Welsh Music Podcast / Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig

03/03/2025

03/03/2025

RIP Geraint Jarman.

Born in Denbigh in 1950 and raised in Cardiff, Jarman was a towering figure in Welsh music and culture.

Starting out as a poet and composer in the 1960s, he formed Bara Menyn (‘Bread and Butter’) with Heather Jones and Meic Stevens 1969. Their name was an ironic nod to the prospect of earning a living by singing in Welsh, but Jarman would go to craft a lasting legacy spanning well over five decades.

Attracting the attention of John Peel, he released his debut album Gobaith Mawr y Ganrif in 1976 via Sain. Exhilarating multicultural audiences with a stunning fusion of rock and reggae, Jarman bridged the gap between Welsh-speaking communities and monoglot English-speaking people in Wales.

With his band, Y Cynganeddwyr (‘The Poets’), featuring Llwynypia-born, Hendrix-like guitarist Tich Gwilym, he paved the way for a new generation of post-punk, Welsh-language artists heading into the 1980s, who had a less self-conscious relationship with their Welsh identity.

From 1988-1992, Jarman co-produced the iconic S4C show Fideo 9, which gave burgeoning talent like Y Cyrff, Ffa Coffi Pawb and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci their earliest TV appearances.

03/03/2025

RIP Joey Molland.

Born in Liverpool in June 1947, he began his music career with Gary Walker & The Rain in the late 1960s, but it was his time with Swansea legends Badfinger that cemented his legacy.

Joining the band in 1969, Molland contributed significantly to their success, co-writing and performing on hits like No Matter What and Day After Day. Signed to Apple Records and mentored by Paul McCartney, their further collaborations with John Lennon and George Harrison drew widespread comparisons with The Beatles. Even their name was inspired by the Fab Four - Bad Finger Boogie was the working title for With a Little Help from My Friends.

The classic Badfinger line-up of Molland, Pete Ham, Tom Evans and Mike Gibbins recorded five albums together including classics like No Dice and Straight Up, plus the Ivor Novello Award-winning ballad Without You.

Molland outlived his band-mates and continued to play the iconic music of Bandfinger until the shortly before his death at the age of 77.

10/02/2025

Brilliant evening chatting with Rhys Mwyn on Friday at Palas Print in Caernarfon to celebrate Dydd Miwsig Cymru.

Great to meet a fellow Calon author too in Russ Williams - check out his new book Where the Folk here: https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/where-the-folk/

07/02/2025

Adwaith – Solas ( Libertino ) - "an awe-inspiring document to a band that continually travels onwards, the bold forward-looking sound of a new Wales" Bill Cummings

https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2025/02/07/adwaith-solas-libertino-records/

07/02/2025

Dydd Miwsig Cymru Hapus pawb!

To celebrate all things Welsh music, I’ll be chatting with Rhys Mwyn at Palas Print in Caernarfon at 6.30pm tonight.

I’ll be signing copies of International Velvet, which includes Welsh-language artists like Anhrefn, Datblygu, Ffa Coffi Pawb, Y Cyrff, Rheinallt H Rowlands and Llwybr Llaethog, and covers the 90s venture into bilingualism by the Super Furries, Catatonia, Gorky’s and Melys.

FREE entry!

26/01/2025

I chatted to Patrick Jones about his powerful and resonant new album, A Constellation of Sorrows for Nation.Cymru https://bit.ly/4gjUna2

A poetic call for peace, it’s a collection of poignant reflections on the conflict in Gaza.

Featuring musical contributions from Martyn Joseph, Jilliene Sellner and Salih Hassan, A Constellation of Sorrows is on streaming platforms and available to order via R*E*P*E*A*T Records at www.repeatfanzine.bandcamp.com

All proceeds go to the UNICEF UK Gaza Appeal.

Artwork: Isabella Rosa Griffiths
Photo: Jon Pountney

Let Yourself Trust Amos Trust Forever Delayed

24/01/2025

Delighted to announce that I’ll be chatting with Welsh music legend Rhys Mwyn again on Friday 7 February at Palas Print in Caernarfon to celebrate Dydd Miwsig Cymru!

At 6.30pm, we’ll be discussing International Velvet and all things Wales in the 90s from music and culture to politics, language and sport.

We’ll also be talking about classic bands like Anhrefn, Datblygu, Y Cyrff and Ffa Coffi Pawb, and we’ll be choosing our favourite Welsh-language albums.

Entry is FREE and signed copies of International Velvet will be available to buy on the night.

Please drop us a message if you would like to arrange an in-store event or any interviews / podcasts.

24/01/2025

Gruff Rhys’ debut solo album Yr Atal Genhedlaeth is 20 today!

Produced with regular Super Furries collaborator Gorwel Owen at Stiwdio Ofn in Anglesey, it featured 11 songs of sunny psychedelia that breezed by in less than half-hour with the majority of titles based on puns.

The Welsh word for contraceptive is ‘atalganhedlu’, so the album title was a play on words meaning both ‘The Stopped Generation’ and ‘The Stuttering Generation.’

Starting aptly with several seconds of a stuttering keyboard sample on the title track, the record evolved from a collection of demos laid down in 2003. Rhys ended up playing every instrument on the album aside from the trumpet solo on Ambell Waith and a bit of banjo by Gorwel Owen.

Full of madcap humour, the album included Gwn Mi Wn (Yes I Know), which was about two MCs who poured beer on their cornflakes and battled with bows and arrows that shot words. Plus, Pwdin Ŵy 1 & 2 revolved around the tragic love story of a lady called Egg Pudding.

Yr Atal Genhedlaeth closed with a cover of the Welsh standard Chwarea'n Troi'n Chwerw (When Play Turns Sour). Gruff said: “It was a cathartic exercise to cover a song that haunted me through my childhood - changing the odd word here and there to make it sound a bit more psychopathic!”

