On This Day 30/05/1986 The Mission

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On this day, 24 May 1986, gothic rock band The Mission played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club on their Expedition I tour. Support was provided by Pauline Murray and The Storm.

Formed in 1986 and initially known as the Sisterhood, the band was started by frontman Wayne Hussey and bassist Craig Adams (both from the Sisters of Mercy), soon adding drummer Mick Brown (Red Lorry Yellow Lorry) and guitarist Simon Hinkler (Artery and Pulp).

Aside from Hussey, the lineup has changed several times during the years and the band has been on hiatus twice.

After an aborted recording session with Andrew Eldritch in the summer of 1985, Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams left the Sisters of Mercy. Based in Leeds, the duo continued to work on various musical ideas and recorded them over the autumn.

Dismissing the use of a drum machine, Adams and Hussey asked Mick Brown (Red Lorry Yellow Lorry) to help out with the sessions. By the end of the year, he had joined the band on a permanent basis. With Hussey as both the frontman and principal songwriter, the trio required a second guitarist to facilitate a live setup.

They recruited Simon Hinkler (Artery), who also contributed keyboards and thus completed the four-piece. The name the Sisterhood was chosen with a nod to the past and rehearsals for the first shows started in January 1986.

The new name quickly became a point of discussion in the UK music press, giving the four-piece a significant amount of publicity. As the Sisterhood, the band made their live debut on 20 January 1986 at the Alice in Wonderland, London.

While the band was on tour as support to the Cult around Europe, Eldritch released a single as the Sisterhood. Back in the UK, Hinkler was briefly dismissed and reinstated for three dates where the band revealed their new name, the Mission.

Although Hussey and Adams were still under contract with WEA, manager Tony Perrin prepared their material for a release. In May, the EP I (Serpents Kiss) appeared on the Chapter 22 label as the Expedition I tour took the band around Europe. Two months later, II (Like a Hurricane/Garden of Delight) was released on the same label and supported by a number of festival slots that culminated in an appearance at the Reading Festival.

Setlist

Wasteland

And the Dance Goes On

Garden of Delight

Naked and Savage

Bridges Burning

Stay With Me

Serpent's Kiss

The Crystal Ocean

Wake (RSV)

1969

(The Stooges cover)

Sacrilege

Like a Hurricane

(Neil Young cover)

Wishing Well

(Free cover)

Shelter From the Storm

On This Day 27/11/1984 Alien Sex Fiend

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On this day, 27 November 1984, gothic rock band Alien Sex Fiend played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club.

Alien Sex Fiend were formed by Nicholas Wade (Nik Fiend), Christine Wade (Mrs Fiend), David James (Yaxi Highrizer) and Johnny Freshwater (Johnny Ha-Ha) in late 1982 at the Batcave club in London (where Nik worked).

The band became known in the gothic scene for its dark, electronic industrial-leaning sound, heavy samples, loops, dub remixes and manic vocals. Nik Wade had previously been a member of the Alice Cooper-influenced bands the Earwigs and Mr & Mrs Demeanour, and later the punk band Demon Preacher (later known as the Demons).

The band had recently released their second album Acid Bath on Anagram Records and was produced by Kevin Armstrong. Trouser Press described the album as "an inspired dose of mesmerizing, brain-frying insanity"

They released the world's first 11" single, "E.S.T. (Trip to the Moon)", that October.

The band also recorded two BBC Peel Sessions in 1984. At the May session, they recorded "Attack!!!", "Dead and Buried", "Ignore the Machine" and "Hee Haw"; at the August session, "In God We Trust", "E.S.T. (Trip to the Moon)" and "Boneshaker Baby".

On This Day 16/11/1985 Siouxsie and the Banshees

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On this day, 16 November 1985, punk rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club on the band’s Tinderbox tour.

Formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. The Times called the group "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era".

Initially associated with the punk scene, the band including guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris rapidly evolved to create "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation".

Their debut album The Scream was released to widespread critical acclaim in 1978. Following membership changes, including the addition of guitarist John McGeoch and drummer Budgie, they radically changed their musical direction and became one of the most successful alternative pop groups of the 1980s.

Banshees line-up spent much of 1985 working on a new record, Tinderbox. The group finished the song "Cities in Dust" before the album, so they rushed its release as a single prior to their longest tour of the UK.

Tinderbox was released in April 1986. Sounds magazine said: "Tinderbox is a refreshing slant on the Banshees' disturbing perspective and restores their vivid shades to pop's pale palette". Due to the length of time spent working on Tinderbox, the group desired spontaneity and decided to record an album of cover songs, Through the Looking Glass, in 1987.

Mojo magazine later praised their version of "Strange Fruit". After the album's release, the band realised Carruthers was no longer fitting in and decided to work on new material as a trio.

On This Day 03/11/1983 King Kurt

On this day, 3 November 1983, Psychobilly/rock-n-roll band King Kurt played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club with support provided by Demented Are Go. Reduced price entry was offered for anyone with a special rat and rodent card, which was available free by writing to King Kurt in advance of the gig.

