0:00:04 > 0:00:07The 1990s was a golden age of rock for Wales,
0:00:07 > 0:00:12when the likes of Catatonia, Stereophonics and the Manics
0:00:12 > 0:00:16rose from obscurity to become the pride of the nation.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19It was ambition that got them there.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21The thing is, just to get things moving
0:00:21 > 0:00:24is to get things changed in Wales.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Get that cultural landscape changed.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32The people of Japan wanted to know everything about the Welsh bands
0:00:32 > 0:00:35and these things were happening because the music was travelling.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Even though we were saying, Thank The Lord I'm Welsh,
0:00:39 > 0:00:40it was almost more universal than that.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43When we'd play in Leeds and Birmingham and Glasgow,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46people would sing along with, it as well.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50This is the story of the stars of Cool Cymru,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54who inspired a generation in their drive to conquer the world.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06In the '90s, the Manic Street Preachers scored a worldwide hit
0:01:06 > 0:01:10with If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Their songs put Wales on the map.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16It was a success few would have imagined for a band who grew up in
0:01:16 > 0:01:19the aftermath of the miners' strike.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21# And if you tolerate this
0:01:21 > 0:01:25# Then, your children will be next... #
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Yet they were a part of a new generation of musicians,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31fired by ambition and raw talent,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34who would transform the self-esteem of the nation.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The Manic Street Preachers came from Blackwood in the valleys.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44Cousins Sean Moore and James Dean Bradfield composed the music,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48while Nicky Wire and Richey Edwards wrote the lyrics to their songs.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53# Motown junk... #
0:01:53 > 0:01:56We wanted to escape our lives and be more glamorous.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58We were incredibly angry.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01We had so much energy and we thought,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05mixed with some little bit of intellect, as well,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08that we, yeah, we were really passionate.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11It was the classic notion of us against the world.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire
0:02:15 > 0:02:17studied politics at Swansea University,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21before the band won a major record deal with Columbia.
0:02:21 > 0:02:28The Manics' first album, Generation Terrorists, took Britain by storm.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30# We're gonna burn your deathmask uniforms... #
0:02:30 > 0:02:34They were inspired by the international avant-garde movement,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36the Situationists.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Situationism was massively important.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42The idea that there's a secret history out there
0:02:42 > 0:02:44that things lead you on a path
0:02:44 > 0:02:49to a different reality. That was our fight, really,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51that there was such a glorious world
0:02:51 > 0:02:54of music and culture and connections.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Just the idea that music could be so much more than singing about love.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02# You love us. Oh, you love us... #
0:03:02 > 0:03:04In Blackwood, like everywhere,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08the glamour of Richey and Nicky both challenged and inspired.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13The glamour side, and for me in particular, androgyny,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15it just felt really comfortable.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19And it just felt, after the greyness at times of growing up during
0:03:19 > 0:03:24the '80s, we wanted to be larger than life in the way we looked.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27So, we did really look like aliens.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31And we enjoyed that, you know. We enjoyed that otherness.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33We definitely enjoyed that.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36In the early '90s,
0:03:36 > 0:03:41the Manics were attracting a cult following from all parts of Wales.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Bethan Elfyn grew up in Newtown, Powys.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46She went on to be a Radio 1 DJ.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51The first time I saw them was around '92 and it was just this incredible,
0:03:51 > 0:03:57huge room with hundreds of people, wearing their fur coats.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00And that gig, I'll never forget,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04I'd borrowed my grandmother's fur coat to go down.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Thankfully, I didn't have to give it back.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14I loved the glam and I think I was really interested in breaking rules,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17breaking boundaries, but in the same way,
0:04:17 > 0:04:22it was about kind of respecting the difference and respecting something
0:04:22 > 0:04:26really other and, "I'm not going to conform to society,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29"I'm going to do my own thing."
