On This Day 26/01/1986 Style Council

On this day, 26 January 1986, former The Jam frontman Paul Weller’s band The Style Council played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on the Red Wedge tour.

Red Wedge was a collective of musicians formed in the UK in 1985 who attempted to educate youth with the policies of the Labour Party leading up to the 1987 general election in the hope of ousting the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher.

The group was launched on 21 November 1985, when Bragg, Weller, Strawberry Switchblade and Kirsty MacColl were invited to a reception at the Palace of Westminster hosted by Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Robin Cook.

Review - South Wales Echo

The collective took its name from a 1919 poster by Russian constructivist artist El Lissitzky titled Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge. Despite this echo of the Russian Civil War, Red Wedge was not a communist organisation, nor was it an officially arm of the Labour Party, but it did initially occupy office space at Labour's headquarters. The group's logo, also inspired by the Lissitzky poster, was designed by Neville Brody.

Red Wedge organised a number of major tours. The first, in January and February 1986, featured Bragg, Weller's band the Style Council, the Communards, Junior Giscombe, Lorna Gee and Jerry Dammers, with guest appearances by Madness, The The, Heaven 17, Bananarama, Prefab Sprout, Elvis Costello, Gary Kemp, Tom Robinson, Sade, the Beat, Lloyd Cole, the Blow Monkeys, Joolz and the Smiths.

At the Labour Party Annual Conference in 1986, Red Wedge's support of the party was praised, in a speech on a motion concerning the arms trade, by a conference delegate (Steve Hoyland) who referred particularly to the lyrics of the Billy Bragg song "Island of No Return" which critically references British involvement in the Falklands War.

On This Day 25/01/2006 Thunder

On this day, 25 January 2006, hard rock band Thunder played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their Magnificent Seventh Tour.

Founded by former Terraplane members Danny Bowes (lead vocals), Luke Morley (guitar, backing vocals) and Gary "Harry" James (drums), along with second guitarist and keyboardist Ben Matthews and bassist Mark "Snake" Luckhurst.

Originally signed to EMI Records in the UK, the band released their debut album Backstreet Symphony in 1990, which reached number 21 on the UK Albums Chart and number 114 on the US Billboard 200. The 1992 follow-up Laughing on Judgement Day reached number 2, while both albums were certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). All nine singles released from the two albums reached the UK Singles Chart top 40.

The Magnificent Seventh! is the seventh studio album by English hard rock band Thunder. Recorded from June to August 2004, it was produced the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley and engineered and mixed by Rupert Coulson. The album was released in the UK by the band's own label STC Recordings on 21 February 2005, in Europe by Frontiers Records the following day, in Japan by Victor Entertainment on 28 March and worldwide on iTunes on 13 April.

Setlist

Loser

Amy's on the Run

Higher Ground

I'm Dreaming Again

You Can't Keep a Good Man Down

Like a Satellite

Ball and Chain

Empty City

Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know)

Love Walked In

Fade Into the Sun

I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll

Encore:

An Englishman on Holiday

A Better Man

Dirty Love

On This Day 17/01/1991 Slaughter

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On this day, 17 January 1991, American hard rock band Slaughter played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall supporting the headlining band Cinderella.

Slaughter formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in late 1988. Previously, lead vocalist Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum had been in Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Vinnie Vincent Invasion's record company, Chrysalis Records, took the $4 million contract away from Vinnie Vincent for exceeding his credit line with the label, and transferred the contract to former members Slaughter and Strum. By 1989, Slaughter and Strum completed the lineup by recruiting lead guitarist Tim Kelly and drummer Blas Elias.

Slaughter's debut album Stick It to Ya had three singles released that hit the Billboard Hot 100: the hit "Fly to the Angels" (US#19), and the moderate hits "Up All Night" (US#27) and "Spend My Life" (US#39). During this time, a song was released from the soundtrack to the film Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. That song, titled "Shout It Out", was accompanied by a music video but failed to make the US Hot 100.

On This Day 04/11/1986 Moody Blues

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On this day, 4 December 1986, rock band Moody Blues played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on their Other Side Of Life UK tour.

In 1986 they enjoyed renewed success with their album The Other Side of Life and in particular with the track "Your Wildest Dreams" – a US Top 10 hit (and No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart for two weeks).

The song's video garnered a Billboard Video of the Year award after being frequently featured on MTV. It was the first of three albums with producer Tony Visconti, best known for his extensive work with T. Rex and David Bowie, who together with synth programmer Barry Radman delivered a modern sound the Moodies had been seeking in order to remain competitive with their pop contemporaries.

