On This Day 11/05/1963 The Springfields

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On this day, 11 May 1963, The Springfields (featuring Dusty Springfield) played Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens. Also on the bill were, headliner Del Shannon, The Eagles, Peppi, Kenny Lynch, Johnny Tillotson and Ret Anton.

The trio formed in 1960, when Mary "Dusty" O'Brien, who had been a member of all-girl singing trio the Lana Sisters, joined her brother Dion O'Brien and Tim Feild, who had been working as a duo, the Kensington Squares. Dion became Tom Springfield, and Mary became Dusty Springfield.

Tom Springfield was a songwriter and arranger with a wide knowledge of folk music and the group had strong vocal harmonies as well as Dusty's powerful lead. Occupying a musical sphere comparable with that of the contemporary Peter, Paul and Mary, they were signed to Philips Records in London by producer Johnny Franz. In 1961, they released their first single, "Dear John" which failed to chart. They achieved UK success with the two follow-up releases, "Breakaway" (No. 31) and their Christmas hit "Bambino" (No. 16), also produced by Franz.

In December 1962, Tom's composition "Island of Dreams", his first recording made with Mike Hurst, debuted on the UK Singles Chart, where it remained for 26 weeks. It peaked at No. 5 in its 16th week on the chart, in early April 1963, five weeks before the Springfields' follow-up hit "Say I Won't Be There" would also peak at No. 5.

By this time, the Springfields were one of the most popular groups in the UK. The group had several chart hits and had recorded several foreign language records. However, Dusty Springfield felt limited by the group's folk act and Tom's lead role within the trio, and she decided to leave for a solo career. She and Tom announced that the group was to be disbanded on the TV variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium in October 1963.

Tom Springfield subsequently wrote a number of songs for Australian pop-folk band the Seekers, including the two UK number-one hits "I'll Never Find Another You" and "The Carnival Is Over", as well as the Oscar-nominated "Georgy Girl", which he wrote with actor-singer Jim Dale and which hit big on both sides of the Atlantic.

On This Day 10/05/1985 The Colourfield

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On this day, 10 May 1985, pop band The Colourfield played Cardiff University. The band had just released their debut album Virgins and Philistines. It peaked at #12 in the UK album charts.

Formed in 1984 in Manchester, England when former Specials and Fun Boy Three frontman Terry Hall joined up with Karl Shale and ex-Swinging Cats member Toby Lyons. Despite the fact that all three members were from Coventry, the band was based in Manchester.

In January 1984, The Colour Field released their first single "The Colour Field", which just missed making the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart. In the summer of the same year, they released "Take" as their second single, which commercially performed less well. Their third single was "Thinking of You", released in January 1985, which reached number 12 in the UK chart, and featured Katrina Phillips accompanying Hall on vocals. Their fourth single, released days before their debut album came out, was "Castles in the Air" which reached the lower reaches of the UK chart.

Virgins and Philistines contained all original material except "The Hammond Song" (a cover of The Roches song), and "Can’t Get Enough of You Baby" (written by Linzer/Randell), which was the only track that received much airplay. The album was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport (near Manchester) and was produced by Hugh Jones and Jeremy Green, and engineered by Chris Jones.

On This Day 09/05/1988 The Primitives

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On this day, 9 May 1988, indie pop band The Primitives played Cardiff University.

Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throughout their recording career have been vocalist Tracy Tracy and guitarist Paul "PJ" Court. Drummer Tig Williams has been a constant member since 1987. Often described as an indie pop or indie rock band, The Primitives' musical style can also be seen as straddling power pop, new wave and post-punk.

The band's early singles were released on their own Lazy Records imprint. In late 1987, they signed the label over to RCA, which released the band's material from then until their split.

Lovely (1988), the band's first album, reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, and produced two top 40 hit singles: "Crash" (UK No. 5, US Modern Rock No. 3) and "Out of Reach" (UK No. 25). "Crash", and the band were described in Melody Maker as "the perfect band who have made the perfect single".

"Way Behind Me" was released as a single soon after, and was included on later versions of the debut album, as well as on the follow-up album Pure.[1] 1988 was the band's peak year; in addition to the hit album and singles, the band undertook a sell-out tour of the UK, ending in two nights in May at London's Town & Country Club.

