0:00:02 > 0:00:0570 years ago, a boy was born who would grow into a Welsh icon.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07He couldn't have had a tougher start in life.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10His father was killed in a pit accident before he was born,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14leaving his mother to raise her only child alone.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17The village of Glynneath became their extended family
0:00:17 > 0:00:21and this close-knit world of mining, rugby, chapel and song
0:00:21 > 0:00:23shaped his life and career.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28In comedy, poetry and music, he began to capture a changing Wales.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31King Coal was dying, but at least Barry John was King.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Then came the album that changed his life - the big break
0:00:35 > 0:00:37that launched a career spanning 40 years
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and more than two million record sales.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42It was the start of a journey that would take him
0:00:42 > 0:00:46from Royal Command performances to the stage of the Sydney Opera House.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51And it's a journey that's take him into the hearts of the Welsh people
0:00:51 > 0:00:54and fans across the world.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59This is the remarkable story and big birthday celebration
0:00:59 > 0:01:02of the legend that is Max Boyce.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04APPLAUSE
0:01:06 > 0:01:08MUSIC: "Cwm Rhondda"
0:01:28 > 0:01:33So...that was your life in 30 seconds. How did that feel?
0:01:33 > 0:01:38It was very emotional, watching that and seeing my mother
0:01:38 > 0:01:40and me at a young age, it was...
0:01:40 > 0:01:43yeah, it was quite emotional.
0:01:43 > 0:01:4740 years, eh? It's a long time. Yeah, it doesn't feel like that.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50It feels like 10 years, but people are aware, I think, now,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54how long I've been performing and they come up to me in the streets
0:01:54 > 0:01:56and they talk to me as if I'm a clock.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59"You're still going, then?"
0:01:59 > 0:02:01LAUGHTER
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Do you have any recollection...I'm sure people watching that footage
0:02:09 > 0:02:12at the start may not have know the back history.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Do you have any recollection of how hard
0:02:15 > 0:02:17your first years might have been?
0:02:17 > 0:02:20I don't remember the early, early years, obviously,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23but it wasn't hard for me because...
0:02:23 > 0:02:26the close-knit community that Glynneath is,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29they helped my mother, and she'd had a terrible time.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31She'd lost a baby the year before as well
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and then my father was killed in a mining explosion
0:02:35 > 0:02:38in Onllwyn number four a month before I was born.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42But I don't remember that and, in those days, people didn't have much money.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I wasn't any different to any other child really.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47But, for my mother, it was a terrible time.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51So, from five, six, seven, eight, were you the natural joker
0:02:51 > 0:02:54and funster, and were you the star of the nativity play and that stuff?
0:02:54 > 0:02:57No, I wasn't at all. I was really shy. GIGGLING
0:02:57 > 0:03:01I was, honest. I was really shy and quiet.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Most comedians are like that.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07You'll find that... Dual personality?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Possibly. What it is, the stage...
0:03:10 > 0:03:14the stage gives us a license to rid ourselves of any insecurity or shyness
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and we become...we're only complete on the stage.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19It might be a psychological thing,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22so, yeah, I was very shy when I was young.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24When did you buy your first guitar?
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Erm, I don't know. I must have been about, I don't know, 16, 18.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33I saw this sign in the local paper, "Acoustic guitar for sale." Price?
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Four guineas. LAUGHTER
0:03:36 > 0:03:40I went to this guy's house and pretended I knew everything about the guitar and I bought it.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43I never put it down.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47I remember buying these chord charts with all the strings and the frets
0:03:47 > 0:03:50and black dots where you put your finger
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and there was G and C and then I found F.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Eight dots! I've only got five fingers.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00So I found it very hard to learn the guitar properly
0:04:00 > 0:04:03but I never put it down, I never looked back,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06and I loved it, I loved playing the guitar.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09But if you were instinctively wanting to be a performer,
0:04:09 > 0:04:13at 15 you went down the mine. What did your mum think about that?
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Oh, she broke her heart, yeah.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21I didn't want to go, but I had to leave school to be the bread earner
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and, erm, yeah...it's, it's...
0:04:24 > 0:04:26it was a terrible place to work, it was awful.
