On This Day 11/12/1994 Carcass

On this day, 11 December 1994, Liverpool extreme Metal band Carcass played Cardiff University on their Heartwork UK tour. Support was provided by Cubanate.

.Formed in 1985. The band have gone through several line-up changes, leaving guitarist Bill Steer and bassist-vocalist Jeff Walker as the only constant members. They broke up in 1996.

Carcass are regarded as among the pioneers of the grindcore and melodic death metal genres. They are also described as one of the earliest and most important of the new generation of grindcore and death metal bands.

Their early work was also tagged as "splatter death metal", and "hardgore" on account of their morbid lyrics and gruesome album covers. Their fourth album, Heartwork (1993), is considered a landmark in the melodic death metal genre.

Carcass were also one of the few death metal acts to sign to a major label, with Columbia Records handling North American distribution for Heartwork, while the album was distributed worldwide by Earache who released all of the band's albums up to and including Swansong (1996).

On This Day 27/11/1970 Pink Fairies

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On this day, 27 November 1970, proto-punk band Pink Fairies played Cardiff University.

Initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, such as playing for nothing outside the gates at the Bath and Isle of Wight pop festivals in 1970, as well as appearing at Phun City, the first Glastonbury and many other free festivals including Windsor and Trentishoe.

Playing for free in June 1970 outside the Bath Festival, they encountered another Ladbroke Grove based band, Hawkwind, who shared similar interests in music and recreational activities.

A friendship developed which would lead to the two bands becoming running partners and performing as Pinkwind. Sensationalist coverage in the (Mick Farren edited) International Times solidified their rebel reputation.

Polydor Records commissioned the group to record a single, "The Snake" / "Do It", and were happy enough with the results to offer the group an album contract. The debut album Never Never Land was released in 1971.

On This Day 22/11/1989 Bob Mould

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On this day, 22 November 1989 American musician Bob Mould principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock band Hüsker Dü, played Cardiff University.

The band dissolved after a show in Columbia, Missouri, on the band's 1987 tour. Grant Hart was trying to quit heroin using a supply of methadone, but the bottle had leaked. Hart still played the show, but Mould and Greg Norton were concerned he would be unable to play the remaining shows due to withdrawal.

While Hart insisted he could perform, Mould had already canceled the remaining dates. Hart quit the band four days later. Mould has said that the breakup was about "three people going their separate ways," referring to Hart's drug use and new relationship, Norton's recent marriage and new business, and Mould himself having just quit a lifelong drinking habit. Mould decided to officially end the band on January 26, 1988 during a discussion at Hart's parents' home.

Review - Adrian Colley - South Wales Echo

After Hüsker Dü broke up in 1988, Mould sequestered himself in a remote farmhouse in Pine City, Minnesota,having quit drinking and drugs, and wrote the songs that would make up his first solo album.

Signing to the newly formed Virgin Records America label, 1989's Workbook eschewed Mould's trademark wall-of-noise guitar for a lighter tone. Drummer Anton Fier (of The Feelies and later The Golden Palominos) and bassist Tony Maimone (of Pere Ubu) served as Mould's rhythm section.

The album peaked at number 127 on the Billboard 200 chart, and the single "See a Little Light" reached number 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

On This Day 20/11/1988 Salt-N-Pepa

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On this day, 20 November 1988, American hip hop rap group Salt-N-Pepa played Cardiff University. The group had just released their second studio album A Salt with a Deadly Pepa.

The album spawned three singles, the top-10 R&B entry "Shake Your Thang"; the top-20 R&B entry "Get Up Everybody (Get Up)"; and "Twist and Shout", which peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. The album's title is a play on "assault with a deadly weapon".

Formed in New York City in 1985, they comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper).

Their debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986), sold more than 1 million copies in the US, making them the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The album included the single, "Push It", which was released in 1987 as the B-side to their single "Tramp", and peaked within the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On This Day 16/11//1988 The Blow Monkeys

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On this day, 16 November 1988, rock band The Blow Monkeys played Cardiff University.

Formed in 1981 when lead singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and piano player Dr. Robert (born Bruce Robert Howard, 2 May 1961, Haddington, Scotland) returned to the United Kingdom after having spent five years in Australia.