The album Pure (1989) was preceded by three singles: "Way Behind Me" (UK No. 36, US Modern Rock No. 8), "Sick of It" (UK No. 24, US Modern Rock No. 9) and "Secrets", (UK No. 49, US Modern Rock No. 12).

On This Day 08/05/1981 Larry Norman

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On this day, 8 May 1981, American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 albums.

In 2008, Christian rock historian John J. Thompson wrote, "It is certainly no overstatement to say that Larry Norman is to Christian music what John Lennon is to rock & roll or Bob Dylan is to folk music." Thompson credited Norman for his impact on the genre as a musician, a producer, and a businessman.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Norman also influenced a number of emerging punk and alternative rock artists. According to documentarian Larry Di Sabatino, Larry Norman was "an early influence" on the post-punk band U2. When Bono met with a summit of Nashville Christian music artists in 2002 to garner support for an African aid campaign, he specifically asked to see Norman. Upon Larry Norman's death, Bono sent flowers to his funeral with the note "Eternal singer, still eternal, Bono."

According to Charles Normal, Larry Norman attended his "first of many" punk rock shows while touring London in 1977, seeing Richard Hell and the Voidoids, the Damned, and Dead Boys. Regarding the punk movement, Norman stated that while he initially disliked some of the lyrical content, he was generally supportive of it and its youthful energy, which he viewed as preferable to disco.

In late 1980, Norman moved to England and, with his father, founded Phydeaux Records, a company designed to compete with the bootleg market by selling rarities from Norman's own archives. He signed a distribution deal with British label Chapel Lane and released several albums before returning to the United States in 1985.

Norman then began work on an anthology project celebrating his career in Christian music, beginning with the album White Blossoms from Black Roots: The History and the Chronology: Volume One; however, the project collapsed when the head of the distribution company was arrested for check forgery and the company's merchandise was seized by the FBI.

Setlist

I Hope I'll See You in Heaven

If I Were a Singer

I Am Near

When You Sent Your Son

No More LSD for Me

A Note From Mr. God

One Way

U.F.O.

666 (The Anti-Christ)

The Outlaw

The Troubles

On This Day 07/05/2009 Radio Moscow

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On this day, 7 May 2009, American psychedelic rock band Radio Moscow played The Globe in Cardiff. The band had just released their second album Brain Cycles.

Radio Moscow are often compared stylistically to blues rock bands from the 1960s and 1970s, particularly fellow power trios like Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, or rock bands with heavy rhythm sections like Pretty Things, The Who and Blue Cheer.

Reviewing the band's self-titled album for music website AllMusic, Greg Prato described the group's sound as "a throwback to the classic rock of the '70s", comparing certain songs to artists such as Ram Jam, The Allman Brothers Band and The Jeff Beck Group. Following the release of Brain Cycles, Radio Moscow have also been cited as an example of the stoner rock genre.

Formed in 2003, the band currently features singer-guitarist Parker Griggs, bassist Anthony Meier and drummer Paul Marrone. Signed to Alive Naturalsound Records, the trio has released five full-length albums as of June 2017.

Prior to the formation of the band, Parker Griggs recorded under the solo alias Garbage Composal.[2] After completing an album's worth of material, Griggs enlisted bassist Serana Rose to form Radio Moscow, and the duo relocated to Colorado.

Following a show, Griggs got a demo into the hands of The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, who then helped in getting Radio Moscow signed to Alive Naturalsound Records. During this time, Parker recorded the contents of 3 & 3 Quarters which was eventually released in 2012 under Radio Moscow. The album is predominantly Garage Rock, with all instruments handled by Griggs.

On This Day 06/05/1978 Magazine

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On this day, 6 May 1978, new wave band Magazine played Cardiff University. The band had just recently released their second album Secondhand Daylight which peaked at no38 in the UK album charts.

Upon its release, Secondhand Daylight was hailed in the NME. Reviewer Nick Kent described songs like "Feed the Enemy" as "very Low-period Bowiesque", due to the "stray saxophone bleats and lulling synthesiser chords". Sounds was less positive; music journalist Garry Bushell declared that Magazine were in "retreat to the '70s progressive lie". The Guardian wrote that the album "explores the mixture of keyboards, saxophone and Howard Devoto's Rottenesque vocals in a professional, controlled and surprisingly subdued manner".

