0:00:06 > 0:00:10During the '60s the youth of Wales threw away the rule book
0:00:10 > 0:00:12and set about creating a better world
0:00:12 > 0:00:14with new ideals and opportunities.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18This is really revolutionary stuff.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21We were very serious in the '60s.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23You know, especially people like me, who were political.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Everybody else, they shared this dream, and so I realised,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33that I'd have to pour this political zeal into my work if possible.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37We started protesting about things in Welsh.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39OK, there were problems in America,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41OK, there were problems all over the world,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43but we had our own problems here in Wales.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47This is the story of the younger generation,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51whose fight for a brave new world helped revolutionise Wales
0:00:51 > 0:00:53in the 1960s.
0:01:03 > 0:01:04From the beginning of the decade,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07the industrial and cultural landscape of Wales
0:01:07 > 0:01:08started to change.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15There was full employment, and a mood of optimism in the air.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Even those entering mining had high hopes for the future.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24Tyrone O'Sullivan grew up in Merthyr Tydfil and left school aged 15.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29At 15 years of age, the world turns upside down
0:01:29 > 0:01:32cos you go from being a boy
0:01:32 > 0:01:33rapidly into being a man.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38No doubt about it, the choice I had was to go underground
0:01:38 > 0:01:42and start off in the same pit as my father for ?5 a week,
0:01:42 > 0:01:47or go and work in Burtons with a nice smart suit for ?2.50.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I loved the idea of going into a coal mine.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58I was in a place 23 inches high
0:01:58 > 0:02:01and we were working about 45 metres up the face...
0:02:01 > 0:02:06So you had to crawl up in about that much height.
0:02:06 > 0:02:07TV COMMENTARY: It's an industry of men
0:02:07 > 0:02:10and machines undreamed of a few short years ago.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13There was a drive to modernise coal mining
0:02:13 > 0:02:16pioneered by the National Coal Board,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19that needed to attract new blood for an old industry.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22So in mining today there's a new call for boys
0:02:22 > 0:02:26to become mining apprentices, to spend up to three years
0:02:26 > 0:02:30of paid and fascinating training to fit them for an important future.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34We were the only people who went
0:02:34 > 0:02:37to be educated to become apprentices.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Prior to us, you'd work with an electrician
0:02:40 > 0:02:43and he'd show you what to do, never went to exams.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45He'd show you how to do this and do that.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47We were the first people who went through
0:02:47 > 0:02:49college education.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51We thought we were the kiddies.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56The young generation brought a new popular culture to mining
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and the struggle for a better future.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02WELSH CHOIR SINGS
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Older miners did sing in work
0:03:14 > 0:03:18because many of them were in the same choir.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21If you were in the choir and there's five or six of you there,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24I think it would be natural to sing some of the pieces
0:03:24 > 0:03:27you're going to sing the following day or that night.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31But of course we...used to be having Mick Jagger,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35and one guy with us, he could take Mick Jagger off to a T,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39stance as well. And these older guys would be shaking their head,
0:03:39 > 0:03:40and they thought we were crazy
0:03:40 > 0:03:45but we took our lifestyle outside,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48our rock'n'roll into the mine.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50MUSIC: "Walk The Dog" by the Rolling Stones
0:03:50 > 0:03:51# If you don't know how to do it
0:03:51 > 0:03:54# I'll show you how to walk the dog... #
0:03:57 > 0:03:58The strange thing was,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01although we were down there three miles underground
0:04:01 > 0:04:03holding Glamorgan up,
0:04:03 > 0:04:09it was a wonderful place to work because the politics were fantastic.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11I loved going in in the morning. I loved the talks,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13I loved walking out at the end of the shift
0:04:13 > 0:04:16cos you'd have your chats, "Do you know what's going on, you know?