0:04:34 > 0:04:37For over 20 years, the growth of bands that sang in Welsh,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41like Y Cyrff, were celebrated by those involved in battling
0:04:41 > 0:04:42to save the language.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47Anhrefn from Bangor were passionate advocates who blazed a trail across
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Europe with their Welsh-only gigs.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Bassist Rhys Mwyn also put his energy into managing
0:04:59 > 0:05:01a new bilingual band,
0:05:01 > 0:05:06formed by Y Cyrff's Mark Roberts and Cerys Matthews - Catatonia.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08# O'are seddau gwag
0:05:09 > 0:05:12# Daw'are lleni I fynu byth eto
0:05:15 > 0:05:18# Yn araf deg... #
0:05:18 > 0:05:20It was the magnetic charisma of Cerys that caught
0:05:20 > 0:05:22the manager's attention.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Cerys, I think, was the first time that a Welsh-language band,
0:05:25 > 0:05:30or partly Welsh-language band, had that glamour.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32It was transient pop.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33It was sexy and disposable,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37it was all those things that Richard Hamilton talked about, you know,
0:05:37 > 0:05:38with pop-art culture.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42And Catatonia went tick, tick, tick. It's all those things.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Absolutely pop.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Just so cool.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51# Take a little while before you speak out... #
0:05:51 > 0:05:56Catatonia and Cerys is probably
0:05:56 > 0:05:59the first time that you have that
0:05:59 > 0:06:07absolute glamour and swagger, hand-in-hand with Welsh culture.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11# Now his intentions unfold. They're not what they seem... #
0:06:18 > 0:06:21But as Catatonia started to become successful,
0:06:21 > 0:06:23many in the Welsh language movement
0:06:23 > 0:06:28were disappointed the band's new songs were in English only.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30I never saw the transition,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34swapping to predominantly English-language songs,
0:06:34 > 0:06:35as selling out.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38They'd made their decision That's where they were going to go.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42The effect it has on the Welsh language scene is different,
0:06:42 > 0:06:48cos it now suggests to everybody - success equals singing in English.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53# Cos we ain't got school in the morning... #
0:06:53 > 0:06:57The Ankst record label caused further controversy when it started
0:06:57 > 0:07:01releasing bilingual songs by its artists.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Emyr Glyn Williams was the co-founder of Ankst Records,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09based in Penygroes, Caernarfon.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14At the very beginning, I would say Ankst were almost
0:07:14 > 0:07:16totally exclusively a Welsh language record label.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20We didn't have to reckon with this question of bilingualism
0:07:20 > 0:07:23or English until the early '90s,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27when a new generation of bands and individuals came up.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31So, basically, young groups like Gorky's Zygotic Mynci were naturally
0:07:31 > 0:07:35bilingual and if we were going to work with them,
0:07:35 > 0:07:40it was going to have to be on their terms, not our terms.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46# She dried her eyes and cried La-la-la-la-la-la... #
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Gorky's Zygotic Mynci,
0:07:48 > 0:07:53from Carmarthen, included Euros Childs and his sister, Megan.
0:07:53 > 0:07:59Many of their songs were in English or Welsh, or a mixture of the two.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02The thing about music is that it connects with people and I would say
0:08:02 > 0:08:07the one band that did that most out of all the Ankst bands we worked
0:08:07 > 0:08:11with was Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and they did it without fanfare.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15They found their audience the minute they started releasing records.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18They were incredibly talented. An exquisite group, in fact.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22# Scattered across the floor... #
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Ankst was one of hundreds of independent record labels
0:08:28 > 0:08:30fighting hard for its artists.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Emyr Glyn Williams made this video to promote the Gorkys' album,
0:08:36 > 0:08:37Bwyd Time.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44Success for him was a hit in the UK indie charts.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49When the Gorkys hit number one, with their Bwyd Time, it was almost,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53the feeling I had was, like, well, that we deserved it.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I just thought, "We're a successful record company now,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59"more people are buying this record in all the indie stores in Britain
0:08:59 > 0:09:01"than any other record by any other label."
0:09:01 > 0:09:03So, you know,
0:09:03 > 0:09:04all that hard work does pay off
0:09:04 > 0:09:08and it stayed number one for a long time.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Whether a small indie or an American giant,
0:09:19 > 0:09:24record labels were keen to promote their artists around the world.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Every country was a market for selling music,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28as increasingly in the '90s,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30differences in language ceased to be a problem.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Ambitious bands from Wales suddenly found themselves idolised in far-off
0:09:36 > 0:09:39lands, singing in English or Welsh.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43The Japan thing was particularly interesting with the Welsh bands,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47because the people of Japan wanted to know everything
0:09:47 > 0:09:48about the culture,
0:09:48 > 0:09:53and they learned the language. There was suddenly an interest in Welsh.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57It was really interesting that these things were happening
0:09:57 > 0:09:59because the music was travelling.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07The Gorkys in particular had a cult and passionate following, due to the
0:10:07 > 0:10:12psychedelic nature of their music and I was just incredibly proud
0:10:12 > 0:10:16of a band doing that from Carmarthen to the world.