The band began as Rockin' Kurt and his Sauer Krauts in 1981, with Jef Harvey on vocals, John Reddington on guitar, Bert Boustead on bass guitar, Alan "Maggot" Power on "saxamaphone" and Rory Lyons on drums. Paul "Thwack" Laventhol joined on guitar at their third gig in July 1981, and the name was shortened to King Kurt later that year.

Harvey left in 1982 to be replaced by Gary "The Smeg" Clayton as vocalist, and it was at Harvey's farewell concert at the 101 Club in Battersea, London that the infamous "food fight" gigs started. The band were known for their stage performances in which eggs and bags of flour were thrown around both on and off stage.

Free haircuts and other audience participation included stage props such as "The Wheel of Misfortune", a wheel on which a fan was strapped and fed Snakebite through a tube. Themed concerts included "Kurt Skirts", where admittance was refused to men unless wearing a skirt, or Easter concerts with the band dressed as legionaries, angels on flying trapeze, and an extra in a loincloth on a cross at the back of the stage.

The band joined Stiff Records in 1983 and recorded the album Ooh Wallah Wallah with producer, Dave Edmunds. They had a few minor hit singles that featured in the UK Singles and UK Indie Charts, such as "Zulu Beat", Weill and Brecht's "Mack the Knife" and "Banana Banana", along with their Top 40 hit "Destination Zululand", which reached No. 36 in the UK Singles Chart in October 1983.

On This Day 27/02/1984 Magnum

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On this day, 27 February 1984, heavy rock band Magnum supported by Steel, played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club.

Formed in Birmingham by Tony Clarkin (guitar, songwriter) and Bob Catley (vocals) in order to appear as the resident band at the Rum Runner nightclub in the city. Magnum have undergone several changes in personnel over the years; however, the core of Catley and Clarkin remain.

Magnum's most significant early success was Chase the Dragon in 1982, which reached number 17 in the UK Albums Chart. It included several songs that would become mainstays of the band's live set, notably "Soldier of the Line", "Sacred Hour" and "The Spirit".

On a Storyteller's Night gave the band its breakthrough in Europe, and achieved a Gold certification in the United Kingdom.

The band's 1986 album Vigilante represented a further move towards the mainstream before the band achieved their commercial peak in 1988 when they entered the UK Top Ten for the first time with the album Wings of Heaven, which reached number five and featured three Top 40 singles, "Days of No Trust", "Start Talking Love" and "It Must Have Been Love".

It was followed by Goodnight L.A., which was produced by Keith Olsen and reached number nine in the UK Album Chart in 1990. It produced another Top 40 single for the band, "Rockin' Chair".

On This Day 05/07/1985 Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

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On this day, 5 July 1984, rock band Red Lorry Yellow Lorry played Cardiff’s New Ocean club supporting German rockers Xmal Deutschland.

Formed in Leeds in early 1981 by guitarist and songwriter Chris Reed, vocalist Mark Sweeney, bassist Steve Smith and drummer Mick Brown. After breaking up in 1991, the band reformed in 2003 and have released 5 studio albums over the course of their career.

In 1985, the band's debut album, Talk About the Weather, was released and peaked at No. 3 on the NME independent albums chart.

The album, which most fans consider to be the band's best, received generally positive reviews and sold extremely well for a small label offering.

"Hollow Eyes", a single taken from the album, attained good sales as well, as did follow-up non-LP singles "Chance" and "Spinning Round" the latter of which is generally felt to be the Lorries's strongest song.

Personnel

Chris Reed - vocals, guitar

David Wolfenden - guitar

Paul Southern - bass guitar

Mick Brown - drums

On This Day 03/07/1984 The Waterboys

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On this day 3 July 1984, folk rock band The Waterboys played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club.

Formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained as the only constant member throughout the band's career.

The band’s second alnum, A Pagan Place released in June 1984 and It was the first Waterboys record with Karl Wallinger as part of the band and also includes Roddy Lorimer's first trumpet solo for the band on the track "A Pagan Place".

The album shares a title with the book A Pagan Place, written by Irish novelist Edna O'Brien. According to a post at the official Waterboys forum, Mike Scott, who chose the album name, has never read the book, and neither the album nor the title track share any other similarities with the novel.

On this day 07/12/1983 Killing Joke

On this day, 7 December 1983, post-punk band Killing Joke played Cardiff’s New Ocean Club.

In 1983 the band released Fire Dances and its single, "Let's All Go (to the Fire Dances)", the first Killing Joke single to be promoted with a music video. Another non-album single, "Me or You?", was released in October.

It was the band’s fourth album and the first to feature new bassist Paul Raven.

Fire Dances was generally well received by music critics. NME called it "their best [album] yet, and also likely to be their biggest."

PopMatters and Trouser Press both qualified the album as "superb", with the latter describing the album's mood as "brighter" and "more joyous" than previous records.