0:04:16 > 0:04:19"We've come from the end of the war,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21"we're looking forward to a better world,"
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and these men'd be talking to you like that, so you'd be pulled in.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Tyrone O'Sullivan went on to become branch secretary
0:04:36 > 0:04:38of the NUM in South Wales,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42and an iconic figure in the fights to save the last pits.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51The '60s were boom years for light industry in the Valleys,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53supported by government grants.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Young women took advantage of the huge demand for their skills.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Even when they started a family,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03they could dictate the hours they worked to suit them best.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Barbara Evans worked at Kayser Bondor,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12manufacturer of ladieswear in Merthyr.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16I enjoyed working there because of the hours.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19The half past nine till half past three were wonderful,
0:05:19 > 0:05:24and then school holidays when the children had six weeks off,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27they'd leave you go in at eight in the morning till half past twelve.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31And then some of the girls would go in at half past twelve till five,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34so his machines were never stopped, you see.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37One did mornings, one did afternoons.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39Suited us and it suited the boss.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41It was wonderful.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49We made nighties, negligees,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52pyjamas, dressing gowns,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56full slips, half slips, briefs, pants, bras...
0:05:56 > 0:05:59All ladies' underwear.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00Everything, which was new.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Some seasons they'd be all frills, you know,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08and then the next season, oh, very classy.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11We used to make beautiful nighties and the girls were calling them
0:06:11 > 0:06:15Ginger Rogers because there was so much lace.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Oh, they were just glamour itself.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20MUSIC: "My Boy Lollipop" by Millie Small
0:06:25 > 0:06:30In the underwear part there were about 600 of us working there.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36So you can see we were well dressed with Kayser Bondor underwear,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38and of course you bought for the families,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42and then next door to our factory was Hoover's.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45And then the Hoover ladies would come down and they could buy.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Oh, everybody bought from Kayser Bondor,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51and my one aunt in London, she worked off the West End,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and she'd say to me,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56"The so-and-so window's all been dressed up in Kayser underwear,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58"Barbara, looking beautiful."
0:07:09 > 0:07:13With such high employment in manufacturing and heavy industries,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16many working class parents were keen for their teenage sons and daughters
0:07:16 > 0:07:19to bring in extra wage packets for the family.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27So school leavers with a dream of being a rock'n'roll star
0:07:27 > 0:07:29could find the going tough.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Musician Andy Fairweather-Low grew up in Llanrumney, near Cardiff.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39My mother took me to the youth employment place
0:07:39 > 0:07:42and she sat me down and said, "He needs a job,"
0:07:42 > 0:07:45and then the guy looked at me and said, "What kind of job do you want?"
0:07:45 > 0:07:47I said, "I want to work in a music shop."
0:07:47 > 0:07:50And she went bang, clipped me, "No, you don't. He wants a proper job."
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Andy got his way, and it was through working in a Cardiff record shop
0:07:58 > 0:08:01that he met other local, budding musicians.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03They formed a group called the Taff Beats
0:08:03 > 0:08:06and joined the vibrant club circuit in the Valleys.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Got together with a couple of guys, so now we were doing gigs.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15You could go up the Valleys play a social club, you know?
0:08:15 > 0:08:18They'd stop the bingo and then you'd come up
0:08:18 > 0:08:20and they all complained, "You're too loud."
0:08:20 > 0:08:22There's a cafe behind you,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24you know, and the woman would come out with a frying pan,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27"Turn it down!" you know, cos all she'd hear was the drummer.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29So it was pretty rough.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31MUSIC: "Johnny B Goode" by Chuck Berry
0:08:35 > 0:08:37# Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
0:08:37 > 0:08:39# Way back up in the woods among the evergreens... #
0:08:39 > 0:08:41So while you're playing, a fight breaks out
0:08:41 > 0:08:45and a fight would always break out, you know, and mayhem
0:08:45 > 0:08:48and then the vicar would come out, "Keep playing, boys. Keep playing".
