On This Day 07/02/1979 Radio Stars

On this day, 7 February 1979 punk rock Radio Stars played Newport’s Stowaway Club.

Radio Stars were formed by Sparks exile Martin Gordon[2] (bass, songwriter) and also included ex-John's Children vocalist Andy Ellison and Ian MacLeod (guitar) in 1977, following the end of their under-achieving glam supergroup, Jet, the previous year.

The band signed to Chiswick Records and released their debut single, "Dirty Pictures", in April 1977..

In January 1978, the band entered the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, with "Nervous Wreck", backed with "Horrible Breath". The single charted for three weeks and peaked at No. 39 on 4 February.

The band performed the song on BBC's Top of the Pops on 19 January 1978, with newsreader Kelly St John. The B-side, "Horrible Breath", was a song written by Marc Bolan from his time with John's Children.[

The debut album, Songs for Swinging Lovers, named in reference to the Frank Sinatra album, appeared in December 1977. The band toured with Eddie and the Hot Rods and Squeeze, and played the Reading Festival in 1978. The Radio Stars released their second album in 1978, entitled Holiday Album.

The album included their live favourite "Sex in Chains Blues", about the exploits of the so-called 'Mormon kidnapper' Joyce McKinney. The band undertook an extensive UK tour in 1978, which also featured Trevor White (a former member of Sparks) and Chris Gent (saxophone/backing vocals), but Gordon left soon after. The second album flopped, effectively ending the band,

On This Day 06/02/1975 Barclay James Harvest

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On this day, 6 February 1975, prog rock band Barclay James Harvest played Cardiff University.

After signing with EMI's Parlophone label in the UK for one single in early 1968 (entitled "Early Morning / Mr. Sunshine"), they moved to the more progressively inclined Harvest label.

The name of the band, according to The International Barclay James Harvest Fan Club, signifies nothing specifically. Having exhausted other possibilities, each of the band members wrote single words on pieces of paper which were drawn out of a hat one by one.

All were rejected until only three were left: James, a man who used to sing with the band, Harvest because they were living in a farmhouse, and Barclay after Barclays bank, because they aspired to make money. These were then rearranged to get the best-sounding name of Barclay James Harvest

On This Day 05/02/1980 The Pretenders

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On this day, 5 February 1980, rock band The Pretenders played Cardiff’s Top Rank promoting their debut album released the previous month. Support was provided by UB40.

The album debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart in the week of its release and stayed there for four consecutive weeks.

Formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals, percussion). Following the deaths of Honeyman-Scott and Farndon in 1982 and 1983, the band experienced numerous personnel changes; Hynde has been the band's only consistent member.

The band's first single, a cover of the Kinks song "Stop Your Sobbing" (produced by Nick Lowe and recorded at the July Regents Park sessions) was released in January 1979 and gained critical attention. It was followed by "Kid" in June 1979. In January 1980, the band reached No. 1 in the UK with "Brass in Pocket"

Setlist

"The Wait"

Precious

"Talk of the Town"

"Cuban Slide"

"Private Life"

"Brass in Pocket"

"Stop Your Sobbing"

"I Go to Sleep"

"Space Invader"

"The Phone Call"

Kid

"Tattooed Love Boys"

"Up the Neck"

On This Day 04/02/2005 Green Day

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On this day, 4 February 2005, American rock band Green Day played Cardiff International Arena on their American Idiot tour.

Formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their major-label debut Dookie, released through Reprise Records, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 20 million copies in the U.S. Alongside fellow California punk bands Bad Religion, the Offspring, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise and Social Distortion, Green Day is credited with re-popularizing mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S.

American Idiot is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on September 21, 2004, by Reprise Records. As with their previous four albums, it was produced by Rob Cavallo in collaboration with the group. Recording sessions for American Idiot took place at Studio 880 in Oakland and Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, both in California, between 2003 and 2004.

A concept album, dubbed a "punk rock opera" by the band members, American Idiot follows the story of Jesus of Suburbia, a lower-middle-class American adolescent anti-hero. The album expresses the disillusionment and dissent of a generation that came of age in a period shaped by tumultuous events such as 9/11 and the Iraq War. In order to accomplish this, the band used unconventional techniques for themselves, including transitions between connected songs and some long, chaptered, creative compositions presenting the album themes.

Setlist

Intro

American Idiot

Jesus of Suburbia

Holiday

Are We the Waiting

St. Jimmy

Longview

Hitchin' a Ride

Brain Stew

Jaded

Knowledge

(Operation Ivy cover)

Basket Case

She

King for a Day

Shout

(The Isley Brothers cover)

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Minority

Encore:

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

When I Come Around

We Are the Champions

(Queen cover)

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

On This Day 03/02/2002 The Hives

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On this day, 3 February 2002, Swedish rock band The Hives played Cardiff University.