0:04:26 > 0:04:32If my mother had known the conditions I worked under, it would have been worse, but I never told her.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35It must have been an extraordinary life, being down a mine in daytime
0:04:35 > 0:04:38and, at nighttime, going on the folk club circuit.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42What age were you when the Welsh folk world suddenly took notice of Max Boyce?
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Well, I suppose I was... I don't know, mid-20s, I guess.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50I dabbled in workmen's clubs and it wasn't working.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52I wasn't getting anywhere, really.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56I went back to folk clubs and they allowed me to evolve
0:04:56 > 0:05:00and they listened to songs and I could experiment with songs.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02And if I forgot, it didn't matter,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05so they played a huge importance in my life, folk clubs, at that time.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Well, we're going to take you back now half a century
0:05:09 > 0:05:12to a song that you used to perform many, many moons ago
0:05:12 > 0:05:16but performed for us tonight by a great friend of Max's, Cerys Matthews.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20APPLAUSE
0:05:29 > 0:05:33# Mi sydd fachgen ieuanc ffol
0:05:34 > 0:05:38# Yn byw yn ol fy ffansi
0:05:38 > 0:05:43# Myfi'n bugeilio'r gwenith gwyn
0:05:44 > 0:05:49# Ac arall yn ei fedi
0:05:50 > 0:05:53# Pam na ddeu di ar fy ol
0:05:53 > 0:05:58# Rhyw ddydd ar ol ei gilydd?
0:06:00 > 0:06:02# Gwaith rwy'n dy weld
0:06:02 > 0:06:05# Y feinir fach
0:06:07 > 0:06:13# Yn lanach, lanach beunydd
0:06:15 > 0:06:20# I rose at dawn's waking light
0:06:20 > 0:06:25# And wandered midst the flowers
0:06:25 > 0:06:30# And longed that you were by my side
0:06:32 > 0:06:37# In the early morning hours
0:06:39 > 0:06:43# To take my hand a walk a while
0:06:43 > 0:06:48# And watch the new day dawning
0:06:50 > 0:06:55# And kiss you gently on your cheek
0:06:57 > 0:07:02# As dawn kissed the morning
0:07:17 > 0:07:21# Tra fo dwr y mor yn hallt
0:07:21 > 0:07:25# A thra fo 'ngwallt yn tyfu
0:07:25 > 0:07:29# A thra fo hiraeth dan fy mron
0:07:29 > 0:07:33# Mi fyddai'n ffyddlon i ti
0:07:34 > 0:07:38# Dywed i mi'r gwir dan gel
0:07:38 > 0:07:42# Neu rho dan sel d'atebion
0:07:44 > 0:07:47# P'un ai myfi
0:07:47 > 0:07:51# Neu arall wen
0:07:53 > 0:07:59# Sydd orau gan
0:08:00 > 0:08:04# Dy galon. #
0:08:07 > 0:08:09APPLAUSE
0:08:22 > 0:08:24That takes you back, eh? I'd like to tune that!
0:08:24 > 0:08:27LAUGHTER
0:08:27 > 0:08:32So when did you actually join the comedy with the folk music?
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Well, again, that evolved.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38I, erm, I was singing folk songs
0:08:38 > 0:08:42but, to link the songs, I started writing anecdotes
0:08:42 > 0:08:45about stories of working underground, humorous stories,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49and over a period of time the anecdotes got longer and longer
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and the songs became more infrequent.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55I ended up a story-teller who sung songs along the way.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57But it evolved over many years, really.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01We actually have here some of the very first footage of Macs
0:09:01 > 0:09:04in action on television.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07LAUGHTER
0:09:10 > 0:09:15# Ond nawr rwy wedi tyfu lan
0:09:15 > 0:09:20# Yn ateb dros fy hun
0:09:20 > 0:09:25# Rwy'n gweld y byd r'un peth a nhw
0:09:26 > 0:09:30# Felly'n teimlo'n flin. #
0:09:30 > 0:09:32APPLAUSE
0:09:39 > 0:09:42When you look at that now, do you... I cringe!