Review -Phil Nifield - South Wales Echo

The Moody Blues performed live at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986, which raised money for Birmingham Children's Hospital. The band played four songs, and later provided backup with Electric Light Orchestra for George Harrison. Other performers included Robert Plant and former Moodie Denny Laine (whose set included "Go Now").

On This Day 28/11/1989 Lyle Lovett

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On this day, 28 November 1989 American country singer Lyle Lovett played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. He had earlier in the year released his third album, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band. Lovett won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for the album.

He signed with MCA Records in 1986 and released his eponymous debut album. He sang harmony vocals on Nanci Griffith's The Last of the True Believers album (1986). While typically associated with the country genre, Lovett's compositions often incorporate folk, swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional country & western styling.

Review - Mick Tems - South Wales Echo

On This Day 13/11/1985 King

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On this day, 13 November 1985, new wave band King played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

The band was formed from the remnants of Coventry rock-ska band the Reluctant Stereotypes, along with producer Paul Sampson.

After the Reluctant Stereotypes, singer Paul King formed the Raw Screens, who perfected their act and style to what Paul King and his manager Perry Haines called "Multi Tone", a reference to "Two Tone", and then, in 1983, relaunched the group as band King from the surname of lead singer Paul King.

As lead singer, Paul King wore a mullet haircut and spray-painted Doc Marten's Boots– a look described "like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".

The band released two UK Top 20 albums on CBS, both produced and mixed by Richard James Burgess, who also played drums on most of the debut album Steps in Time (the second LP, Bitter Sweet, saw Adrian Lillywhite on drums).

Both albums were certified gold and produced five hit singles, the most successful being the UK No. 2 hit, "Love & Pride". "Love & Pride" was King's only single to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 which peaked at No. 55 in September 1985.

Despite a year of success, the band split up in 1986. In 1987, Paul King released a solo album entitled Joy,produced by American producer Dan Hartman. After that, he briefly worked as a VJ for MTV.

On This Day 30/10/2014 Steve Hackett

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On this day, 30 October 2014, former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on his Genesis Extended 2014 World Tour.

Hackett released his first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte, while still a member of Genesis in 1975. After a series of further solo albums beginning in 1978, Hackett co-founded the supergroup GTR with Steve Howe in 1986. The group released the self-titled album GTR, which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and spawned the Top 20 single "When the Heart Rules the Mind".

When Hackett left GTR in 1987, the group disbanded. Hackett then resumed his solo career. He has released albums and toured worldwide on a regular basis since.

Hackett's body of work encompasses many styles; in addition to his work in progressive rock, he has explored pop, blues, world music and classical music on his solo recordings. According to Guitar World: "Hackett's early explorations of two-handed tapping and sweep picking were far ahead of their time, and influenced Eddie Van Halen and Brian May."

Setlist

Dance on a Volcano

(Genesis song)

Squonk

(Genesis song)

Dancing With the Moonlit Knight

(Genesis song)

The Return of the Giant Hogweed

(Genesis song)

Fly on a Windshield

(Genesis song)

Broadway Melody of 1974

(Genesis song)

The Fountain of Salmacis

(Genesis song)

The Musical Box

(Genesis song)

I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)

(Genesis song)

Horizons

(Genesis song)

Firth of Fifth

(Genesis song)

Lilywhite Lilith

(Genesis song)

The Knife

(Genesis song)

Supper's Ready

(Genesis song)

Encore:

Watcher of the Skies

(Genesis song)

Myopia / Slogans / Los Endos

On This Day 13/09/1985 Saxon

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On this day, 13 September 1985, heavy rock band Saxon played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

Formed in Barnsley in 1975 as one of the leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), they had eight UK Top 40 albums during the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums.

They had numerous hit singles on the UK Singles Chart and experienced success all over Europe and Japan, as well as in the United States.

During the 1980s, Saxon established themselves among Europe's most successful metal acts. The band tours regularly and have sold more than 23 million records worldwide

In late 1983, Saxon left their French record company Carrere they signed with EMI Records in 1984, with their first release on the label being Crusader.

Though still heavy, critics felt the album had a more commercial sound, and fans began to wonder what direction the band was taking. Despite its commercial sound, the title track became a fan favourite.

The album sold over two million copies and the 1984 world tour "The World Crusade" was a success both in Europe and America. In the US, the band toured with Accept as their special guests, as well as supporting Mötley Crüe for some shows of a yearlong tour.