On This Day 29/09/1979 Secret Affair

On this day, 29 September 1979, mod revivalist band Secret Affair played Cardiff University.

Formed after the demise of the CBS Records signed power pop band New Hearts, singer Ian Page and guitarist David Cairns spent the second half of 1978 writing songs that would form the basis of the first two Secret Affair albums.

After spending January 1979 demoing songs, Page and Cairns enlisted the services of bassist Dennis Smith from the power pop band Advertising and Young Bucks drummer Seb Shelton. Saxophone player Dave Winthrop, originally playing with the group in his capacity as a session musician, would join as a full-time member of the band later in the year.

On This Day 30/08/1965 The Who

On this day, 30 August 1965, legendary British rock band The Who, played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.

The Cardiff show is the first for The Who placed by their new booking agent, Australian Robert Stigwood. Two Stigwood acts, The Merseybeats and The Graham Bond Organization, open for The Who.

In early 1965, The Who made their first appearance on the television music show, Top of the Pops, at the BBC's Dickenson Road Studios in Manchester, with "I Can't Explain".

The follow-up single, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", by Townshend and Daltrey, features guitar noises such as pick sliding, toggle switching and feedback, which was so unconventional that it was initially rejected by the US arm of Decca. The single reached the top 10 in the UK and was used as the theme song to Ready Steady Go!

The transition to a hit-making band with original material, encouraged by manager Kit Lambert, did not sit well with Daltrey, and a recording session of R&B covers went unreleased.

The next single, "My Generation", followed in October. Townshend had written it as a slow blues, but after several abortive attempts, it was turned into a more powerful song with a bass solo from Entwistle. The song used gimmicks such as a vocal stutter to simulate the speech of a mod on amphetamines, and two key changes.

The debut album My Generation was released in late 1965. Among original material by Townshend, including the title track and "The Kids Are Alright", the album has several James Brown covers from the session earlier that year that Daltrey favoured.

On This Day 30/08/1965 The Who

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On this day, 30 August 1965, legendary British rock band The Who, playe Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.

The Cardiff show is the first for The Who placed by their new booking agent, Australian Robert Stigwood. Two Stigwood acts, The Merseybeats and The Graham Bond Organization, open for The Who.

In early 1965, The Who made their first appearance on the television music show, Top of the Pops, at the BBC's Dickenson Road Studios in Manchester, with "I Can't Explain".

The follow-up single, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", by Townshend and Daltrey, features guitar noises such as pick sliding, toggle switching and feedback, which was so unconventional that it was initially rejected by the US arm of Decca. The single reached the top 10 in the UK and was used as the theme song to Ready Steady Go!

The transition to a hit-making band with original material, encouraged by manager Kit Lambert, did not sit well with Daltrey, and a recording session of R&B covers went unreleased.

The next single, "My Generation", followed in October. Townshend had written it as a slow blues, but after several abortive attempts, it was turned into a more powerful song with a bass solo from Entwistle. The song used gimmicks such as a vocal stutter to simulate the speech of a mod on amphetamines, and two key changes.

The debut album My Generation was released in late 1965. Among original material by Townshend, including the title track and "The Kids Are Alright", the album has several James Brown covers from the session earlier that year that Daltrey favoured.

On the day 16th/June/1967 Small Faces

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On this day, 16 June 1967, mod rockers the Small Faces played two shows at Cardiff’s Top Rank.

The band had not long come off a long UK tour in a package that include Roy Orbison, Paul and Barry Ryan and Jeff Beck.

Signed initially to Decca, by 1966, despite being one of the highest-grossing live acts in the country and scoring many successful singles, including four UK Top 10 chart hits, the group still had little money.

After a confrontation with infamous manager Don Arden, who tried to face down the boys' parents by claiming that the whole band were using drugs, they broke with both Arden and Decca.

They were almost straight away offered a deal with the newly established Immediate label, formed by ex-Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham.

Given a virtual open account at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, the band progressed rapidly, working closely with engineer Glyn Johns.

The band had earlier in the month released their first single for Immediate, “Here Comes The Nice”, written by guitarist Steve Marriott and bass guitarist Ronnie Lane, which reached No 12, whilst its follow up “Itcychoo Park” released in August, made No 3 in the UK singles chart.