0:10:16 > 0:10:24# If fingers were xylophones
0:10:24 > 0:10:30# Then, I could play a tune on your fingers... #
0:10:32 > 0:10:36The Manic Street Preachers became hugely popular in the Far East.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39In Japan, particularly,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43they found a strong link with one of their most endearing anthems of the
0:10:43 > 0:10:47early 1990s, Motorcycle Emptiness.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50# Culture sucks down words
0:10:51 > 0:10:53# Itemise loathing and feed yourself smiles... #
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Motorcycle Emptiness was that,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04sort of, broad-sweep, cinematic loneliness.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08And it felt like that mixture of the melancholia of Wales,
0:11:08 > 0:11:13that sort of being drenched in the rain, feeling alone,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16but in a comfortable kind of way.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20And there was a kind of emotional connection with Japan, in terms of
0:11:20 > 0:11:27the sad, melancholy, the neon loneliness of the lyrics.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29It just seemed to translate,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32and when we got to Japan and just, sort of,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35walked the streets in the rain, nothing felt more fitting than
0:11:35 > 0:11:38hearing Motorcycle Emptiness on the radio,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40which you did, everywhere you went.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45# Motorcycle emptiness
0:11:45 > 0:11:48# Under neon loneliness
0:11:48 > 0:11:53# Motorcycle emptiness... #
0:11:59 > 0:12:07# Feels like I'm standing in a timeless dream... #
0:12:07 > 0:12:09In 1996,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Donna Lewis from Cardiff conquered America with a ballad she wrote in
0:12:13 > 0:12:17a day, I Love You Always Forever.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23It became one of the most popular songs ever charted,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27reaching over 100 million airplays on American radio.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Donna's success story began when she sent out demos of her song
0:12:33 > 0:12:36to record companies in the UK.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Then, to her surprise, months later,
0:12:41 > 0:12:46she was told Atlantic Records in New York were trying to contact her.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49I mean, it was so surreal.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53I'd been doing the piano bars for years, trying to get a record deal,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56and suddenly, somebody from Atlantic calls. I thought,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58"Is this for real?"
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I mean, it was like a fairytale.
0:13:01 > 0:13:07So they flew me over and I had to perform I Love You Always Forever
0:13:07 > 0:13:11in Doug Morris' office, who was the head of Atlantic at that time.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14And I'm thinking, "Well, this is where I've got to
0:13:14 > 0:13:15"pull myself together!"
0:13:15 > 0:13:19So I sang two songs and, you know, at the end, he said,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22"Congratulations, we'd like to offer you a record deal."
0:13:22 > 0:13:25# I love you always forever
0:13:25 > 0:13:28# Near and far, closer together
0:13:28 > 0:13:32# Everywhere I will be with you... #
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Donna was a seasoned musician, with a degree at the Royal Welsh College
0:13:35 > 0:13:40of Music and Drama. She perfected her voice and songwriting skills,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42working piano bars across Europe.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47But inspiration for her hit came in a rush.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51I had the intro and I remember, when I wrote the chorus I Love You Always
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Forever, I actually thought to myself, "Oh, my God,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57"that's such a nursery rhyme.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59"I can't... I've got to change that.
0:13:59 > 0:14:00"It's not cool." You know?
0:14:00 > 0:14:04And then... And then, it just didn't work any other way,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06so I kept it like that.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08And, lyrically, I was inspired...
0:14:08 > 0:14:12I was reading a bunch of HE Bates novels at the time and I was reading
0:14:12 > 0:14:16For The Love Of Lydia and so I was inspired just to write
0:14:16 > 0:14:17like a love song.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Donna's hit came from her first album,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28aptly titled with a Welsh phrase - Now, In A Minute.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32But it was her ethereal chug-along ballad that Americans
0:14:32 > 0:14:33loved to hear on the radio.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40And then suddenly, Donna Lewis from Cardiff found herself on prime-time
0:14:40 > 0:14:41American TV.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43What number is it now?
