It’s almost the end of the month, and so it’s time for this month’s Playlist of the month. As I’ve been busy writing about our holiday in Wales (and I’m not quite finished), I thought I’d focus on pop bands and artists from Wales this time. As per usual, you can listen to the playlist on Spotify.
- “Road Rage” by Catatonia. This song came out when I was 14, and at the time I had a huge crush on a girl who was really into Catatonia. Nowadays, lead singer Cerys Matthews is probably best known for her weekly show on BBC 6 Music.
- “Juxtaposed with U” by Super Furry Animals. Super Furry Animals originally only sang in Welsh, but found success when they started singing in English too. I like this song.
- “If You Tolerate This, Then Your Children Will Be Next” by Manic Street Preachers. The Manics have been going for (checked Wikipedia) 39 years, and yet this was only one of two number one singles for them. The music video was also quite memorable.
- “Dakota” by Stereophonics. I was surprised to find that Stereophonics have released 13 studio albums, since I could probably only name four. I wasn’t a big fan of their JEEP (Just Enough Education to Perform) era but “Dakota” is better.
- “Mercy” by Duffy. Duffy was pretty big in the late 2000s, this being her debut single.
- “Sexbomb” by Tom Jones. You can’t have a list of Welsh singers without Tom Jones, who is still performing well into his 80s. This 1990s remix of Sexbomb with Mousse T is probably my favourite of his, but with 41 (!) studio albums under his belt it’s tough to choose just one.
- “Get The Party Started” by Shirley Bassey. And you can’t have a list of Welsh singers without the great Shirley Bassey either. Three years older than Tom Jones, I’ve included her excellent cover of P!nk’s “Get The Party Started” as it’s exactly what you would expect a Shirley Bassey cover to sound like, in the best possible way.
- “Monster” by The Automatic. I want to like The Automatic more, as this and “Steve McQueen” are amongst my all-time favourite songs. Anyway, here’s what’s coming over the hill.
- “Crazy Chick” by Charlotte Church. Church found fame as a child soprano, singing classical music. As a young adult, she pivoted to pop music in 2005 for an album entitled “Tissues and Issues”. There’s some good songs on there, and Church remains someone who proudly still lives in Wales.
- “Just The Way I’m Feeling” by Feeder. “Just A Day” is my favourite Feeder song, but I’ve already used it in a playlist and so this is my second favourite of their songs. It was from their fourth album, “Comfort in Sound”, which is a bittersweet album recorded following the death of the band’s drummer.
