On This Day 15/11/1977 Frankie Miller

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On this day, 15 November 1977, Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Frankie Miller played Cardiff’s Top Rank. He had recently released his fourth studio album Full House.

It features a mix of Miller originals and covers, including a version of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy". The Andy Fraser composition "Be Good to Yourself" was issued as a single, and reached No. 27 the UK singles chart, becoming Miller's first chart hit.

Miller began singing professionally as a teenager with a Glasgow band called The Stoics. In mid 1970, he moved to London to further his career.

Later in 1972, Miller signed a solo recording contract with Chrysalis Records, and recorded his first LP Once in a Blue Moon, with record producer Dave Robinson. The album was an early example of pub rock, and featured backing by the pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz.

Miller received consistently good reviews, although his singles and albums were not chart hits, Chrysalis continued to invest in his talent. In 1974 Miller sang "Still in Love with You", as a duet with Phil Lynott; the song appeared on the Thin Lizzy album, Nightlife.

Miller's second album High Life, was produced and partly written by Allen Toussaint and recorded in Atlanta, Georgia during 1974. Although two album tracks, "Shoorah Shoorah" and "Play Something Sweet", subsequently provided hits for Betty Wright and Three Dog Night respectively, the album was not a commercial success.

Miller's next album The Rock (1975) was recorded in San Francisco using the producer Elliot Mazer, who had co-produced Harvest for Neil Young. The next album Full House (1977).

On This Day 14/11/2004 Peter Frampton

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On this day, 14 November 2004, rock singer/guitarist Peter Frampton played Cardiff International Arena. Also on the bill were Deep Purple and Thunder. Frampton had released his eleventh studio album Peter Frampton.

Frampton rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a solo artist. He has released several albums, including his breakthrough album, the live recording Frampton Comes Alive! (1976), which spawned several hit singles and has been certified 8× Platinum by the RIAA in the United States.

He has also worked with various other acts such as Ringo Starr, John Entwistle of the Who, David Bowie, Joe Bonamassa, and both Matt Cameron and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.

Frampton is known for his signature hit songs "Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", "Do You Feel Like We Do", and "I'm in You", all of which remain staples of classic rock radio. He has also appeared as himself in television shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Madam Secretary. Frampton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024.

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 11/11/1988 Chas 'n' Dave

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On this day, 11 November 1988, Cockney pop duo Chas 'n' Dave played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall.

They were most notable as creators and performers of a musical style labelled rockney (a portmanteau of rock and cockney), which mixes "pub singalong, music-hall humour, boogie-woogie piano and pre-Beatles rock 'n' roll".

For a time, Rockney was also the name of their record label, their major breakthrough being "Gertcha" in 1979, which peaked at No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart, and was the first of eight Top 40 hit singles the duo played on. They had their biggest success in the early 1980s with "Rabbit" and "Ain't No Pleasing You". They also had nine charting albums.

Charles Nicholas "Chas" Hodges and David Victor "Dave" Peacock met in 1963, but the duo only started writing songs together in 1972.[4] In the 1960s and 1970s, Hodges and Peacock were in various groups. Hodges was with The Outlaws and then Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers in the 1960s, while Dave Peacock was with a group called the Rolling Stones (formed before the more famous one), and The Tumbleweeds, and worked with Mick Greenwood and Jerry Donahue.

Hodges and Peacock were both part of Black Claw with Harvey Hinsley and Mick Burt, three of them (Hodges, Peacock and Burt) would later be in Chas & Dave. They recorded with Albert Lee, and released an EP called Country Pie. After Black Claw, Hodges joined Heads Hands & Feet in 1970.

Both Hodges and Peacock had worked as session musicians and in backing bands for a wide range of artists; Hodges as part of The Outlaws had worked with Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Bill Haley, and also supported the Beatles as the Rebel Rousers.The hook of the song on which Hodges and Peacock played guitar and bass in 1975, Labi Siffre's "I Got The...", was later sampled on Eminem's "My Name Is".

On This Day 04/11/1981 Bauhaus

On this day, 4 November 1981, gothic rock band Bahaus played Cardiff’s Top Rank on their Mask tour. The band had just released their second studio album Mask.