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Well, I think it is still number one on the airplay chart.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Our next guest has taken the music world by storm with her new CD,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Now, In A Minute. Here to perform her hit single, I Love You Always
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Forever, please welcome Donna Lewis!
0:14:55 > 0:14:59That was daunting and I was nervous, of course,
0:14:59 > 0:15:00because I had to sing the song.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04They loved hearing me speak and, you know, they'd say,
0:15:04 > 0:15:05"Where are you from?"
0:15:05 > 0:15:09And I'd say "Wales" and often they'd go... "So, where is that?"
0:15:09 > 0:15:13So, it was fun, you know, the great thing about Rosie O'Donnell, I mean,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16she knew I was from Wales and I think she asked me,
0:15:16 > 0:15:18"Can I say something in Welsh?"
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Sut ydych chi heddiw?
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Sut ydych chi heddiw?
0:15:22 > 0:15:23She said, "What the hell is that?"
0:15:23 > 0:15:25- You know, it was...- So...
0:15:25 > 0:15:29And I taught her a little bit of Welsh, so it was good to do that.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33It was an amazing time.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I mean, I think for anybody that's been doing music for a long time,
0:15:37 > 0:15:42trying to get success and, suddenly, you have this song and this record
0:15:42 > 0:15:46that is top of the charts all over the world, you know.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51We just toured everywhere and everybody knew the song.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53It was amazing.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56And I had so many more things I wanted to do in music,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59so it was brilliant, because it gave me the opportunity
0:15:59 > 0:16:00to do those things.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Donna Lewis followed up her success
0:16:07 > 0:16:10in America with a top-five hit in Britain.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Meanwhile, something was stirring in the valleys again.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Three friends from Cwmaman were gearing up to sign a major recording
0:16:23 > 0:16:26contract for their band, the Stereophonics.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35# I get camping eyes in the final hour
0:16:35 > 0:16:39# Last minute shoppers picking cauliflower
0:16:39 > 0:16:43# The fuss they make, you'd swear they were buying a car... #
0:16:43 > 0:16:48In May 1996, the music business was embroiled in a bidding war before
0:16:48 > 0:16:52millionaire Richard Branson won the day for his new label, V2.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55It was a perfect launch for a band
0:16:55 > 0:16:58with great songs, played with passion.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09# There's no mistake, I smell that smell
0:17:09 > 0:17:13# It's that time of year again
0:17:13 > 0:17:18# I can taste the air... #
0:17:18 > 0:17:22The Stereophonics were not alone in attracting the attention
0:17:22 > 0:17:24of big London-based labels.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Warner Brothers snapped up Catatonia.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29This meant changes for the band,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31like the signing of guitarist Owen Powell.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34It was a dream come true for me because they were a signed band.
0:17:34 > 0:17:35They had a record deal,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38and they were a really good band and I really liked them.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I really liked what they did and I'd seen some
0:17:41 > 0:17:44of the first gigs that Catatonia ever did
0:17:44 > 0:17:46and been a huge fan of theirs from day one.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53More bilingual bands made the move to bigger labels.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57The Super Furry Animals joined Creation Records and soon found
0:17:57 > 0:17:59themselves on network TV.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10And despite their success with Ankst, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
0:18:10 > 0:18:12signed to Fontana.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29The Manic Street Preachers' third album, The Holy Bible,
0:18:29 > 0:18:30received critical acclaim.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37But it covered a dark period in the band's personal lives,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41that culminated with the disappearance of lyricist
0:18:41 > 0:18:46Richey Edwards. His abandoned car was found at the Severn Bridge.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50The likely suicide left the three remaining musicians
0:18:50 > 0:18:51in the bleakest of times.