Formed in 1977 in Manchester in England by singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch. After leaving the punk group Buzzcocks in early 1977, Devoto decided to create a more progressive and less "traditional" rock band. The original lineup of Magazine was composed of Devoto, McGeoch, Barry Adamson on bass, Bob Dickinson on keyboards and Martin Jackson on drums.

Their debut album, Real Life (1978), was critically acclaimed and was one of the first post-punk albums. After releasing two other albums, Secondhand Daylight and The Correct Use of Soap, McGeoch left the band in 1980 to join Siouxsie and the Banshees. Magazine released another studio album and disbanded in 1981. All four of their albums reached the top 40 on the UK Albums Chart.

On This Day 05/05/1975 Danny Moss

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On this day, 5 May 1975, British jazz tenor saxophonist Danny Moss played Cardiff’s New Theatre. He performed with many figures in British jazz, including Vic Lewis, Ted Heath, John Dankworth, Alex Welsh, and Humphrey Lyttelton.

The son of a toolmaker, Moss was born in Redhill, Surrey in 1927. His childhood was spent on the south coast, in the Brighton-Worthing area, and he attended Steyning Grammar School. At the age of thirteen, he saw a jazz band appear briefly in a Bowery Boys film on a family cinema visit, and was so inspired by the clarinet playing that he swapped his most valued possession, his ice skates, for a second-hand instrument of his own. He was self-taught on both this and the tenor saxophone, which he took up at school.

In 1957, Moss joined John Dankworth's orchestra. Here, with the band's encouragement, he began to develop his characteristic saxophone sound, eschewing the contemporary focus on light tone and fast phrasing in favour of a thicker and more spacious sound informed by American tenor saxophonists such as Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. When the Dankworth band visited America, Moss' style was singled out for compliment by Count Basie, who declared his playing "real Texas tenor... the way it should sound!" He left Dankworth's band in 1962, as the band itself was winding down. From here, he joined Humphrey Lyttelton's group, where he continued to hone his style for another two years.

He then married jazz singer Jeanie Lambe on 6 January 1964, and the couple moved from London to Sussex at her suggestion. Here, he formed his own quartet, playing a mix of club gigs, festival appearances and radio broadcasts for the BBC. He continued to tour with this quartet throughout the 1970s and 1980s, also playing and recording with American singers like Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Sarah Vaughan and Rosemary Clooney, and appeared as a guest soloist with Buck Clayton on a Humphrey Lyttelton album, Me And Buck in 1963. He worked with Louis Armstrong on his last British tour. Moss later co-founded British jazz "supergroup" Pizza Express All-Stars in 1980, playing with them until the end of the 1980s.

On This Day 04/05/1976 PFM

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On this day, 4 May 1976, Italian progressive rock band PFM played Cardiff University.

Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM) (translation: Award-winning Marconi Bakery) band founded in 1970 which continues to the present day. They were the first Italian group to have success internationally. The group recorded five albums with English lyrics between 1973 and 1977.

During this period they entered both the British and American charts. They also had several successful European and American tours, playing at the popular Reading Festival in England and on The Midnight Special, a popular national television program in the United States.

PFM introduced new sounds, such as the synthesizer, to the Italian musical world. They were also among the first to combine symphonic classical and traditional Italian musical influences in a rock music context. Such innovations and their longevity have earned PFM a place among the most important bands in the Progressive rock genre.

PFM's first live performance in the UK was on BBC Radio 1's 'In Concert' programme introduced by DJ Pete Drummond on 21 May 1975 in which they performed their own arrangement of Rossini's William Tell Overture. They also appeared on the BBC television show The Old Grey Whistle Test firstly in 1974 and 1975. On 13 April 1976, on the same show, they performed the title track to the album. The album reached the UK top 20 but was less successful internationally.

Tour Setlist

Paper Charms

La luna nuova

Dove... quando..., parte I

Dove... quando..., parte II

Guitar Solo

(acoustic)

Out of the Roundabout

Chocolate Kings

Mr. 9 Till 5

Celebration

La carrozza di Hans

Alta Loma 5 Till 9

Guillaume Tell Ouverture

(Gioachino Rossini cover)