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Do you not look back on those early years with fondness? No, I don't.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49LAUGHTER
0:09:49 > 0:09:53I mean, I wasn't ready for television in those days, crumbs.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56No, but you have to start somewhere.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Fel'na Mae is the first song I ever wrote, so it's nice to hear that.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02From that small acorn, this big forest grew,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05largely because of this.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09This is my... this is my personal copy.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12I was given this for my 16th birthday... Well, well, well.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15..with David Bowie's Hunky Dory.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19On the decks, I could mix and match the two.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23This changed your life, didn't it? Yeah, it did. It was a remarkable night.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26We've got lots of famous people with us tonight and some of them
0:10:26 > 0:10:30are going to ask questions during the course of the next hour or so.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Opera star Rebecca Evans is first.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Hello. Penblywdd hapus. Diolch yn fawr. Happy birthday.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41Macs, I must say, in the '70s and even now, you've so enriched our lives,
0:10:41 > 0:10:47culturally, musically, with... you always uplift our spirits.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52And I know for sure, when you were on television, Pontrhydyfen was deserted.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Nobody behind the net curtains, because we were all watching you.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59I'd love to know about Live at Treorchy.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04Was it really all recorded live in one evening in the Rhondda
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and if you have any special memories of the occasion?
0:11:07 > 0:11:12Before I answer the question, I think the world of Rebecca as well.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17If you go through Pontrhydyfen, there's a big wooden sign as you enter...a bog wooden sign,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and it says, "You are now entering the village of Pontrhydyfen,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24"the birthplace of Ivor Emmanuel, Richard Burton
0:11:24 > 0:11:28"and world famous soprano, Rebecca Evans."
0:11:28 > 0:11:30APPLAUSE
0:11:34 > 0:11:37And you come into Glynneath, there's a big sign that says,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40"You are now entering the village of Glynneath."
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Underneath is says, "Please drive carefully."
0:11:44 > 0:11:46LAUGHTER
0:11:48 > 0:11:50I'm envious of you.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54But, in answer to your question, you've recorded, I know, many times,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58and it was remarkable that that night was just one take.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Now, if I did it now,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I'd record it over three nights and pick the best of the three nights.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07But that night, the audience, there was a conspiracy between
0:12:07 > 0:12:11me and that audience, and I think they so wanted me to do well.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Gareth Edwards is in our audience tonight.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16Gareth, I know you want to ask a question
0:12:16 > 0:12:19about one song in particular on the album.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23As a miner's son, one of my favourite songs from Live at Treorchy
0:12:23 > 0:12:27has always been, as you know on many a trip, Duw, it's Hard.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31What inspired you to write that song?
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Well, I remember looking at the Western Mail one day
0:12:34 > 0:12:36and there was an advert for carpets...
0:12:36 > 0:12:39LAUGHTER
0:12:39 > 0:12:42..and it said, Carpet Kingdom,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and the address was, the old pithead baths, Cwm Colliery, Ebbw Vale.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51I thought, there's a song there. "The pithead baths is a supermarket now."
0:12:51 > 0:12:56But in the song I wanted to tell of the bitter-sweet, love-hate relationship
0:12:56 > 0:12:59the miners, like your father, had with the mining industry.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04People who worked underground, there was such a close-knit camaraderie,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08despite the conditions, and people who went on to work in factories,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11they said it was never the same as working underground.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14I wanted to show that in the song and that's why I called it, Duw, it's Hard.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18And here is the song and some pictures that really are from another age.
0:13:19 > 0:13:25# My clean-clothes locker's empty now, I've thrown away the key
0:13:26 > 0:13:31# Sold my boots and muffler and my lampcheck 153
0:13:33 > 0:13:38# But I can't forget the times we had, the laughing midst the fear
0:13:39 > 0:13:45# Cos every time I cough I get a mining souvenir
0:13:45 > 0:13:47# Cos it's hard
0:13:47 > 0:13:50# Duw, it's hard
0:13:51 > 0:13:55# Harder than they will ever know
0:13:56 > 0:13:59# And it's they must take the blame
0:13:59 > 0:14:02# For the price of coal's the same
0:14:02 > 0:14:07# But the pithead baths is a supermarket now. #
0:14:09 > 0:14:11APPLAUSE
0:14:17 > 0:14:21And that's real social commentary as well.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Is that Max Boyce the politician, there?
