On This Day 10/04/1965 Bobby Vee

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On this day, 10 April 1965, American singer Bobby Vee played Sophia Gardens. Also featured on the bill were, Dusty Springfield, The Zombies, The Searchers, Tony Jackson & The Vibrations, Heinz & The Wild Boys, Echoes.

Dusty Springfield and Bobby Vee

Known primarily as a performer of so-called "Brill Building pop" material,[6] Vee went on to record a string of international hits in the 1960s, including "More Than I Can Say" (1961, UK number 4), "Run to Him" (1961, US number 2; UK number 6), "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" (1963, US number 3; UK number 3) and "Come Back When You Grow Up" (1967, US number 3).

On the recording of "Come Back When You Grow Up", Bobby Vee and The Strangers are credited. However, that was merely the record label giving a name to the studio musicians working that day. Bobby's original band, The Shadows, backed him on the road; upon learning of the UK band The Shadows who backed Cliff Richard, the band changed its name to The Strangers. In 1961 Vee recorded a version of the song "Lollipop", originally by Ronald & Ruby, which also became a success. Vee had a total of ten hit singles in the UK, ending with "Bobby Tomorrow" (UK number 21) in 1963.

In 1963, American Bandstand signed Vee to headline Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars national U.S. tour, scheduled to perform its 15th show on the night of November 22, 1963, at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas. The Friday evening event was cancelled after U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated that afternoon while touring Dallas in an open car caravan.

Vee was also a pioneer in the music video genre, appearing in several musical films and in the Scopitone series of early film-and-music jukebox recordings.

On This Day 09/04/1966 Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

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On this day, 9 April 1966, American singing group Martha and the Vandellas, played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens Pavilion.

An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, the group eventually included Martha Reeves, who moved up in ranks as lead vocalist of the group after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with and eventually recorded all of their singles for Motown's Gordy imprint.

The group's string of hits included "Come and Get These Memories", "Heat Wave", "Quicksand", "Nowhere to Run", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready for Love", "Bless You" and "Dancing in the Street", the latter song becoming their signature single.

During their nine-year run on the charts from 1963 to 1972, Martha and the Vandellas charted over twenty-six hits and recorded in the styles of doo-wop, R&B, pop, blues, rock and roll and soul.

Ten Vandellas songs reached the top ten of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two R&B number ones, and six Top Ten Pop Hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.

On This Day 08/04/2011 One Direction

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On this day, 8 April 2011, UK boy band One Direction played Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on the X Factor Live tour. Also included on the bill were other X Factor performers, Rebecca Ferguson, Aidan Grimshaw and Cher Lloyd.

One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group is composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the group in March 2015. They became one of the best-selling boy groups of all time before going on an indefinite hiatus in 2016.

The group signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records after forming and placing third in the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor in 2010. Propelled to global success by social media, One Direction's five albums, Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014), and Made in the A.M. (2015), topped charts in several countries, and generated hit singles including "What Makes You Beautiful", "Live While We're Young", "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life" and "Drag Me Down".

After the release of Four, One Direction became the first band in the US Billboard 200 history to have their first four albums debut at number one. Their third album, Midnight Memories, was the best-selling album worldwide of 2013.

On This Day 07/04/2005 The Glitterati

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On this day, 7 April 2005, hard rock band The Glitterati played Cardiff’s Barfly along with rock band Hurricane Party (Roadstar).

Originally from Leeds, but primarily based in London, England during most of their career. The band were signed to Atlantic Records and later to DR2 Records/Global Music.

In 2004 the band released an EP called "Here Comes a Close Up". Limited to a certain number of copies, it was not eligible for the UK Singles Chart, but did manage to sell all its limited edition units.

The band released their debut album The Glitterati on 25 April 2005 on Atlantic Records The album was produced by Mike Clink, who previously worked with Guns N' Roses (on Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion I and II) and Metallica. The album was completed in a recording studio in Los Angeles. This was followed by the extensive 'Back In Power' tour of the UK.

In early 2005, the band broke into the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart with their single "You Got Nothing On Me". Their next single, "Heartbreaker", also entered the UK Top 40.

They were nominated in The Best New Band Category at the Kerrang Awards.

In 2005, the band also co-headlined the second Nokia 'New School of Rock' tour, together with The Black Velvets and Hurricane Party.

Over the summer of 2005, The Glitterati played at festivals in the United Kingdom such as T in the Park and Download Festival at Donington Park and The Leeds & Reading Festival

and also Toured with a number of varied acts throughout 2004-2006 including The Killers, The Wildhearts, Kings Of Leon, David Lee Roth, Jet, The Vines and many more, garnering a reputation as an exciting Live band.

On This Day 06/04/2014 Walk Off The Earth

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On this day, 6 April 2014, Canadian indie pop band Walk Off The Earth played Cardiff University.