0:08:48 > 0:08:51So you'd play Johnnie B Goode three times while the fight's going on.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55And then all of a sudden one policeman would come in
0:08:55 > 0:08:57and he'd get in the middle and he'd sort it out
0:08:57 > 0:08:59and that'd be it, and he'd sort it out.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02MUSIC: "Bend Me, Shape Me" by Amen Corner
0:09:06 > 0:09:08# You're the only woman I need
0:09:08 > 0:09:11# And baby, you know it... #
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Just two years after leaving school,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Andy hit the big time with his new band, Amen Corner,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20and became the heart-throb of every teenage girl.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24# Cos I got nothing to hide
0:09:24 > 0:09:32# Just the peace of mind... #
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Being on stage, yeah, that's it
0:09:36 > 0:09:39but once they'd struck up the beginning of a number,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43these people are hearing it in their heads and they've gone crazy.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46And I don't even have to sing it, cos I'm spending a lot of time
0:09:46 > 0:09:49either parting my hair or shaking their hands.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Even if I did sing, it didn't make any difference, and I knew that.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55So my job then as the front man
0:09:55 > 0:09:59was to entertain and make a contact.
0:09:59 > 0:10:00# Bend me, shape me
0:10:00 > 0:10:03# Any way you want me
0:10:03 > 0:10:04# Long as you love me
0:10:04 > 0:10:06# It's all right
0:10:06 > 0:10:07# Bend me, shape me
0:10:07 > 0:10:10# Any way you want me
0:10:10 > 0:10:12# You've got the power... #
0:10:12 > 0:10:16There was a moment where there was ?1,000 after Bend Me Shape Me
0:10:16 > 0:10:18and we were sent down Carnaby Street
0:10:18 > 0:10:20to spend some money and buy some clothes, which we did.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22We get to Carnaby Street
0:10:22 > 0:10:28and it's the ones with the strangest shirts, satin, all furry collars,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30we get into all of that.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33We got paid a wage, each week, out of what we made from gigging,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36from the gigs, not from anything else,
0:10:36 > 0:10:40but we were a hard-working band and we were getting paid well.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44We were one of the highest paid bands at that time on the circuit.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47MUSIC: "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" By The Amen Corner
0:10:49 > 0:10:53That whole '60s period, three years, that's all.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Three years, certainly three years that made their mark.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59We signed one contract as a band,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03and we decided to bump our wages up to ?35 a week.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Outside of that, never seen anything to this day.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Andy has since enjoyed a much respected international career
0:11:13 > 0:11:15as a singer and guitarist.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21MUSIC: "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Rock musicians had a powerful influence on the youth of Wales.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31They were an inspiration for a generation
0:11:31 > 0:11:33searching for a new identity.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37The world was changing fast
0:11:37 > 0:11:40and young people wanted to be a part of it.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45MUSIC: "I'm A Soul Man" by Sam And Dave
0:11:48 > 0:11:51With race becoming a major issue,
0:11:51 > 0:11:53many black people in Wales were inspired by
0:11:53 > 0:11:55the Black Power Movement in America.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00# I'm a soul man... #
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Clive Sweet grew up in Llandudno.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07I noticed when the Black Power Movement started that people started,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10you know, grow their hair and make it look good,
0:12:10 > 0:12:11and make themselves, you know,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15the hair was rounded off and all this kind of stuff, you know?
0:12:15 > 0:12:18"Wow," I thought, "Bloody hell, now we can do something," you know?
0:12:20 > 0:12:23And then of course Hendrix come with his hair, you know,
0:12:23 > 0:12:24and his hair wasn't exactly an Afro,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28it was just sort of all sticking out here and there.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41I really got into Hendrix because he was the image of somebody
0:12:41 > 0:12:44that I wouldn't have minded being. You know, he played the guitar,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46obviously I couldn't play the guitar like he, nobody can,
0:12:46 > 0:12:51but I just thought he was a fantastic representation of a black person.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07But one night, Clive Sweet was to find out that not everybody
0:13:07 > 0:13:10in Llandudno thought like him.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13There was a fancy dress party at a club in the town,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16and Clive thought he'd make fun of the patronising image
0:13:16 > 0:13:18of the black and white minstrel.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20I went up as Al Jolson cos, you know,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24I just wanted to change the er... You know, stand it on its head
0:13:24 > 0:13:28because I'd realised a lot by this time.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31I'm going to put white round me eyes, white on me mouth
0:13:31 > 0:13:34and see what kind of response I'm going to get.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Well, so I go up to this fancy dress, to this hall
0:13:38 > 0:13:41and the guy comes out and said, "You can't come in here."