0:14:23 > 0:14:28I've never been a political animal but, if my songs give a message, then so be it.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I didn't want to drum it down anybody's throat or anything.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Talking about messages, there are lots of well known people who would love to be here
0:14:35 > 0:14:38but, for various reasons, can't be, but they've all sent messages.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41# Oh, Macs, the entertainer
0:14:41 > 0:14:43# We know him so well
0:14:43 > 0:14:47# He keeps us all laughing with jokes he do tell
0:14:47 > 0:14:51# His songs we have sung for many a year
0:14:51 > 0:14:55# But this one's quite special and so we should cheer
0:14:55 > 0:14:58# So it's down to Cardiff for the night
0:14:58 > 0:15:00# To miss would be a shame
0:15:00 > 0:15:03# They'll sing Happy Birthday and Hymns and Arias
0:15:03 > 0:15:05# Damn, I'm sure they'll sound the same
0:15:05 > 0:15:09# Someone from a corner dark is bound to shout, "Ogi!"
0:15:09 > 0:15:13# But one a year would take some beer
0:15:13 > 0:15:16# Now that Max has reached 70
0:15:16 > 0:15:19# And we were singing
0:15:19 > 0:15:22# Happy birthday
0:15:22 > 0:15:26# I hope it's a great day
0:15:26 > 0:15:30# Penblwydd hapus i it! #
0:15:30 > 0:15:33It's going to be a great night tonight.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Penblwydd hapus, Max. Ogi, ogi, ogi!
0:15:36 > 0:15:39APPLAUSE
0:15:43 > 0:15:46So you're now a pop star.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Live at Treorchy, you're looking in the charts,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52and the difficult second album, We All Had Doctor's Papers,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55and, suddenly, you're top of the charts.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58How did that happen? I don't know.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Live at Treorchy, they thought was like a flash in the pan,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06so when we did Doctors' Papers, it came it and number nine, then it went to three,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08but to see it at number one...!
0:16:08 > 0:16:13I was on tour at the time and whatever city I was in, I used to buy the Melody Maker,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17look at the charts, and I was up there above The Beatles and Elton John.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20I couldn't believe it.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Where did the leek come from? Was that your idea?
0:16:24 > 0:16:27No, not really. That evolved, again.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29I was singing at a rugby club in West Wales one night
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and somebody threw the colours of the club on, I put that on,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35and somebody gave me a bobble hat and I put that on,
0:16:35 > 0:16:37and then somebody threw a leek on.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40But, like, the week after, I wasn't in a rugby club
0:16:40 > 0:16:44and I thought, what can I do to colour the act, as it were?
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Your first appearance on stage is all important.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50I'd just been to Twickenham to see Wales play so I thought,
0:16:50 > 0:16:55I'll write a song about that and I'll wear the red and white and I'll have a leek,
0:16:55 > 0:16:59as if I'm this character, and it went from there.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02But it evolved over a long time as well.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Did the leek grow? It got bigger and bigger, yeah!
0:17:05 > 0:17:08The whole village was growing them for me!
0:17:08 > 0:17:13The thing about...the great signature of success in those days,
0:17:13 > 0:17:18was to be invited on Michael Parkinson's chat show and that's what happened to you.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Do they have any other, sort of, parodies of your dress?
0:17:22 > 0:17:27Erm, the maddest thing I've seen, and I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29I was in... the early part of the tour,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32we were in Buxton in Derbyshire.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34This lovely lady turned up
0:17:34 > 0:17:38and she'd gone, apparently, to the local carnival -
0:17:38 > 0:17:42a fate and gala, in a little village called, erm, Ashbourne,
0:17:42 > 0:17:44near Buxton in Derbyshire.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47She'd gone as me,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51with the white trousers and the red coat and the rosette
0:17:51 > 0:17:56and the cap and the scarf, and her mother had gone as my leek.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59We've got a picture of the leek. Honest!
0:17:59 > 0:18:01LAUGHTER
0:18:04 > 0:18:09I don't know if the people can see it, but her mother went as the leek,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13and the story she told me that the problem they had with her mother...
