Man was a Welsh jam-rock band that released twelve albums between 1969 and 1977. On Pye, they made the 1969 psych-rock albums Revelation and 2 Ozs of Plastic With a Hole in the Middle. A revised lineup signed to United Artists for the 1971 albums Man and Do You Like It Here Now, Are You […]
Racing Cars were a Welsh roots rock band that released three albums on Chrysalis between 1976 and 1978: Downtown Tonight, Weekend Rendezvous, and Bring On the Night. They scored a 1977 UK Top 20 hit with the rustic ballad “They Shoot Horses Don’t They?” The band was led by ex-Ancient Grease frontman Gareth “Morty” Mortimer. […]
Eyes of Blue were a Welsh psych-rock-soul band that released two singles as “The Eyes of Blue” on Deram, followed by the 1968/69 Mercury albums Crossroads of Time and In Fields of Ardath. A name-change to Big Sleep produced the 1971 Pegasus release Bluebell Wood. Keyboardist Phil Ryan became an on/off member of Man and its […]
Fay Ray was a Welsh post-punk band that released the album Contact You on WEA in 1982. Members: Sheila McCartney [Sheila Brook] (vocals, guitar), John Lovering (guitar), Owen Hughes (drums), Tony Travis (bass, backing vocals), Jeff Taylor (saxophone, accordion, flute, backing vocals) Hot Water, early singles Fay Ray’s roots trace to the Bangor post-punk combo […]
Quicksand was a Welsh symphonic/hard-rock band that issued a 1970 standalone single and the 1973 Dawn release Home Is Where I Belong. Guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Davies reappeared in the Rockfield one-off Alkatraz. Members: Jimmy Davies (guitar, vocals), Anthony Stone (drums, vocals), Will Youatt (bass, 1969-?), Phil Davies (bass, vocals), Robert Collins (keyboards, vocals) Background Quicksand formed […]
Weekend were a London-based art-pop trio that issued the album La Varieté in 1982 on Rough Trade. The band was led by Welsh bassist/vocalist Alison Statton, who earlier fronted the Cardiff combo Young Marble Giants. Guitarist Simon Booth would subsequently form Working Week. Members: Alison Statton (bass, vocals), Simon Booth (guitar), Spike (guitar, viola) Weekend […]
Alkatraz were a Welsh funk-rock band of the mid-1970s fronted by ex-Quicksand guitarist Jimmy Davies alongside erstwhile Neutrons members. The band’s singular album, Doing a Moonlight, was released in 1976 on Rockfield Records. Members: Jimmy Davies (vocals, guitar), Stuart Halliday (drums), Jeff Singer (bass), Will Youatt (guitar, vocals) Discography: Doing a Moonlight (1976)
Bonnie Tyler (born June 8, 1951) is a Welsh pop/blue-eyed soul vocalist who has been active since the late 1970s. In 1977, she released her debut album The World Starts Tonight, which featured the U.K.-charting ballad “Lost in France.” The following year, “It’s a Heartache” from her sophomore effort Natural Force broke her in the […]
The Alarm are a Welsh anthem-rock band that was initially active for 10 years, starting in 1981. The band debuted with an eponymous EP on I.R.S. in 1983, followed by four albums for that label between 1984 and 1989. Guitarist/vocalist Mike Peters reactivated the nameplate in the 21st century. Members: Mike Peters (lead vocals, guitar), […]
Aquila were a Welsh sax-rock band that issued a self-titled album on RCA Victor in 1970. The band included several players with documented beat and psych backgrounds, most notably guitarist/vocalist Ralph Denyer, who played with Blonde on Blonde on their 1969 album Contrasts. Members: Ralph Denyer (vocals, guitar), Phil Childs (bass, piano), George Lee (flute, […]
Brân were a Welsh art-rock/folk combo that was active during the mid-to-late 1970s. The band debuted with a 1974 EP on their self-press Gwawr, followed by three albums between 1975 and 1978 on Sain. Members: John Gwyn (guitar, vocals), Nest Howells (vocals, keyboards), Gwyndaf Roberts (guitar), Dafydd Meirion (drums, flute), Louis Thomas (bass, guitar), Paul […]
Budgie was a Welsh hard-rock band that released 10 albums between 1971 and 1982 on MCA, A&M, and RCA Victor. The one constant member throughout that time was bassist/vocalist Burke Shelley, who resurrected the nameplate in the 21st century. Members: Burke Shelley (lead vocals, bass), Tony Bourge (guitar, 1967-78), Ray Phillips (drums, 1967-73), Pete Boot […]
Julian Cope (Oct. 21, 1957) is a Welsh vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter who first emerged as the frontman of Liverpudlian NuRo-psychsters The Teardrop Explodes. The band released two albums and assorted shortplayers between 1979 and 1982. Cope launched his solo career with the 1983 EP Sunshine Playroom on Mercury. Four albums would follow between 1984 […]
Gene Loves Jezebel were a Welsh goth-rock band that was originally active during the 1980s and early ’90s. Five albums appeared on Situation Two/Beggars Banquet between 1983 and 1990, three of which were issued stateside on Geffen. The band were led by twin brothers Jay and Michael Aston, who later fell out with one another […]
Andy Fairweather Low (born Aug. 2, 1946) is a Welsh vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter who first emerged as the frontman of late-1960s soul-rockers Amen Corner. After three albums, the band morphed into Fair Weather for two further albums. Between 1974 and 1976, Fairweather Low released three albums to local fanfare on A&M. After a fourth […]
John Cale (born March 9, 1942) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who emerged on the London/New York avant-garde scene during the early 1960s, playing alongside Michael Garrett, John Cage, Tony Conrad, and La Monte Young. He entered rock as the bassist/violist in The Velvet Underground, with whom he recorded two albums: The Velvet Underground […]
Freur were a Welsh synthpop band that was active during the early-to-mid 1980s. The band released two albums on Epic and CBS between 1983 and 1985. Drummer Bryn B. Burrows had earlier played with the Fabulous Poodles. Members: Rick Smith (keyboards, guitar), Karl Hyde (vocals, guitar), Bryn B. Burrows (drums), John Warwicker (synthesizer), Alfie Thomas […]
Lone Star were a Welsh hard-rock band that issued two albums on CBS/Columbia between 1976 and 1977. Members: Pete Hurley (bass), Tony Smith (guitar, 1975-78), Dixie Lee (drums, 1975-78), Rik Worsnop (keyboards, 1975-78), Paul Chapman (guitar, 1975-78), Kenny Driscoll (vocals, 1975-77, 1979), John Sloman (vocals, 1977-78) Discography: Lone Star (1976) Firing on All Six (1977)
Love Sculpture was a Welsh blues-rock powertrio, best known for the songs “In the Land of the Few” and the 1968 instrumental “Sabre Dance.” They released two albums on Parlophone: Blues Helping and Forms and Feelings. Guitarist David Edmunds launched a solo career and later teamed with Nick Lowe in Rockpile. Members: Dave Edmunds (guitar, […]
The Neutrons were a Welsh mid-’70s supergroup that released two albums on United Artists during 1974 and 1975. Members: Phil Ryan (keyboards, vocals), Will Youatt (bass, guitar, vocals), John “Pugwash” Weathers (drums), Martin Wallace (guitar, vocals), Raymond “Taff” Williams (guitar, bass), Stuart Gordon (violin), Caromay Dixon (vocals), Stuart Halliday (drums), Dave Charles (drums) Discography: Black […]
Blonde on Blonde was a Welsh folk-rock/psych band that released the album Contrasts on Pye in 1969, followed by the 1970/71 albums Rebirth and Reflections on a Life on Ember Records. Singer/guitarist Ralph Denyer left after the first album to explore brassier territory with the RCA Victor one-off Aquila. Members: Gareth Johnson (guitar, sitar), Les […]
Roger Glover (born Nov. 30, 1945) is a Welsh bassist, composer, and producer with a musical career that dates back to the mid-1960s. He first emerged as part of the English sunshine-pop band Episode Six, in which he played with vocalist Ian Gillan. The two joined Deep Purple in 1970, completing what would become the […]
Ancient Grease was a Welsh hard-rock/psych band that was active between 1967 and 1970. The band’s singular album, Women and Children First, appeared on Mercury during their final year together. Frontman Gareth “Morty” Mortimer later headed Rhondda funk-rockers Racing Cars for three albums during the late ’70s. Members: Gareth “Morty” Mortimer (vocals), Jack Bass (bass), […]
Apple were a Welsh pop-psych band from Cardiff that was briefly active during the late 1960s. The band debuted as “The Apple” with a 1968 single on Philips, followed by two singles and the album An Apple a Day on Page One in 1969. Members: Denis Regan (vocals), Robbo Ingram (guitar), Jeff Harrod (bass), David […]
Amen Corner was a Welsh soul-pop band that released six singles and the 1968 album Round Amen Corner on Deram, followed by another four singles and the 1969 album Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven on Immediate. Their hits include “High In the Sky” and covers of The American Breed (“Bend Me, Shape Me”), The […]
Deke Leonard — aka Roger Leonard (Dec. 18, 1944 — Jan. 31, 2017) — was a Welsh guitarist and keyboardist from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, who served as an on/off member of Man throughout its existence. During his first break from the group, he released two albums on United Artists in 1973/74 with his backing band Iceberg. […]
Mary Hopkin (born May 3, 1950) is a Welsh folk-pop singer from Pontardawe, Glamorgan, who released two albums and more than 20 singles on Apple Records between 1968 and 1971. After years of limited activity, she re-emerged in soft-rockers Oasis for an album on WEA in 1984. Her third proper solo album, the operatic Spirit, […]
Young Marble Giants were a Welsh bare-pop trio from Caerdydd that released two EPs and the album Colossal Youth on Rough Trade in 1980/81. Singer Alison Statton subsequently formed the sophisti-pop threesome Weekend with later Working Week mainstay Simon Booth. The remainder of YMG morphed into The Gist. Members: Alison Statton (vocals), Stuart Moxham (guitar, […]
Sassafras were a Welsh hard-rock/boogie band from Caerdydd that released the album Expecting Company on Polydor in 1973, followed by two on Chrysalis between 1975 and 1976. The band formed in 1970 and gigged for more than three decades after their brief cluster of recorded activity. One of their concerts from 1978 was issued on […]
Badfinger were a Welsh pop-rock band from Abertawe that released four albums on Apple Records between 1970 and 1973, followed by a pair of titles on Warner Bros. in 1974. After a period of inactivity, the band reconvened for a seventh album on Elektra and an eighth on Radio Records between 1979 and 1981. Prior […]
The Ghoulies was an avant-jazz/rock project assembled by Welsh musician Charlie Summers with an assortment of U.K. musicians, including Hatfield and the North/National Health alumni Dave Stewart and Pip Pyle. The project yielded the album Dogged by Dogma, released on Summers’ Lounging Records label in 1982. Members: Charlie Summers (guitar, vocals, flageolet, organ), Dave Stewart […]
