and Six-Five Special shows.

Also paying another visit to Cardiff were The Viscounts, a vigorous all-male singing act laced with good comedy. The threesome are surely heading for bill-topping status soon. One of the group Gordon Mills - hails from Cardiff.

On This Day 25/02/2008 Boy Kill Boy

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On this day, 25 February 2008, rock band Boy Kill Boy played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach. The band were about to release their second and final album Stars And The Sea.

Released on 31 March 2008. It was recorded in three recording studios in Cornwall, Brighton, and Los Angeles. The track, "Loud and Clear", was made available for a free download from the band's website.

Much deliberation was made over the name of the album. In the December 2007 edition of Uncut, the magazine claimed that it would be a self-titled album, also HMV had the title listed as Loud and Clear, although MTV2UK and Amazon had both named it Stars and the Sea. It was finally announced in early November 2007 that it would be called this.

It charted at number 98 on 6 April 2008.

However, the album failed to repeat the success of their debut, and rumours of a split began surfacing. On 12 October 2008, Boy Kill Boy confirmed this via an announcement on their MySpace site.

Singer Chris Peck subsequently started a new project and, on 11 January 2011, posted a video clip on YouTube for a new song called "Riversong". Peter Carr went on to play keyboards in singer-songwriter Marina and the Diamonds' backing band.

The band briefly reformed for two gigs at Oslo, Hackney, London, on 19 November 2016 and 25 November 2016.

On this day, 24/02/2002 Haven

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On this day, 24 February 2002, Cornish band Haven played Cardiff’s Barfly. The band had just released their debut album Between The Senses which peaked at #26 on the UK album charts.

The band formed after Gary Briggs moved to Cornwall and met Nathan Wason in a record shop in Penzance in 1996. After recruiting drummer Tom Lewis and London born Iwan Gronow, the band moved to Manchester in 1999 after being discovered by the former Smiths' manager Joe Moss set them up with a regular slot at The Night and Day Café.

In 2001, drummer Tom Lewis left the band and was replaced by Manchester drummer Jack Mitchell. Through Moss's Smiths connections they also played support slots for Johnny Marr's band The Healers, and others including Badly Drawn Boy. The band's first release was the Til The End EP in May 2001, with further singles following, including the top-75 UK hit "Let It Live" and their top-30 breakthrough "Say Something".They also appeared on New Music Television, presented by Marc Almond for ITV1 in 2001.

Their debut album, Between The Senses, was released in February 2002, and reached No. 26 in the UK Albums Chart. A second album was released in 2004, and the band constantly remained on tour. Their record label merged with another and the band were asked to record a third album. However, with the deadline set soon after the tour, Haven did not manage to record enough material to complete what the label wanted. They were subsequently released from their recording contract, and the band split up in 2006.