On This Day 29/11/1984 Swans Way

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On this day, 29 November 1984, Birmingham pop band Swans Way played Cardiff’s Bogiez Rock Club.

The band comprised Robert Shaw (vocals), Maggie De Monde (vocals and percussion) and Rick P. Jones (double bass). They released one album and had a UK Top 20 hit with "Soul Train", before splitting up in 1985.

Swans Way presented a mixture of musical influences, from jazz to classical and pop to disco. After an appearance on the cassette magazine SFX in May 1982, their first single, "Theme from the Balcony" was issued later that year.

Their second single, "Soul Train", gave them their first hit, reaching number 20 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1984. The band subsequently appeared on BBC One's Top of the Pops performing the song on 9 February 1984.

They also released further singles, with varying success. "The Anchor", in March 1984, did not chart, whilst "Illuminations" made number 57 in May 1984, and their third and final hit, "When The Wild Calls", peaked outside the Top 75 at number 80.

The group recorded an album, The Fugitive Kind, which reached number 88 on the UK Albums Chart in November 1984.

The album was issued on CD, but only about 100 copies were pressed. It was re-released on CD in 1997 with extra tracks as The Best of Swans Way and again in 2012 with a different set of bonus tracks under the title of The Fugitive Kind - Expanded Edition.

On This Day 08/01/1993 Headswim

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On this day, 8 January 1993, alternative rock band Headswim played Cardiff Bogey’s.

The band originally formed in 1989 in Essex, England under the name Blinder. The initial line-up was Daniel Glendining (guitar/vocals), his brother Tom Glendining (drums), Nick Watts (keyboards/backing vocals) and Matt Pegg (bass guitar).

The band's main influences were grunge and progressive rock and their most successful concerts were two support slots for It Bites in 1989 (one of which was to a capacity audience at the Hammersmith Odeon).

Following Pegg's departure Blinder rethought their approach, reducing the progressive rock elements in their music. Pegg was replaced as bass player by a friend of the band, Clovis Taylor and, by 1992, Blinder had changed their name to Headswim.

Headswim's first releases were two four-track EPs, Tense Nervous Head and Moment of Union, on their own Crush Records label (the eight songs from the two EPs would later be compiled and released as the mini-album Tense Moments). The EPs made enough of an impression for them to be signed by the Sony Music subsidiary Epic Records in an eight-album deal and they released their debut album Flood in 1994.

The album's third single "Crawl" made the UK Singles Chart and the band embarked on their first extensive tour of the UK and Europe. However, the death later that year of Dan and Tom's brother Matthew (who had created all of the band's album artwork up to this point) after a long battle with leukaemia had a profound effect on the group, who took time off to regroup.

On This Day 06/04/1985 Shy

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On this day, 6 April 1985, British metal Shy played Cardiff’s Bogey’s nightclub.

Shy made their major label debut on RCA Records with 1985's Brave the Storm. This release gained success despite the single "Hold On (To Your Love)" being disqualified from the charts, as early copies included a shrink-wrapped T-shirt.

Reviews from Kerrang! were more positive, comparing singer Tony Mill's soaring vocals with those of Geoff Tate, vocalist of Queensrÿche.

In the eighteen months that preceded the band's third album, Shy toured with Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf,[Twisted Sister, Gary Moore and UFO.

Formerly known as Trojan (not to be confused with NWOBHM band Tröjan who released the album Chasing the Storm), Shy featured vocalist Tony Mills, Steve Harris (guitars) (not to be confused with Iron Maiden's bass player, Steve Harris), Paddy McKenna (keyboards), Mark Badrick (bass) and drummer Alan Kelly.

Their first album, called Once Bitten...Twice..., was released in 1983. Initial reports from Kerrang! were positive. After the release, Mills dropped his David Bowie-esque make up, and Mark Badrick was replaced by former Trouble bassist Roy Davies.