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And I said, "What do you mean?" I'm with some mates.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50"You can't come in here. We don't let your type in here."
0:13:50 > 0:13:53I said, "What do you mean, my type?" "Well, you know,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56"you black people, cos you cause trouble.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59"And you flaunt yourself, you people, you flaunt yourselves."
0:14:00 > 0:14:03With the owner of the club refusing him entry,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Clive left in disgust with his friends.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10But the incident was reported to the papers.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Went to work the next day and then the next thing the papers come round
0:14:12 > 0:14:14and they want to know about the story.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18So I told them about what happened and he denied it,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and he tried to make out that I was a liar,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24even though it wasn't me that had phoned up.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27It was somebody that overheard it, who was on the committee of the club.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30And then it was taken to Parliament, a fellow called
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Ednyfed Hudson Davies raised the issue
0:14:33 > 0:14:36and I thought it was a good thing.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40The incident was taken up by Conwy MP Ednyfed Hudson Davies.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44This, together with other cases of racial discrimination
0:14:44 > 0:14:48brought before Parliament, led to the Race Relations Act of 1968.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55MUSIC: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by the Beatles
0:14:56 > 0:14:59# It was 20 years ago today
0:14:59 > 0:15:01# Sgt Pepper told the band to play
0:15:01 > 0:15:03# They'd been going in and out of style
0:15:03 > 0:15:06# But they're guaranteed to raise a smile
0:15:06 > 0:15:09# So may I introduce to you
0:15:09 > 0:15:11# The act you've known for all these years
0:15:11 > 0:15:16# Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band... #
0:15:16 > 0:15:20The youth of Wales were at the forefront of change in the '60s,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23yet their radical beliefs were often shaped outside Wales
0:15:23 > 0:15:26when they were students at universities across Britain.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29SONG: "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" by The Beatles
0:15:29 > 0:15:33# Picture yourself in a boat on a river... #
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Some were drawn into a new counter-culture
0:15:35 > 0:15:38that was experimenting with mind-expanding drugs.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Writer Howard Marks was studying at Balliol College, Oxford,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48when he was first introduced to marijuana at a party.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53He pulled out, looked like a home-rolled cigarette
0:15:53 > 0:15:56and sort of lit it and offered it to me.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58And I said, "What is this?"
0:15:58 > 0:16:00And he said, "Keef."
0:16:00 > 0:16:05I'd never heard of keef before, but I smoked it
0:16:05 > 0:16:11and I remember Please Please Me by James Brown was being played
0:16:11 > 0:16:13on the record player there,
0:16:13 > 0:16:19and it seemed as if I was now hearing it for the first time.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23The first thing I noticed was that, you know,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27was how time seemed to slow down so much
0:16:27 > 0:16:29that I could listen to this music for the first time.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43I just found the experience so enjoyable, you know,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46absolutely so enjoyable in every way
0:16:46 > 0:16:50and so I immediately wanted another one.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52You know, it was a very rational reaction, really,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54to an enjoyable experience.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58I wanted to have another one and another one and another one...
0:16:58 > 0:16:59On it went.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04I just loved it, I loved smoking marijuana.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06MUSIC: "Itchycoo Park" by Small Faces
0:17:06 > 0:17:10# We'll get high... #
0:17:10 > 0:17:16I would bring drugs back to Wales, you know, acid and cannabis
0:17:16 > 0:17:19and give them to my friends in Wales, who were still in Wales.