0:18:13 > 0:18:16they made it too small and she couldn't breathe.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22There was no air, and the trouble was that her glasses kept misting up.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25And she kept bumping into things.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Everywhere she went, someone had to walk around with a chair
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and stand by her, and every time she knocked her head against the leek,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37they had to go inside the leek and wipe her glasses to see where she went.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39It was absolute chaos.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43But the funniest thing of all was, when they came to the adjudication,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45they'd entered the Best... Best Dressed Leek?
0:18:45 > 0:18:49No, the Best Pair, and when they came to the adjudicator,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52the adjudicator had never heard of me but the leek came second.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54LAUGHTER
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Her mother came second.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58APPLAUSE
0:19:04 > 0:19:08If humour is universal, in Wales,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11is an audience in Anglesey the same as it is in Chepstow?
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Not totally, no. LAUGHTER
0:19:18 > 0:19:21I've got to be careful here!
0:19:21 > 0:19:23LAUGHTER
0:19:23 > 0:19:27But there is a difference in humour all over Britain.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31There's an industrial humour and there's a folky humour.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33You get the industrial humour of the South Wales Valleys
0:19:33 > 0:19:36and there's a folkiness of Welsh-speaking West Wales.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39There is a difference but it's very subtle.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43One specific Welsh character you've created is Berwyn
0:19:43 > 0:19:47and here's an isolated incident from a programme,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50I think it's nearly two decades old, but this is just fantastic.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55Berwyn, right, all his life, all he loved was aeroplanes.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00He didn't have footballers and cricketers or girls on his wall,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02all over the wall, aeroplanes.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06So, when he's 18, he said, "Dad, I'm 18, what can I have for my birthday?"
0:20:06 > 0:20:09"Right", he said, "What do you want now?"
0:20:09 > 0:20:14"Oh, Dad", he said, "I'd like a ride in a helicopter."
0:20:14 > 0:20:18"Right", he said, "We'll go to Cardiff Airport", he said,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21"We'll go to Cardiff Airport. There's helicopter rides there.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25"20 minutes, £25. It's a lot of money, but you are 18."
0:20:25 > 0:20:28"Thanks, Dad." Up they go in the helicopter.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30They come back.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33"Enjoyais i mas draw!
0:20:33 > 0:20:37"Dad, I enjoyed that, but it went so quick.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40"Dad, Dad, can we have another ride?"
0:20:40 > 0:20:44"Listen, I'm a farmer", he said. "I can't afford another ride."
0:20:44 > 0:20:45"But, Dad, I'm 18."
0:20:45 > 0:20:48"We're going through a hard time. I can't afford it."
0:20:48 > 0:20:52This chap, Captain Timkins, overheard the conversation.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55He came over and he said, "I couldn't hear...
0:20:55 > 0:21:00"I couldn't help overhearing you Mr Morgan and your son Berwyn..."
0:21:00 > 0:21:02LAUGHTER
0:21:04 > 0:21:08"..speaking, and I understand you haven't got the money.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12"I'll tell you, I've got a little Cessna", he said.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15"A little Cessna, and I'll tell you what I'll do,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18"you can come for a ride with me and if you remain...
0:21:18 > 0:21:23"if you remain absolutely silent during the flight,
0:21:23 > 0:21:29"I won't charge you, but you must remain absolutely silent.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31"during the flight."
0:21:31 > 0:21:33Moc said, "Let me get this right now."
0:21:33 > 0:21:35LAUGHTER
0:21:35 > 0:21:40"What you're saying, if me and Berwyn don't say a word, we won't have to pay."
0:21:40 > 0:21:42"That's quite right."
0:21:42 > 0:21:45"Right, Berwyn, gwranda nawr.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48"Dim gair.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50"Not a word!"
0:21:50 > 0:21:52The taxi to the end of the runway.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54They took off.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57This steep climb through the clouds to 15,000 feet.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Terrible turbulence.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03They just miss the Aberthaw Power Station tower.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Just over.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08They head east over Bristol, down the Severn Estuary,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10under the Severn Bridge,
0:22:10 > 0:22:15back again, pulling 4G.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Poor Moc's face!
