Book Review – 'Wales: 100 Records'
A captivating exploration of the music that shaped a nation's identity, curated by one of its most passionate voices.
Welsh radio and television presenter Huw Stephens has captured not only Wales 100 Records, he’s done so throughout multiple genres that defy conventional description. It’s to his credit, that he went deep and wide for an appreciative narrative that illustrates the cultural and historical contexts of Welsh music.
Huw Stephens. Credit: Two Cats in the Backyard Photography
Stephens – currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, and BBC Radio 6 Music – is a staunch supporter and torch carrier for the Welsh music scene. Having said that, he acknowledges with no hint of irony that the records listed may not be familiar to those outside Wales or may be over-familiar or in extreme cases, may not satisfy everyone in the world. Anyway, as with any ‘best of’ or ‘top 100’ lists, the reasoning, and inclusions are purely contained within the writer’s purview and depth of knowledge of said subject. Both, by the way, Stephens has in aces.
I couldn’t begin to list every one of Stephens’ choices. Each entry is given an extensive and expository explanation (and beautifully designed), not merely to educate but to give the reader insight into what the Welsh have offered in recorded musical form for the past hundred years, give or take. So, here are a few selections that might get you interested in what Stephens’ book has to offer.
Without further delay, I hear the masses exclaim:
“Stop faffing about and get on with it!”
Kelly Lee Owens may not be one of those familiar names, but John Cale? That’s a name, with a capital N. Owens has carved out a rich career in what can be termed as electronic music. With the 2020 release of Inner Song, Stephens has correctly locked onto the single “Corner Of My Sky (ft. John Cale)” as a true ear-opener with Cale burrowing dark and deep with his trademark growl and surprisingly, ends up singing in Welsh alongside Owens's warm vocal accompaniment. The video (starring Welsh actor Michael Sheen) is as surreal as an M. Night Shyamalan film.
Kelly Lee Owens - Corner Of My Sky ft. John Cale (Official Video)/℗© Concord Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group/YouTube
Adwaith (‘Reaction’) are part of the newest string of Welsh musicians who make it their lovely business to sing entirely in Welsh. Their 2018 debut Melyn (Yellow) was the winner of the Welsh Music Prize (which the group received again for 2022’s Bato Mato).
The trio – Hollie Singer (vocals, guitar), Gwenllian Anthony (bass, keys, mandolin) and Heledd Owen (drums) – have opened up a fresh and gender-smashing perspective on what it means to be an all-female group. While it might be helpful if you’re a fan of the U.S. band boygenius, Stephens reckons that “[Adwaith] are the embodiment of how far the Welsh-language scene has come – or maybe more correctly, how the world now views bands singing in Welsh.”
Adwaith - Fei I Fod/℗©Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony, Heledd Owen/YouTube
Young Marble Giants, as Stephens writes, “only made music for a few years, and released so little, yet their cultural influence has been far-reaching and nothing short of astonishing.” Revolving around brothers Philip (bass) and Stuart (guitar, organ) Moxham and the cool, fragile vocals of Alison Statton, the trio recorded one album, 1980’s Colossal Youth, two EPs and a John Peel session. Yet their brand of minimalist instrumentation and straightforward lyrics had an enormous influence into the future when Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain name-checked them in a 1992 Melody Maker interview.
Young Marble Giants – Colossal Youth/℗© Universal Music Publishing Group/YouTube
Gwenno is another of the newer generation of Welsh artists who initially left Wales for brighter horizons and found a path back to her roots. At 17, she danced her way around Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance and then as a vocalist with the Pipettes. Realizing she had more to offer in her homeland, she returned and with Stephens noting at the top “If Gwenno had quit music before releasing her debut solo album in 2014, she would still have achieved more than most.”
The album is a conceptual work drawing inspiration from the sci-fi novel Y Dydd Olaf by Owain Owain. The novel tells a tale of a robot takeover where humanity is subjugated. Amidst the dystopia, one man finds a way to preserve knowledge for future generations by writing in Welsh, a language the robot overlords cannot comprehend.