Bauhaus expanded their style a bit on Mask, particularly by incorporating keyboards and acoustic guitar on songs such as "The Passion of Lovers", and funk rhythms and saxophone on tracks like "Kick in the Eye", "Dancing" and "In Fear of Fear".

The album cover is a drawing by guitarist Daniel Ash.The original artwork for the album was a gatefold sleeve with blue text on the inside and a stark black-and-white image of the band. On later editions this inside was replaced with white text and a montage from the promotional video for the song "Mask".

Setlist

The Passion of Lovers

In the Flat Field

Silent Hedges

Terror Couple Kill Colonel

The Man With the X-Ray Eyes

(Slow version)

In Fear of Fear

Hair of the Dog

Mask

Rosegarden Funeral of Sores

(John Cale cover)

Dancing

Hollow Hills

Spy in the Cab

On This Day 03/11/1989 The Beautiful South

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On this day, 3 November 1988, American singing band The Drifters played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. The band had just released their debut album Welcome To The Beautiful South.

Formed in 1988 by Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, two former members of the Hull group the Housemartins, both of whom performed lead and backing vocals. Other members throughout the band's existence were former Housemartins roadie Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums), and Dave Rotheray (guitar). The band's original material was written by Heaton and Rotheray.

Review -South Wales Echo

Released in October 1989 by Go! Discs and the next year in the United States by Elektra Records. Three singles were released from the album, which became top 40 hits in the United Kingdom: "Song for Whoever" (No. 2), "You Keep It All In" (No. 8) and "I'll Sail This Ship Alone" (No. 31).

The original album cover depicted two pictures by Jan Saudek, one of a woman with a gun in her mouth, and another with a man smoking. Woolworths refused to stock the album, in the words of the band, to "prevent the hoards of impressionable young fans from blowing their heads off in a gun-gobbling frenzy, or taking up smoking";

An alternative cover featuring a picture of a stuffed toy rabbit and a teddy bear was therefore made. A second alternative cover was also prepared for the Canadian edition of the album; this version omitted the picture of the woman, and featured only the smoking man.

On This Day 06/11/2006 Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

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On this day, 6 November 2006, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde art, the Bonzos came to public attention through appearances in the Beatles' 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour and the 1968 ITV comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set.

On 28 January 2006 most of the surviving members of the band played a concert at the London Astoria, to celebrate the band's official 40th anniversary. Neil Innes, "Legs" Larry Smith, Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater, Bob Kerr, Sam Spoons and Vernon Dudley Bowhay-Nowell appeared.

There were also a number of special guests attempting with various degrees of success to be Vivian Stanshall, one of two members of the band not still living (the other being bass player Dennis Cowan). The various Stanshall impersonators included Stephen Fry, Ade Edmondson, Phill Jupitus and Paul Merton (who needed to read the words to "Monster Mash" from cue cards at the show). The classic Bonzo stage antics were in evidence, including performances on the Theremin Leg and Trouser Press. The show was filmed and was broadcast on BBC Four and also released on DVD in May 2006.

A countrywide tour, with Ade Edmondson and Phill Jupitus, followed during November 2006, starting in Ipswich and ending with two nights at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, where Paul Merton and Bill Bailey joined in for a handful of songs. David Catlin-Birch (lead guitar and vocals) joined the band for the tour; Catlin-Birch has also been a member of World Party and The Bootleg Beatles.

Officially calling themselves The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band again, the group released a live double CD of the Astoria concert titled Wrestle Poodles... And Win! on 13 November 2006.

On This Day 02/11/1988 Helloween

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On this day, 2 November 1988, German power metal band played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall. The band had just released their third studio album Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II

The album sold well, and success bloomed all over Europe, Asia, and even the United States. The album went gold in Germany and reached No. 108 in the US.

Two singles were released from the album, "Dr. Stein" and "I Want Out". "Dr. Stein" has a very long and moody solo, played with a blues tinge, very unlike other solos on the album, as well as an organ solo. "I Want Out" remains the band's best-known song, and has been covered by several metal bands, such as Gamma Ray (which Kai Hansen formed after leaving Helloween itself), Unisonic, HammerFall, LORD and Sonata Arctica. It is their last album to feature Hansen until 2021's self-titled album.

Founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. It is said that the band is one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s.

Its first lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg.