On This Day 27/07/1997 The Fall

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On this day, 27 July 1997, Northern post-punk greats The Fall played Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field as guests in support of the Super Furry Animals.

Manc greats The Fall were about to release Levitate, their 19th Album on Artful Records. Levitate became the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley (whose playing was once described by Smith as the defining element of the group's music).

Levitate was recorded amidst a difficult period for the group, described by personnel turmoil and financial troubles due to a VAT bill incurred in the 1980s and early 1990s for nearly £200,000.

Simon Wolstencroft left after a disagreement about the recording of 'Everybody But Myself'; also having received financial advice about the group's VAT bill, he resigned from being a co-director of The Fall business.

The Fall have been called "the most prolific band of the British post-punk movement". From 1979 to 2017, they released 31 studio albums, plus dozens of live albums and compilations released against Smith's wishes. They were associated with the BBC DJ John Peel, who championed them from early on in their career and described them as his favourite band, saying: "They are always different; they are always the same." The group disbanded after Mark E Smith's death in 2018.

Line-up

Mark E. Smith (vocals), Steve Hanley (bass), Julia Nagle (guitar, keyboards), Tommy Crooks (guitar), Karl Burns (drums).

Setlist

Powderkeg / He Pep / Lie Dream of a Casino Soul / Idiot Joy Showland / Hurricane Edward / 10 Houses of Eve / Cheetham Hill / Behind the Counter / Feeling Numb / Ol' Gang

On This Day 19/07/2002 Iggy Pop

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On this day, 19 July 2002, iconic American rocker Iggy Pop played Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field. Iggy was special guest to headliners Green Day.

He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1967 and have disbanded and reunited many times since. Often called the "Godfather of Punk", he was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR. In 2010, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Stooges. Pop also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 for his solo work.

Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll (progressing later towards more experimental and aggressive rock), the Stooges sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Pop. He had a long collaborative relationship and friendship with David Bowie over the course of his career, beginning with the Stooges' album Raw Power in 1973.

Although Pop has had limited commercial success, he has remained a culture icon and a significant influence on a wide range of musicians in numerous genres. The Stooges' album Raw Power has proved an influence on artists such as Sex Pistols, the Smiths, and Nirvana. His solo album The Idiot has been cited as a major influence on a number of post-punk, electronic and industrial artists including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and Joy Division, and was described by Siouxsie Sioux as a "re-affirmation that our suspicions were true: the man is a genius."

On this day, 26/08/2007 Paul Van Dyk

On this day, 26 August 2007, German DJ, record producer and musician Paul Van Dyk played Coopers Field, Cardiff. Also featured were Sasha, Roger Sanchez, Pete Tong, Plump DJs, Marco V, Grooverider, Sander Van Doorn.

One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly added category of Best Dance/Electronic album for his 2003 release Reflections.

He was named the World's number one DJ in both 2005 and 2006, something few DJs have ever achieved. He was the first ever DJ to be named number one by Mixmag in 2005. By 2008, he had sold over 3 million albums worldwide.

Van Dyk released his fifth studio album, In Between, worldwide on 14 August 2007. The album, which he created over a three-year period, debuted at number No. 115 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Billboard's Top Electronic Albums and No. 1 on the Top Heatseekers.

The album was released accompanied by a special edition limited to two thousand copies which included a mixed version of the full album, along with an eight-track bonus CD and an eight-page photo anthology.[

The album was produced primarily by Paul van Dyk himself, and features a wide range of collaborators including David Byrne of Talking Heads, Jessica Sutta of the Pussycat Dolls, Ashley Tomberlin from Luminary, Alex M.O.R.P.H, Lo Fi Sugar, Rea Garvey of Reamonn, Ryan Merchant and Wayne Jackson. It also features a vocal sample from Ben Lost from Probspot's "Blows My Mind" on the song "Another Sunday". In June 2007, van Dyk embarked on the worldwide "In Between Tour" to promote the album.

On This Day 19/07/2002 Green Day/Iggy Pop

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On this day, 17 July 2002, American Punk/Rock band Green Day played Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field.

Also featured on the billwas rock legend Iggy Pop plus A, Hundred Reasons, Face To Face and (Spunge).

Green Day were about to release their seventh studio album, the classic American Idiot.

formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a power trio with drummer Tré Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990 before the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk (1991).

Touring guitarist Jason White became a full-time member in 2012, but returned to his touring role in 2016.

Green Day - Set list

Maria

Longview

Welcome to Paradise

Hitchin' a Ride

Brain Stew

Jaded

All By Myself

Dominated Love Slave

Knowledge

Basket Case

She

King for a Day

Shout

Waiting

Minority

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

Platypus (I Hate You)

When I Come Around

Macy's Day Parade

On this day 13/09/1998 Robbie Williams

On this day, 13 September 1998, Rock/Pop Superstar Robbie Williams played Cooper’s Field, Cardiff, a concert broadcast live on Radio One. The line-up also included Ash, Manic Street Preachers, Republica and Divine Comedy.

Robbie Williams was in the middle of his Ego Has Landed Tour the beginning of which was a gig in Treforest at The Basement on 15 May.

Williams and songwriting partner Guy Chambers had started writing the second album, I've Been Expecting You, in Jamaica in early 1998. The first single, "Millennium", accompanied with a music video featuring Williams parodying James Bond, complete with tuxedo and references to Bond films like Thunderball and From Russia with Love, became Williams' first solo number one single in the United Kingdom.[33] It also became a top twenty hit in many European countries, Latin America and Australia.[34]

I've Been Expecting You was released in late October 1998 and debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart

On this day 27/07/1997 Super Furry Animals, The Fall

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On this day, 27 July 1997, Welsh alternative rockers Super Furry Animals and Northern post-punk greats The Fall played Cardiff’s Cooper’s Field.

Super Furry Animals were just about to release Radiator, the band’s second studio album. It was released in August 1997 by Creation Records, and later the same year in the United States under Flydaddy Records. It peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart.

Singer Gruff Rhys has described Radiator as "more interesting" than the band's debut Fuzzy Logic with the group taking advantage of producer Gorwel Owen's "Atari computers, and banks of old vintage synths" to create an album which was "musically ... much more adventurous".

In 2000 Q magazine placed Radiator at number 73 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. Stylus Magazine named Radiator in a list of ten essential albums released by Creation Records in a 2003 article about the label.

In a 2017 list of the 50 Best Britpop Albums, Pitchfork placed Radiator at number 39.[17] In 2013, NME ranked it at number 92 in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Manc greats The Fall were about to release Levitate, their 19th Album on Artful Records. Levitate became the last album to feature two long-time Fall members, drummer Karl Burns and bass player Steve Hanley (whose playing was once described by Smith as the defining element of the group's music).

Levitate was recorded amidst a difficult period for the group, described by personnel turmoil and financial troubles due to a VAT bill incurred in the 1980s and early 1990s for nearly £200,000.

Simon Wolstencroft left after a disagreement about the recording of 'Everybody But Myself'; also having received financial advice about the group's VAT bill, he resigned from being a co-director of The Fall business.