0:17:21 > 0:17:27I remember taking acid and watching the blast furnaces in Port Talbot,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29you know, Margam Mountain was wonderful.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Despite the fact that it was illegal,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Howard decided to turn his love for marijuana
0:17:37 > 0:17:39into an alternative career.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47The '60s were definitely one of the happiest times of my life.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50There was a feeling of change happening,
0:17:50 > 0:17:56and I felt that, you know, life as a dope dealer or dope smuggler
0:17:56 > 0:17:58would be short-lived anyway,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01so let's do it, get it out of the way, get some money and some fun
0:18:01 > 0:18:04under the belt and then straighten out after.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14In fact, Howard Marks became an international drugs baron
0:18:14 > 0:18:16and spent seven years in jail.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19In such hedonistic times,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23there was often a lack of awareness of the real damage drugs could do.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28But in the '60s not all students were obsessed with drugs.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36The passion of the most idealistic was to change the world
0:18:36 > 0:18:38and make it a better place.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Students took to the streets
0:18:40 > 0:18:42to protest about a great range of issues,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45from human rights to war.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Here at the Hornsey College of Art,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53its high standard of education was transformed into a hotbed
0:18:53 > 0:18:54of radical politics.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Kim Howells was a student there in 1968.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05London is where it was happening and where I wanted to be,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08and being at art college was very, very special, you know,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12you were at the heart of what was happening in swinging London.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16It was a very vibrant place, but it was also
0:19:16 > 0:19:20an incredibly rigorous education.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25You were talking about your work, you were studying art history.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28It was a very intense education
0:19:28 > 0:19:31and we'd spend a lot of time arguing about politics.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Kim Howells, seen here at Hornsey, helped inspire students
0:19:35 > 0:19:40all over Britain to take control of their education.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43The conflict with college and university authorities
0:19:43 > 0:19:45mushroomed into a symbolic challenge
0:19:45 > 0:19:48against the British political establishment.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50And a Welshman was at the heart of it.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55I remember when in May 1968
0:19:55 > 0:19:59we started the great occupation of Hornsey, which of course
0:19:59 > 0:20:01galvanised student politics in Britain.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06And for weeks and weeks we occupied that building and ran it ourselves,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09and everybody who was anybody came there.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11This was very revolutionary stuff.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14We were very serious in the '60s.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17You know, especially people like me who were political.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20If we're all in agreement, I propose that we now march down to
0:20:20 > 0:20:25Wood Green Civic Centre in quarter of an hour and demand an answer.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Kim Howells went on to become Labour MP for Pontypridd
0:20:31 > 0:20:33for more than 20 years.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41In Wales itself, many students were inspired by the campaigns
0:20:41 > 0:20:43for the promotion of the Welsh language
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and against the investiture of the Prince of Wales.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53These protests epitomised the spirit of Welsh nationalism
0:20:53 > 0:20:56sweeping the country in the late 1960s.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Actor Sharon Morgan was a student at Cardiff University.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06There were quite a few of us
0:21:06 > 0:21:09who were sort of very strong Welsh nationalists at the time.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11And then my life there became
0:21:11 > 0:21:16a sort of round of protesting and marching and sit-ins,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19because I think almost as soon as I got there
0:21:19 > 0:21:21they announced there's going to be
0:21:21 > 0:21:24the investiture of the Prince of Wales.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25But it was really exciting,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28it was fantastic cos you were with a bunch of like-minded people.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30It was also very black and white at the time.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34The issues that we were raising, we don't want an investiture,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37we want Welsh road signs, we want forms in Welsh.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Sharon joined the march to the BBC's broadcasting house in Llandaff
0:21:46 > 0:21:49to protest for an increase in the number of Welsh language programmes.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56The protest culminated in an overnight sit-in,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59but in the process Sharon was to discover just how far
0:21:59 > 0:22:03her political beliefs had alienated her from her boyfriend.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06The police were sort of outside, the police knew we were there.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08We knew we were going to leave peacefully in the morning,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11the statement had been made, we'd been on the news, etc.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14But the policeman came in and said, "Is there a Sharon Morgan in here?"
0:22:14 > 0:22:16I said, "Yeah." "Well, there's someone outside for you."
0:22:16 > 0:22:18I thought, "This is strange."