Dr. Robert is named after the Beatles song Doctor Robert. The other band members are Mick Anker on bass guitar, Neville Henry on saxophone and Tony Kiley (born 16 February 1962) or Crispin Taylor on drums.

Their first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow", was released in 1982.They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums throughout the 1980s before splitting up at the beginning of the 1990s.

Their first hit song was "Digging Your Scene" which hit No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1986. They had four albums and eleven singles in the UK charts between 1986 and 1990.

On This Day 28/10/1989 Ian McCulloch

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On this day, 28 October 1989, former Echo and the Bunnymen lead singer Ian McCulloch played Cardiff University on his Candleland tour.

In 1988, McCulloch left the group to pursue a solo career under the impression that the Bunnymen would be laid to rest, if only temporarily.

When the remaining Bunnymen continued using the name with new lead vocalist Noel Burke, the break-up became more permanent with McCulloch referring to the band as "Echo & the Bogusmen".

In 1989, McCulloch released his debut solo studio album Candleland which reflected a more mature outlook on the world, owing to the recent deaths of McCulloch's father and Pete de Freitas, and peaked at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart.

It yielded two Modern Rock Tracks hits, "Proud to Fall" (No. 1 for 4 weeks) and "Faith and Healing". McCulloch's second solo album Mysterio was released in 1992 as the public's interest in the former Bunnyman was waning and sold less than its predecessor. Shortly after, McCulloch left the public eye to devote more time to his family.

Setlist

The Flickering Wall

The White Hotel

Toad

Horse's Head

Rescue

(Echo & the Bunnymen song)

Faith and Healing

I Know You Well

Candleland

Fear of the Known

Rocket Ship

In Bloom

The Killing Moon

(Echo & the Bunnymen song)

The Cape

Pots of Gold

Proud to Fall

Damnation

Ceremony

(New Order cover)

On This Day 25/10/1980 Captain Beefheart

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On this day, 25 October 1980, American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Captain Beefheart played Cardiff University. Beefheart had just released his eleventh studio albumDoc at the Radar Station

The album cover was painted by Don Van Vliet. It was placed at number forty-nine on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers in November 14th, 1991 issue.

Although about half of the album's songs are based on old musical ideas, Mike Barnes states that "most of the revamping work built on skeletal ideas and fragments ... would have mouldered away in the vaults had they not been exhumed and transformed into full-blown, totally convincing new material".[11] The tracks "A Carrot is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond", "Flavor Bud Living" and "Brickbats" were originally intended and recorded for the unreleased album Bat Chain Puller.

John French (the original drummer in the Magic Band) rejoined Beefheart for this album. He played guitar on all songs, plus bass ("Sheriff of Hong Kong"), drums ("Ashtray Heart" and "Sheriff of Hong Kong"), and marimba ("Making Love to a Vampire with a Monkey on My Knee"). He also sings the second vocal on "Dirty Blue Gene".

Setlist

Nowadays a Woman's Gotta Hit a Man

Abba Zaba

Hot Head

Dirty Blue Gene

Safe as Milk

Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles

Flavor Bud Living

(with Gary Lucas)

One Red Rose That I Mean

The Dust Blows Forward 'n' the Dust Blows Back

Improvisation

Doctor Dark

My Human Gets Me Blues

Sugar 'n' Spikes

Dropout Boogie

Kandy Korn

Suction Prints

On This Day 23/10/1990 Pop Will Eat Itself

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On this day, 23 October 1990, alternative rock band Pop Will Eat Itself played Cardiff University. On the same day the band released their third studio album Cure For Sanity.

Upon its release, the album entered the UK Albums Chart and stayed there for two weeks, peaking at number 33, and re-entered the chart when it was re-released in July 1991, staying there for one week at number 58.

Cure for Sanity is less light-hearted than prior albums, "mixing a couple of more serious efforts with a new slew of catchy, immediate singles and not-bad album cuts".The album features a dancier and more electronica based sound, eschewing the guitars of previous and future albums.

Formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorporate sample-driven indie and industrial rock.

Graham Crabb describes their sound as "electronic, punk, alternative hip-hop, hybrid music for fucking, fighting & smoking cigars". Their highest-charting single was the 1993 top-ten hit "Get the Girl! Kill the Baddies!". After initially disbanding in 1996, and having a brief reformation in 2005, they issued their first release in more than five years in 2010.