0:22:17 > 0:22:22Then they go on a series of flat spins and belly loops,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24just missing the houses.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27They land back at Cardiff Airport, right.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Captain Timkins gets out and says, "Well, can I say, Mr Morgan...
0:22:33 > 0:22:39"Can I say, I've been pulling this stunt for some 20 years", he said,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43"and no-one ever before has remained absolutely silent
0:22:43 > 0:22:45"during the flight.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49"Tell me, was there any point, I mean, like, when we went under the Severn Bridge
0:22:49 > 0:22:53"or we just missed those trees, was there any point when you nearly said something?"
0:22:53 > 0:22:58"Oh, yes. There was one moment." "When was that?"
0:22:58 > 0:23:00"When Berwyn fell out."
0:23:00 > 0:23:02LAUGHTER
0:23:05 > 0:23:07APPLAUSE
0:23:17 > 0:23:22Is it right that's the only time that story has ever received an airing?
0:23:22 > 0:23:26I'd never told that story before and I haven't told it since.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31It's such a long winding story, I'm afraid someone will shout out the end before I get there.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35And does Berwyn still exist? He's very well. Oh, good.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39And he's still trying to save money whatever way he can.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43And he goes out to car boot sales...
0:23:44 > 0:23:47..and he's selling brick-a-brack and candlesticks
0:23:47 > 0:23:52and Ewenny pottery and Swansea china and old books of photographs
0:23:52 > 0:23:55and he had a human skull there two years ago
0:23:55 > 0:23:59and this American came past and said,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03"I was hoping to ask you, sir, whose skull is that?"
0:24:03 > 0:24:08He said, "That's the skull of Owain Glyndwr,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11"the last native prince of Wales.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14"You mean Owain Glendower?" "The very man."
0:24:14 > 0:24:18"I'd like to purchase that skull. We'd like to take that back to the States with us.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20"How much is it?"
0:24:20 > 0:24:23"Oh", he said, "I think it'll be too much for you, bach.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28"It's £1,000." "I'll pay the £1,000 for the skull of Owain Glendower.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33"My God, wait 'til I take that back. The skull of Owain Glendower!"
0:24:33 > 0:24:35He puts it in a box and takes it away.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40Two years later, Berwyn's back at the car boot sale, still selling his brick-a-brack.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45This time he's got a small skull.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50The same American comes and says, "May I ask you, sir, whose skull is that?"
0:24:50 > 0:24:55And Berwyn said, "That's the skull of Owain Glyndwr,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57"the last native prince of Wales."
0:24:57 > 0:25:00The American says, "That can't be. I was here two years ago.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03"I bought the skull of Owain Glendower. That one's smaller."
0:25:03 > 0:25:06"Oh, yes, that was when he was a boy."
0:25:06 > 0:25:07LAUGHTER
0:25:20 > 0:25:25Right, let's have some glamour and a message from somebody you know very well.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Max, sending you all my love.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31If you remember, the first time we met was when you kindly invited me,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35right at the start of my career, to be part of the show you put on
0:25:35 > 0:25:38for the World Cup in the Sydney Opera House.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42That was one of my best memories. You made a dream come true for me.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46And it was really special to be able to share the stage with you that night.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Max, we all love you. You're such a legend.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52It's an honour to be able to call you my friend.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Have a wonderful time and hopefully I'll see you soon.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58APPLAUSE
0:26:04 > 0:26:08Ten years, of course, since England won the World Cup.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12I was in the Opera House that night to see you.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14It was an extraordinary evening, wasn't it?
0:26:14 > 0:26:19Yeah...it was probably one of the greatest concerts of my life.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22I never thought we'd sell it out and we did.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25It's such an iconic building.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29That's the only time I've been intimidated by a building.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31I was all right inside,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34but when I was outside, I was thinking, "What am I doing here?"
0:26:34 > 0:26:38I had such a welcome when I walked on stage, it was just overwhelming.
0:26:38 > 0:26:44It was brilliantly choreographed and stage set and, as you say, the entrance was pretty dramatic.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49'Ladies and gentlemen, live at the Sydney Opera House,
0:26:49 > 0:26:54'the legend that is Max Boyce!'