0:18:51 > 0:18:57Then, Nicky Wire wrote the lyrics to a song he called A Design For Life.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11I think that's the song that saved the band, really.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Because it felt like one of the best songs we'd ever written.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17It did actually feel like a natural force.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22We'd had such an odd career already, where we'd been up like that
0:19:22 > 0:19:26and then, Holy Bible was a critical hit, but hadn't sold anything.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29So we'd already experienced massive highs and lows.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32But with Design For Life, we just felt it's now or never.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42The song was a massive hit and a huge boost to the band's popularity
0:19:42 > 0:19:44in Britain and abroad.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58Then, in February 1997, the album it came from, Everything Must Go,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01was voted Best Album at the Brit Awards.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Winning the Brits, especially with Everything Must Go,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12it did really feel at that point that it was just such a brilliant
0:20:12 > 0:20:14atmosphere for Welsh music.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18At that point, just rediscovering my inner self and my inner core,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21really, and the things that I felt had made me.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24So I put the Welsh flag round my shoulder, just because
0:20:24 > 0:20:26those things just became really important to me,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28you know. In a simple way,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32just having a flag on the amp at the Brit Awards
0:20:32 > 0:20:35just was nailing that home, really.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41By June 1998, with sales of their debut album going platinum,
0:20:41 > 0:20:46the Stereophonics were playing to over 20,000 fans at Cardiff Castle
0:20:46 > 0:20:48and Welsh pride was soaring.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53This next song is dedicated to Catatonia, Super Furry Animals,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Manic Street Preachers,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57the cast from Twin Town, Pobol y Cwm,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01anybody that's doing anything for Wales, because it's about time.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02CHEERING
0:21:05 > 0:21:08# Get camping eyes in the final hour... #
0:21:10 > 0:21:13The surge in Welsh bands hitting the mainstream at the same time
0:21:13 > 0:21:16was unprecedented.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20It wasn't long before the media coined a phrase for it, Cool Cymru.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23# Cheaper still down the street... #
0:21:23 > 0:21:26You know, when you look at all this period,
0:21:26 > 0:21:32the obvious thing is Cymru became cool and Cool Cymru is far better
0:21:32 > 0:21:37than what we were before, which was uncool Cymru.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41So we flipped the whole cultural language.
0:21:41 > 0:21:49It's now cool. It gives Wales a confidence and a sense of being,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51and unites people.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55# Surrounded by the stock he bought last week... #
0:21:55 > 0:21:59For me, I actually thought it was a great thing because these bands have
0:21:59 > 0:22:03got huge anthems and everybody's belting it out in the crowd
0:22:03 > 0:22:07and it's something that I think Welsh people want to have
0:22:07 > 0:22:11that experience. It's the expression of being part of something.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16# More life in a tramp's vest Ba-ba-ba-ba. #
0:22:16 > 0:22:18CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Catatonia achieved the success they craved when their second album,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31International Velvet, reached number one in May 1998.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35It catapulted the band and Cerys Matthews to stardom.
0:22:35 > 0:22:41# It's all over the front page You give me road rage
0:22:41 > 0:22:43# Racing through the best days
0:22:43 > 0:22:48# It's up to you, boy You're driving me crazy... #
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Spent an awful lot of the time in the studio
0:22:50 > 0:22:52making International Velvet,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56and then, as it gradually went up the charts and got to number one,
0:22:56 > 0:23:00it did feel like everything changed, but at the same time,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03everything was the same, because we were still the same people.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05There were a lot more people at the concerts,
0:23:05 > 0:23:06which is really gratifying,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09because that's what you get into it for.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11It's to know that people are buying your records
0:23:11 > 0:23:12and coming to the shows.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15And singing all the words to your songs. That was a new one for us.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20# You should be making it easy on yourself... #
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Catatonia played before 20,000 adoring fans at Margam Park,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Port Talbot, in May 1999.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31# Racing through the best days
0:23:31 > 0:23:34# It's up to you, boy
0:23:34 > 0:23:36# You're driving me crazy... #
0:23:38 > 0:23:41But though their records were hardly bilingual any more,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45the band did not forget its roots and wrote the title track
0:23:45 > 0:23:49to International Velvet in Welsh and English.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53It became one of Catatonia's most endearing anthems
0:23:53 > 0:23:55in Wales and beyond.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03- CROWD:- # Every day when I wake up
0:24:05 > 0:24:09# I thank the Lord I'm Welsh... #
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Mark Roberts came up with the line,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16"Every day when I wake up, I thank the Lord I'm Welsh",
0:24:16 > 0:24:21but then thought it would be a really nice...really nice trick
0:24:21 > 0:24:27to sort of have the verses which are in Welsh being...