The group is known for its music videos of covers and originals. The band is well known for covering pop-genre music on YouTube, making use of instruments such as the ukulele and the theremin, as well as looping samples. The band's recorded music and videos are produced by member and multi-instrumentalist Gianni "Luminati" Nicassio.

Walk off the Earth was formed in 2006 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The band began releasing music independently and created a variety of cover versions of songs including The Gregory Brothers.

In early 2012, the band's live cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" on YouTube gathered over 175 million views in a mere four months,[2] receiving positive reviews from both Gotye and his co-singer on the song, Kimbra.

The band released an accompanying video in which all five members are shown playing on the same guitar simultaneously. The production was taken from the 26th cut of a 14-hour session.

On March 11, 2013, Rolling Stone streamed their unreleased R.E.V.O. album in its entirety. The full-length R.E.V.O. album was released on March 19, 2013, after which they commenced in the R.E.V.O. Tour through the US and Europe. They began another US and Europe tour, Gang of Rhythm, in 2014.

On This Day 05/04/1997 Bryan Adams

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On this day, 5 April 1997, Canadian rocker Bryan Adams played the Cardiff International Arena on his 18 Till I Die tour.

Orn November 5, 1959, the Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and photographer his estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million records and singles worldwide, placing him on the list of best-selling music artists.

Adams was the most played artist on Canadian radio in the 2010s and has had 25 top-15 singles in Canada and a dozen or more in the US, UK, and Australia.

In June 1996, the album 18 til I Die was released. It contained the songs: "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You" (number 1 in Canada), "Let's Make a Night to Remember" (number 1 in Canada), ] "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" (number 1 in Canada), and "Star", which is included in the soundtrack of the film Jack.

The album reached number 22 on the UK charts while also reaching number two in Australia and number four in Canada. The album was less successful in the US only reaching number 31 on the Billboard 200, but was certified platinum in the United States by the RIAA. 18 til I Die was certified three times platinum in Canada and Australia and two times platinum in the UK.

In November 1996, "I Finally Found Someone" was released, which was recorded by Bryan Adams and Barbra Streisand as part of the soundtrack of Streisand's self-directed film The Mirror Has Two Faces. The song was nominated for an Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In November 1997, Adams penned new lyrics to the Jean-Jacques Goldman song "Puisque tu pars" also written that month, remade as Let's Talk About Love recorded by Celine Dion.

On This Day 04/04/1989 Green On Red

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On this day, 4 April 1989, American alternative rock band Green On Red played Cardiff’s The Venue.

Formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground. Earlier records have the wide-screen psychedelic sound of first-wave desert rock, while later releases tended more towards traditional country rock.

The band began in 1979 as The Serfers, a four-piece made up of Dan Stuart (vocals/guitar), Jack Waterson (bass), Van Christian (drums, later of Naked Prey) and Sean Nagore (organ), quickly replaced by Chris Cacavas.

In the summer of 1980, the Serfers relocated to Los Angeles, where they changed their name to Green on Red (after the title of one of their songs) to avoid confusion with the local surf punk scene. Christian returned to Tucson and was replaced by Lydia Lunch sideman Alex MacNicol.

The band were about to release their fourth album Here Come The Snakes.

Recorded in Memphis, the album was produced by Jim Dickinson and Joe Hardy. Band members Dan Stuart and Chuck Prophet were backed by local musicians. Stuart and Prophet used the Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio, where they worked with Roland Janes.

"We Had It All" is a cover of the song made popular in part by Keith Richards.

On This Date 03/04/1967 Booker T and the M.G’s

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On this day, 3 April 1967, soul greats Booker T and the MG’s played Cardiff’s Top Rank. They were part of a soul revue, headlined by Otis Redding and also featured Sam and Dave, Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd and The Markeys.

Booker T. & the M.G.'s were an American instrumental R&B/funk band that was influential in shaping the sound of Southern soul and Memphis soul. The original members of the group were Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewie Steinberg (bass), and Al Jackson Jr. (drums).

In the 1960s, as members of the Mar-Keys, the rotating slate of musicians that served as the house band of Stax Records, they played on hundreds of recordings by artists including Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Bill Withers, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor and Albert King.

They also released instrumental records under their own name, including the 1962 hit single "Green Onions". As originators of the unique Stax sound, the group was one of the most prolific, respected, and imitated of its era.

In 1965, Steinberg was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn, who played with the group until his death in 2012.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee in 2008, the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2019.

Having two white members (initially Cropper and Steinberg, later Cropper and Dunn) and two black members (Jones and Jackson Jr.), Booker T. & the M.G.'s was one of the first racially integrated rock groups,[4] at a time when soul music and the Memphis music scene, in particular, were generally considered the preserve of black culture.