BBC Wales track-by-track https://bbc.in/3sM8mOt
New York Times interview https://nyti.ms/3c4aDyn

24/01/2025

Show Me the (Golden) Wonder!

Give us your crisp-based Manics puns below!👇🏻

23/01/2025

After 30 years battling cancer, singer Mike Peters of 1980s chart toppers The Alarm aims to finally be free of the disease thanks to NHS new CAR-T therapy.

22/01/2025

It was 20 years today that the best of the Welsh music scene and beyond got together in aid of Tsunami Relief Cardiff.

The seven-hour event was held at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday 22 January 2005 and raised £1.25m in aid of the victims of the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

At the time, it was the biggest charity concert in the UK since LIVE AID in July 1985 with more than 60,000 in attendance and millions more watching worldwide.

Led by stadium manager Paul Sargeant and organised within only three weeks, it sold out in three days. He said: “I would do it in the blink of an eye again. It was the most difficult and easy thing I've ever been involved in organising - difficult because of the timescale, easy because everyone was so willing to help” https://bbc.in/360MHYY

Wrexham band Camera started the show and other Welsh acts featured on the bill included Katherine Jenkins, Charlotte Church, Feeder, Goldie Lookin Chain, Aled Jones, Kelly Jones of Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers.

Elsewhere, there were performances from Embrace, Badly Drawn Boy, Keane, Snow Patrol, Heather Small, Craig David, Lemar, Liberty X and Lulu.

Presented by Fearne Cotton, Edith Bowman and Alex Zane, the event was headlined by Eric Clapton with Jools Holland and his orchestra, who were accompanied by many of the artists featured throughout the day for a finale of Shake, Rattle and Roll.

A 20th anniversary documentary, The Impossible Shows airs tonight (Weds 22 Jan) on BBC1 Wales at 8pm and will be available on catch-up via BBC iPlayer https://bit.ly/40skAgJ

BBC Wales: How “Live Aid II” Was Pulled Off in Weeks https://bit.ly/4jrb6Ld
Western Mail: Huge Charity Concert Almost Didn’t Happen https://bit.ly/4aJZ7ot

Manics https://bit.ly/3qJbdFT
Feeder https://bit.ly/3bXnH8S
Kelly Jones https://bit.ly/39WDQbP / https://bit.ly/4jjMV1z
GLC https://bit.ly/2Y1Lnkl
Katherine Jenkins https://bit.ly/398pnus
Charlotte Church https://bit.ly/2LW9Sgf / https://bit.ly/3iEoJIb

18/01/2025

Super Furry Animals, SFA’s classic single Do or Die is 25 today! https://bit.ly/3CenwWa

Referencing oceans, camels, tornadoes and tomatoes all in under two minutes, it reached No.20 and became the shortest song to ever be performed on Top of the Pops (but it’s still 10 seconds longer than God! Show Me Magic).
🌊🐪🐫🌪🍅

Recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Wiltshire, the song’s title derived from a Mahatma Gandhi speech in 1942.

It was the band’s third and final single off Guerrilla and their last release for Creation Records. The label initially favoured Night Vision before opting for Do or Die as opposed to the band’s choice of Wherever I Lay My Phone (That’s My Home).

Top of the Pops https://bit.ly/3bLtG0e
London Astoria ‘99 https://bit.ly/2LG5ou3
Millennium Stadium ‘99 https://bit.ly/3ijPpxN

11/01/2025

Brilliant news!🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Absolutely over the moon to announce the purchase of 14 High Street by Music Venue Properties

Who are Music Venue Properties? Dubbed The National Trust for Grassroots Music Venues (GMVs), was originally launched in 2022 as a crowdfunded project. To date almost £2.8m has been raised from over 1300 individual investors and funding.

What does this mean for Le Pub?

One of the biggest threats to music venues is private ownership and the challenges that brings such as leases coming to an end, unreasonable rent increases, development of upper storeys into flats….

With a landlord as invested in live music as we are we can now relax and concentrate on what we do best. Bringing you good music and good times.

What does this mean for you? Honestly, not a lot! Nothing will change. BUT you can be safe in the knowledge that Le Pub is a permanent fixture in Newport. The same team will be working away serving your drinks and programming the live music you love.

See you at the bar! 🍻
📸

08/01/2025

Huw Stephens and myself will be selling signed copies of Wales 100 Records and International Velvet at a Vinyl Daze Record Fairs event in Cardiff this Sunday (12 Jan).

We’ll be at St Mary’s Church Hall on Church Road in our hometown of Whitchurch. It’s just £1 admission and there will be thousands of old, new and rare records and CDs on sale from rock and reggae to prog and punk to folk and funk!

Please bring along some cash as not all the sellers have card readers.

See you there!

31/12/2024

Neil Collins Incredibly, it’s 25 years since the millennium, which also means that it’s a quarter-century since the Manic Street Preachers hosted a New Year’s Eve party like no other. Here’s an exclusive extract remembering that momentous night from Neil Collins’ book International Velvet:...

31/12/2024

Our Favourite Music Books of 2024 - Blondie Sum 41 Suzi Ronson The Jesus And Mary Chain John Savage Neil Collins Paloma Faith Jack Jones Tim Booth https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2024/12/30/our-favourite-music-books-of-2024/

23/12/2024

Still just enough time to brave the shops for that one last Christmas present…

Here’s one of Santa’s little helpers spotted at Waterstones Cardiff buying a copy of International Velvet for the man himself!🎅🏻

Next day delivery available if you’re an Amazon Prime member here: https://amzn.to/4084euT

Have an amazing holiday everyone!🎄