0:26:54 > 0:26:56CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:27:12 > 0:27:17# Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
0:27:17 > 0:27:22# "You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me"
0:27:22 > 0:27:27# And he sang and he watched and he waited 'til his billy boiled
0:27:27 > 0:27:33# "You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me." #
0:27:33 > 0:27:35CHEERING
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Watching that, does that feel like your World Cup final, almost?
0:27:45 > 0:27:47It was, erm...
0:27:47 > 0:27:52Graham Henry came to the concert and he came to see me afterwards
0:27:52 > 0:27:56and he didn't know how to express in theatrical terms how well I'd done.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59He said, "Max, you just won the first Test."
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Here's somebody else who knows a fair bit about playing Sydney Opera House.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09Max, yn gyntaf oll, yn anffodus, galla i ddim bod yna hefo chi heno
0:28:09 > 0:28:12i wneud llwnc destun am y 70 mlynedd.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Max, think of those opera singers.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Callas, Tito Gobbi,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Pavarotti, Placido Domingo.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25What do they have in common, these iconic voices, when you hear the on the radio?
0:28:25 > 0:28:29You know there can only be one person that is.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33For me, you are exactly the same.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Your humour, your songs,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38the way you can do it in both languages.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40It's pretty impressive.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44And that's one word in Welsh, isn't it? Chwerthin.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49To make people laugh, and you've done that in abundance.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52I'm sorry I can't be with you to have a glass of wine,
0:28:52 > 0:28:55but hopefully I'll see you on the golf course. Hwyl.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59APPLAUSE
0:29:04 > 0:29:06Great man. Great man.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10And you may have spotted that Bryn did that yesterday for us
0:29:10 > 0:29:12on his own smartphone, by himself.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14So no expense spared.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17We're going to talk golf a bit later on as well.
0:29:17 > 0:29:22From one great voice, if we talk about the serious singing part of your life,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24as a composer as well,
0:29:24 > 0:29:27and it's one of those cliched questions people always ask,
0:29:27 > 0:29:29but if there's one song that you've written
0:29:29 > 0:29:33that you're particularly proud of, what would that be?
0:29:33 > 0:29:38It's hard to pick one song, especially if you compare the comedic songs with the serious songs,
0:29:38 > 0:29:44but because of my mining background, I would probably have to pick Rhondda Grey.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48It tells a story of the legacy that mining has had in these communities,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50but it is told through the eyes of a child.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54And he comes home from school and his homework is to paint the valley.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56He is told, he asks, "What colour is the valley?"
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Perhaps the real, the real colour of the valley
0:29:59 > 0:30:01is not found in the terraced streets,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03but only in the faces of old colliers
0:30:03 > 0:30:06who have spent so much time underground,
0:30:06 > 0:30:08robbed of their daylight.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11I have called that song and that colour Rhondda Grey.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13And here it is.
0:30:13 > 0:30:19MUSIC: "Rhondda Grey"
0:30:27 > 0:30:30# One afternoon from a council school
0:30:33 > 0:30:36# A boy came home to play
0:30:39 > 0:30:42# With paint and coloured pencils
0:30:42 > 0:30:46# And his homework for the day
0:30:48 > 0:30:51# "We've got to paint the valley, Mam,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54# "For Mrs Davies Art
0:30:57 > 0:31:00# "What colour is the valley, Mam,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04# "And will you help me start?"
0:31:12 > 0:31:16# BOTH:"Shall I paint the Con Club yellow
0:31:16 > 0:31:19# "And paint the Welfare blue?"
0:31:21 > 0:31:25# "And paint old Mr Davies red
0:31:25 > 0:31:28# "And all his pigeons too?"
0:31:31 > 0:31:35# "And paint the man who kept our ball
0:31:35 > 0:31:37# "And paint him looking sad?"
0:31:40 > 0:31:43# "What colour is the valley, Mam,
0:31:43 > 0:31:47# "What colour is it, Dad?"