0:22:18 > 0:22:20So I went outside of the door and it was my boyfriend of the time,
0:22:20 > 0:22:24and he said, "Come out of there, no wife of mine is going to jail."
0:22:24 > 0:22:27And I just laughed and said, "I'm not coming now, I'm going back in.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29"I'll see you, see you later."
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Everybody else was of the same mind. They'd been on the protests,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39they'd been on the marches as well because they shared this dream.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44That's when I realised that I'd have to pour this political zeal
0:22:44 > 0:22:45into my work, if possible,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48and that's what I've tried to do, really, all my life.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Since then Sharon has tirelessly promoted many forms
0:22:53 > 0:22:56of Welsh language drama in her work as an actor.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Despite the support for Prince Charles
0:23:01 > 0:23:03and his efforts to learn Welsh,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06the investiture of the Prince of Wales generated some of
0:23:06 > 0:23:08the most passionate protests of all.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13The vast majority of those opposed to the imposition
0:23:13 > 0:23:16of an Englishman on the Principality of Wales
0:23:16 > 0:23:18were the new young generation.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23Their sentiments were captured in Dafydd Iwan's hit single Carlo,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27which in 1969 remained Number One in Wales for ten weeks.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29HE SINGS IN WELSH
0:24:27 > 0:24:31This new genre of Welsh protest song had been a huge influence
0:24:31 > 0:24:34on singer Heather Jones.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36When I heard protest songs for the first time
0:24:36 > 0:24:41I knew that was my next big thing I wanted to sing. I wanted to protest,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43I wanted to be on those marches, you know,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46so I started singing protest songs
0:24:46 > 0:24:49and thinking that I was going to be a protest singer.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51SHE SINGS IN WELSH
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Then, of course, I got into the Welsh thing,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and we started protesting about things in Welsh then,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39about the drowning of the valleys and the losing of the language.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43I started to really, really get filled up with all that
0:25:43 > 0:25:45sort of thing and I wanted to be part of that scene.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50You know, Meic Stevens, the iconic Welsh singer wrote a wonderful song
0:25:50 > 0:25:52about the drowning of the Welsh valley, Tryweryn,
0:25:52 > 0:25:53and I loved that song.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03MEIC STEVENS SINGS IN WELSH
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Tryweryn was the river dammed in the early 1960s
0:26:44 > 0:26:46to create a reservoir for Liverpool.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49The Welsh-speaking people of Capel Celyn
0:26:49 > 0:26:52were forced to leave before their valley was flooded.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00Despite the mostly peaceful campaign against the reservoir,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03there was a tiny minority, as in later protests,
0:27:03 > 0:27:05who took to sabotage and bombing.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10The valley was lost, but Tryweryn became a symbol for nationalism
0:27:10 > 0:27:11in Wales.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18I found that I was fuelled with this.
0:27:18 > 0:27:19OK, there were problems in America.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21OK, there were problems all over the world,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23but we had our own problems here in Wales
0:27:23 > 0:27:27and it inspired me to become more of a nationalistic singer.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32One of the iconic songs that was written in the '60s
0:27:32 > 0:27:35was a song called Colli Iaith, To Lose Your Language.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11My parents, they were dead against the Welsh language
0:28:11 > 0:28:12and it was sort of ostracised,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14you know, you don't speak it in the house,
0:28:14 > 0:28:17you don't give this to your children. They won't get on in life
0:28:17 > 0:28:20if they have the Welsh language, which is so ridiculous
0:28:20 > 0:28:23cos the whole of my life has been singing in Welsh.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25I sing in English occasionally, but, you know,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29the main-stay of my career has been through the Welsh language.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36This very Welsh protest movement created new careers
0:28:36 > 0:28:39for many of its young pioneers.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41They were part of a new generation,
0:28:41 > 0:28:44building a land of much greater freedom and opportunity
0:28:44 > 0:28:45than ever before.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Next week, we look at the lifestyle revolution
0:28:52 > 0:28:56that transformed homes and families throughout Wales.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd