Whatever Happened To Cool Cymru? (Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, Feeder, Stereophonics Feature)
Tuesday, 01 March 2011
Written by Dave Ball
With it being St David’s day today and local radio playing anything and everything they can find by Welsh bands, it reminded me of the term ‘Cool Cymru’ that was thrown around a lot around the mid 90’s and got me wondering what ever happened to that whole scene?
If you were around for the Britpop ‘revolution’ which began in the early 90’s you’ll probably remember this phenomenon. With Labour moving into government and pushing hard on the ‘cool’ factor, they cited the likes of Oasis and Blur as being part of a ‘Cool Britannia’ movement. Never ones to like the idea that the English have something we in Wales don’t, some bright spark came up with the phrase ‘Cool Cymru’ (imaginative eh?) to label the surge in Welsh bands at that time.
The catalyst for this seemed to be the Manic Street Preachers. Having had some success with their earlier, punky efforts such as ‘Generation Terrorist’ and ‘The Holy Bible’, the Manics really took off after tragedy struck. In February of 2005, controversial guitarist Richie Edwards’ car was found at the Severn Bridge. His body has never been found and he is now presumed deceased. Missing their main songwriter and leader the Manics finished the album he had begun writing and in 1996 released ‘Everything Must Go’. Suddenly Manic Street Preachers became commercially relevant.
Led by the anthemic single ‘A Design For Life’, the Blackwood band were launched into the mainstream because of their music rather than their actions (Richie once carved ‘4REAL’ into his arm with a razor onstage). The follow-up, ‘This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours’, scored the band their first #1 album just two years later.
Elsewhere the likes of Catatonia , Stereophonics and Super Furry Animals also waved the Welsh flag proudly. Stereophonics lead singer and lyricist Kelly Jones told tales of growing up in the small, former coal mining village of Cwmaman on the first two albums (97’s ‘Word Gets Around’ and 99’s ‘Performance & Cocktails’) with his husky, heavily accented voice giving the songs a distinct Welsh feel.
Catatonia and the Furries both released Welsh language songs, although Catatonia’s only officially listed Welsh release was the title track from 1998’s triple platinum selling ‘International Velvet’. The English chorus of ‘Every day when I wake up, I thank the Lord I’m Welsh’ immediately becoming an anthem. Gruff Rhys and his Super Furry Animals went a step further. After releasing the pop heavy ‘Guerilla’ in 1999 they followed up with an album entirely yn Gymraeg (in Welsh) as a ‘pop protest’ with 2000’s ‘Mwng’ which was lauded critically. In fact, ‘Mwng’ even got a mention in the House of Commons when Elfyn Llwyd, described the album as a celebration of a "new wave of confidence in the Welsh nation”.
Newport-formed Feeder were also bothering the charts around this time with 1999’s ‘Yesterday Went Too Soon’ well received by critics and reaching #8 in the UK Album Charts. Mainstream success followed with 2001’s ‘Echo Park’ which spawned the top ten single ‘Buck Rogers’ where Grant Nicholas sang about 'drinking cider from a lemon’ leading to many a student attempting the feat.
All this sounds like it was a roaring success and it was, to an extent. None of these bands really ever got much attention outside of the UK. There was the odd hit single but like a lot of the Britpop scene the music just didn’t seem to translate well anywhere else, especially in America.
However a second wave of bands coming out of Wales over the last few years appears to be changing all that. Leading the charge are a band who were formed bang in the middle of ‘Cool Cymru’ and they aren’t just going after the UK, they’re gaining fans all over the World.
Formed in 1997 in Pontypridd, Lostprophets have only released four studio albums, the latest being 2010’s ‘The Betrayed’ and they’ve not only sold well in the UK, they’ve also achieved significant sales in the North American and Asian markets where they’ve built solid fan support with their pop leaning rock style which has also earned them several Kerrang awards.
With the likes of Funeral For A Friend and Bullet For My Valentine following on in the mid 00’s and, more recently The Blackout and Kids In Glass Houses, a new wave of Welsh guitar bands is making it’s mark again, as it did 15 years ago. Once again there’s a similar style among them but this time it’s leaning towards a heavier, ‘nu-metal’ type feel for it.
As for what’s left of ‘Cool Cymru’, most are still going strong although I expect most still cringe when asked about being part of ‘Cool Cymru’. The Manics latest album ‘Postcards From A Young Man’ has sold well, Stereophonics are still churning out albums, although many would tell you they haven’t been the same since the late Stuart Cable left in 2003. Feeder released ‘Renegades’ last year as well as embarking on a successful tour, while Gruff Rhys has taken a break from the Furries and is currently promoting his solo album ‘Hotel Shampoo’. Cerys Matthews has moved towards folkier music since Catatonia split in 2001.
So, what happened to ‘Cool Cymru’? Well, like most phases it came and went but the influence has lasted and we’re still punching above our weight with the quality coming from our small Principality. Now to go and think up a ‘cool’ name for it all...
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The catalyst for this seemed to be the Manic Street Preachers. Having had some success with their earlier, punky efforts such as ‘Generation Terrorist’ and ‘The Holy Bible’, the Manics really took off after tragedy struck. In February of 2005, controversial guitarist Richie Edwards’ car was found at the Severn Bridge. His body has never been found and he is now presumed deceased. Missing their main songwriter and leader the Manics finished the album he had begun writing and in 1996 released ‘Everything Must Go’. Suddenly Manic Street Preachers became commercially relevant.
