Cardiff music scene

The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music.

A number of rock music performers have begun their careers in Cardiff, from bands like Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, Stereophonics and Feeder to bands like Kids in Glass Houses and Funeral for a Friend, as well as McLusky, The Loves, Los Campesinos!, The School (UK), We're No Heroes and Brave Captain who dominate Cardiff's music scene today. In 2006 The Independent described the Cardiff music scene as "more vibrant and alive than ever", with more promoters, venues and bands than ever before, often based on the styles of the scene's more famous products such as Stereophonics.

Cardiff is home to the world's oldest record shop, Spillers Records, which was established in 1894, and was situated in The Hayes area of the city centre before relocating to the nearby Morgan Arcade in 2010.

A study by the Performing Rights Society revealed that Cardiff is the second most musical city in the UK based upon the number of bands having their origins in each UK city.

1960s Cardiff produced Amen Corner, one of the top pop acts of the era and the first Welsh group to have a number one hit. Also from the 1960s was Love Sculpture who had a minor hit with Sabre Dance. Love Sculpture featured Dave Edmunds who also had chart hits in the 1960s and 1970s in his own right. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Cardiff music scene was dominated by hard rock and blues bands, and included heavy metal pioneers Budgie. Budgie released a string of hit albums in the 1970s including the gold-certified Bandolier. Budgie's influence reached bands such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, and Van Halen, all of which have covered Budgie's songs at one point or another. Post-punk influences spawned the three-piece Cardiff band Young Marble Giants, who influenced a number of musicians. Young Marble Giants contributed two tracks to Is The War Over?, a compilation featuring unsigned bands from the Cardiff scene.

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