Gwenno – Y Dydd Olaf/℗© Heavenly Recordings under exclusive license to [PIAS]/YouTube
Mary Hopkin, with her purity of delivery, was and is more than a voice that made its way to Apple Records and Paul McCartney. Before all that, Hopkin was a slip of a voice from Pontardawe when British model Twiggy discovered her after Hopkin’s win in 1968 on ITV’s Opportunity Knocks. During this brief window, Hopkin had released a four-song EP Llais Swynol Mary Hopkin (‘The Magical Voice of Mary Hopkin’) containing a Welsh translation of the Bee Gees’ “Morning of My Life.” In the years since then, Hopkin maintains a moderate presence on social media, yet as Stephens makes mention, “As the closing words on the back of the sleeve of this EP note, some people are born to sing. Mary Hopkin is such a person.”
Mary Hopkin – Yn Y Bore/℗© Music Sales Corporation, Universal Music Publishing Group/YouTube
Paul Robeson’s deeply rich bass-baritone is instantly recognizable, but you may be wondering about the New Jersey native and his connection to Wales. His multi-tiered background – son of a former slave, law graduate of Rutgers University, an actor and singer in theater and film – led him across the world to face and stare down the injustices of human suffering and oppression.
Robeson had traveled to London in 1928. As recounted by Stephens, “After performing in the West End musical Showboat one evening, Robeson heard a choir of men singing on the streets. They were from the Rhondda valleys, down in London to march and protest at the hardship caused by mines closing and the poverty their families were living in. Intrigued, he joined them, sharing that famous voice of his.”
Caught up in the middle of McCarthyism due to his activism, the U.S. State Department revoked his passport in 1950. When Robeson was stranded, unable to travel, the ‘Let Paul Robeson Sing!’ campaign began in earnest, as Robeson and family were in New York City and miners, families and the Treorchy Male Voice Choir were in Porthcawl at the Eisteddfod, connected by telephone across the Atlantic. The resulting collaboration became 1957’s Transatlantic Exchange, which was released on behalf of the National Union of Miners, with proceeds going to the cause.
Paul Robeson ft. The Treorchy Male Voice Choir – Y Deln Aur (The Golden Harp)/℗© Folk Era Records/YouTube
Amen Corner may not be on your radar as a band, but in early 1969 they were on top of the U.K. charts with “If Paradise Is Half As Nice,” accompanied by a Beatlemania-like following, rabid fans and all. An anomaly among the teenybopper crowd, the seven-piece outfit – vocalist Andy Fairweather-Low, guitarist Neil Jones, bassist Clive Taylor, saxophonists Allan Jones and Mike Smith, drummer Dennis Bryon and keyboardist Blue Weaver – were the first Welsh band to achieve chart success (with help from producer Shel Talmy). Amusingly as Stephens notes, “They were a phenomenon, riding on the coattails of The Beatles – a handsome, young and talented band who seemed to be up for a good time and were taking this new-found fame in their stride.”
While the group were together a short three years, several members achieved greater success after the break-up, most notably Fairweather-Low who went on to work with Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Roger Waters. Bryon and Weaver jumped into the revived Bee Gees disco era and Allan Jones managed glam metal band L.A. Guns from 1986-1991.
Amen Corner – If Paradise Is Half As Nice (1969)/℗©Lucio Battisti, Jack Fishman/YouTube
Stephens has numerous, helpful lists at the end, including notable record shops, geographic pinpoints of the artists covered, and a ‘Further Reading’ compilation.
Wales 100 Records is published in Wales by Y Lolfa and can be ordered here and from Amazon. Signed copies by Huw Stephens are currently available at Heavenly Recordings Bandcamp site here.
Thank you for this. The book looks great and love the music you’ve shared.
Familiar with Andy Fairwether-Low, Mary Hopkins, and Young Marble Giants. Everything else is new to me. Thanks for uncovering some new music for us all to explore.