0:24:27 > 0:24:29not critical of the Welsh language but saying,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31"What a sleepy little nation we are.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35You know, the first line, I think is, "Deffrwch Cymru cysglyd,"
0:24:35 > 0:24:36"gwlad y gan."
0:24:36 > 0:24:38"Wake up little Wales, land of song."
0:24:38 > 0:24:42And so the verses are, sort of, poking fun at ourselves, saying,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44"Look how backwards in coming forwards we are.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47"How slow, how old-fashioned."
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And then, you've got that nice contrast of singing,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53"Every day when I wake up, I thank the Lord I'm Welsh."
0:24:54 > 0:24:56So, I thought that was quite a nice little trick.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00It's light-hearted and it's quite funny, as well.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07It soon took off. Welsh people loved it and then what became a real
0:25:07 > 0:25:12surprise was that when we'd play in Leeds and Birmingham and Glasgow,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14people would sing along with it, as well.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16So, it's almost as if, even though we were saying,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20"Thank the Lord I'm Welsh," it was almost more universal than that.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21CROWD SINGS
0:25:21 > 0:25:28- # La-la-la-la... - Every day when I wake up...#
0:25:28 > 0:25:33I think we did go out of our way to make a point about our Welshness.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35We are capable of doing lots of things.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37We are capable of being a great country,
0:25:37 > 0:25:43so with a bit more self-confidence, we could do something really good,
0:25:43 > 0:25:44something really great.
0:25:44 > 0:25:59# Thank the Lord I'm Welsh. #
0:26:01 > 0:26:03All right, Cardiff!
0:26:06 > 0:26:11We are Manic Street Preachers! You Stole The Sun From My Heart!
0:26:11 > 0:26:13On the last night of the '90s,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17the Manic Street Preachers staged the biggest concert in Wales,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20at the Millennium Stadium.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23While 66,000 fans packed the Manic Millennium,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27the event was broadcast around the world.
0:26:34 > 0:26:40# Drinking water to stay thin
0:26:41 > 0:26:44# Or is it to purify?
0:26:44 > 0:26:47# I love you all the same... #
0:26:47 > 0:26:49The Manics hit worldwide success with their album,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55It sold over three million copies,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58a remarkable achievement for a band
0:26:58 > 0:27:00from a mining community in the valleys.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03# I love you all the same
0:27:06 > 0:27:12# But you stole the sun from my heart
0:27:14 > 0:27:18# You stole the sun from my heart... #
0:27:18 > 0:27:21This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours is undoubtedly, lyrically,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23our most Welsh album.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26You know, the title comes from an Aneurin Bevan speech that he made
0:27:26 > 0:27:29in the open air in Tredegar.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32It translated a lot of ideas that I never thought could be
0:27:32 > 0:27:35popular, really, like the Spanish Civil War,
0:27:35 > 0:27:41the poetry of RS Thomas, you know, the drowning of a village.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I think people got out of us more the politics,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47but without us growing up where we did in Wales,
0:27:47 > 0:27:48that wouldn't have been there
0:27:48 > 0:27:51and we wouldn't have been the band we were.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56# Then, your children will be next... #
0:27:56 > 0:28:00In the '90s, Welsh musicians were idolised by a young generation
0:28:00 > 0:28:05searching for a new identity. But global success also helped
0:28:05 > 0:28:08to reinforce their own sense of Welshness.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Just that alchemy of a few of us at the same time,
0:28:13 > 0:28:14it just gave you a warm feeling
0:28:14 > 0:28:16travelling throughout the world, then,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19that feeling that you were taking something with you.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23And it wasn't a sort of flag-waving nationalism or anything like that.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26It was just feeling comfortable in your own skin.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29That's how it felt to me, really, that we know who we are.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36The Manic Millennium was a fitting climax to a decade in which
0:28:36 > 0:28:38a diversity of gifted musicians
0:28:38 > 0:28:40transformed the morale of the nation.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Through their endeavour, they conquered the world and gave Wales
0:28:45 > 0:28:47a belief in itself, as never before.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54Next week, we meet men and women who overcame extreme personal challenges
0:28:54 > 0:28:57and changed their lives for good.