Formed in Fagersta in 1993. After gaining traction in Sweden through the 1990s, they rose to worldwide prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival.

The band's line-up—consisting of Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (vocals), Nicholaus Arson (lead guitar, backing vocals), Vigilante Carlstroem (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Dr. Matt Destruction (bass), and Chris Dangerous (drums)—remained unchanged from 1993 until 2013, when Matt Destruction retired for health reasons and was replaced by The Johan and Only, the former Randy bassist.

Their mainstream success came with the release of Veni Vidi Vicious and its single "Hate to Say I Told You So", considered their signature song. They are known for always dressing in matching black-and-white tuxedos and for their energetic and eccentric live shows, with critics hailing them as one of the best live rock bands of the last two decades.

On This Day 02/02/2008 Dark Tranquility

On this day, 2 February 2008, Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquility played Cardiff’s Barfly on their Great British Fiction Tour.

They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates - regarded as the Gothenburg fathers in the film entitled Out of Nothing: A DT Documentary released by Century Media, which was filmed in their home town in April 2009.

After a nearly three-decade long collaboration of four founding members frequent lineup changes between 2016 and 2021 have left only vocalist Mikael Stanne as an original member, together with long-time keyboardist Martin

In 2007, Fiction was released, which in turn, saw a return of Stanne's clean vocals, and the first female guest vocalist since Projector. The album also saw writing style that combined the stylings of Projector and Haven, with the more aggressive traits of Character and Damage Done. At this time, Dark Tranquillity toured with The Haunted, Into Eternity, and Scar Symmetry for the North America Metal for the Masses Tour.

They also toured the UK in early 2008 along with Omnium Gatherum. They returned to the US during spring 2008 with Arch Enemy.

Setlist

Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)

The Lesser Faith

The Treason Wall

The Wonders at Your Feet

Lost to Apathy

Hedon

Inside the Particle Storm

The Endless Feed

Focus Shift

Misery's Crown

Punish My Heaven

ThereIn

Blind at Heart

My Negation

Final Resistance

Lethe

The New Build

On This Day 01/02/2005 Rooster

On this day, 1 February 2005, indie rock band Rooster played Cardiff University.

After his previous band 50.Grind broke up, singer Nick Atkinson formed Rooster with childhood friend Luke Potashnick, who had attended Eastbourne College with him on guitar. The pair began writing songs together, before enlisting drummer Dave Neale (who had previously toured with Potashnick) and then bassist Ben Smyth (after advertising the role in the music press) to complete the lineup of the band in late 2003.

The name Rooster was chosen based on that of a horse on which Atkinson won £250 in a bet.

Rooster signed with Hugh Goldsmith's Sony BMG sub-label Brightside Recordings and recorded their debut album with producers including Steve Robson, Pete Woodroffe and Charlie Grant. The band released their first single "Come Get Some" on 11 October 2004, which reached number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.

Also in 2004, the group became the first to broadcast a live performance over the 3G mobile phone network. "Staring at the Sun" followed on 10 January 2005,[6] which peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart.

Two weeks after "Staring at the Sun", Rooster's self-titled debut album was released on 24 January 2005. The album reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, behind Push the Button by The Chemical Brothers and Hot Fuss by The Killers, and as of July 2006 had sold over 500,000 copies, approximately half of which were in the UK.

On This Day 31/01/2002 Stereolab

On this day, 31 January 2002, Anglo-French avant-pop band Stereolab played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach.

Formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound features influences from krautrock and 1960s French pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with the use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French.

Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist art movements. While performing, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. From the mid-1990s, the band began to draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music.

Other longtime members included 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances.

Throughout their career, Stereolab has achieved moderate commercial success. The band were released from their recording contract with Elektra Records, and their self-owned label Duophonic signed a distribution deal with Too Pure and later Warp Records.

In 2002, as they were planning their next album, Stereolab started building a studio north of Bordeaux, France. ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions; a compilation of BBC Radio 1 sessions was released in October. In the same year, Gane and Sadier's romantic relationship ended.

On 9 December 2002, Hansen was killed when hit by a truck while riding her bicycle in London. She was 36. Writer Pierre Perrone said that her "playful nature and mischievous sense of humour came through in the way she approached the backing vocals she contributed to Stereolab and the distinctive harmonies she created with Sadier."