0:31:55 > 0:31:58# Well, his father took him by the hand
0:31:58 > 0:32:02# They walked down Albion Street
0:32:04 > 0:32:07# Down past the old Rock Incline
0:32:07 > 0:32:12# To where the council put a seat
0:32:14 > 0:32:17# Where old men say at the close of day
0:32:17 > 0:32:21# "Dy'n ni wedi gwneud ein siar."
0:32:23 > 0:32:26# And the colour in their faces says
0:32:28 > 0:32:32# The tools are on the bar
0:32:34 > 0:32:37# The tools are on the bar
0:32:40 > 0:32:43# "And that's the colour that we want
0:32:45 > 0:32:48# "That no shop has ever sold
0:32:51 > 0:32:54# "You can't buy that in Woolies, lad
0:32:54 > 0:32:58# "With your reds and greens and golds."
0:33:00 > 0:33:03# "It's a colour you can't buy, lad
0:33:03 > 0:33:07# "No matter what you pay
0:33:09 > 0:33:12# "But that's the colour that we want:
0:33:14 > 0:33:17# "Some call it Rhondda Grey
0:33:20 > 0:33:24# "They call it Rhondda Grey
0:33:26 > 0:33:28# "They call it
0:33:29 > 0:33:31# "Rhondda
0:33:31 > 0:33:34# "Grey." #
0:33:34 > 0:33:38MUSIC
0:33:42 > 0:33:46APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:33:58 > 0:34:01That was West End star and Rhondda girl Sophie Evans.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06There's a strange romanticism, almost, about the old days.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10And yet, you outlined earlier on how bad things were.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13How much richer and how much poorer is Wales as a country now,
0:34:13 > 0:34:15do you think, because of the changes that have happened?
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Well, it's much changed. I think the big difference,
0:34:18 > 0:34:21certainly South Wales, is people in those days, when I was growing up,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24people, um, everybody worked together
0:34:24 > 0:34:26and everyone went on holiday together
0:34:26 > 0:34:30and, um, but now, it's, it's so different.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34People have to travel to work and I think that's the big difference.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37The communities, perhaps, are not as close knit as they were.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40They are still special places, but, um,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43travel has changed them, more or less. They have to travel to work.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45OK, well, we have to travel from Wales to England now.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Here is a knight of the realm with a message for us.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53Well, well, well, Jack, 70. Who'd have thought you'd have got to 70!
0:34:53 > 0:34:55That's a miracle in itself.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58All those years, the King and Jack all over the country.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00But I seem to remember Bradford,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03when we did the Alhambra Theatre, Jack.
0:35:03 > 0:35:04Do you remember that little pub next door?
0:35:04 > 0:35:07There was you, me, regulars in there.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10But because we didn't get there until about 11.30 at night,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13you made us tap on the door
0:35:13 > 0:35:17and we had to give the password. Do you remember what the password was?
0:35:17 > 0:35:22Yes. "Cardigan Bay is frozen. It will be hell for the seagulls."
0:35:22 > 0:35:24Jack, you're a star. You're one of the best friends I've ever had
0:35:24 > 0:35:27and mate, have a great, great 70th.
0:35:27 > 0:35:32APPLAUSE
0:35:38 > 0:35:40So, how was panto with Beefy?
0:35:40 > 0:35:42A nightmare.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43LAUGHTER
0:35:43 > 0:35:46He's a terrible, terrible, wonderful, wonderful man.
0:35:46 > 0:35:52But in pantomime, his, his, his, his boredom threshold was nil.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55We were in Jack and the Beanstalk, as he said.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58He was the king and I was playing Jack, the poor wood cutter's son.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01And Beefy, he'd been thrown in this dungeon with the princess, right.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05But he was so bored, right, he'd built a bar in the dungeon.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07And all I could hear was "Pop",
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Beefy opening bottles of wine in the dungeon.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12LAUGHTER
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Pulling pints of beer. "Come on, Jack. Come on, Jack."
0:36:15 > 0:36:21He was, ur, but he's a, yeah, he's a very great, loyal friend.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23But at this stage, life has very much changed
0:36:23 > 0:36:25from the folk clubs and all that sort of stuff.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27Now we're moving into celebrity world,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29and Bryn mentioned it a few moments ago as well,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32and what goes with that, if you can vaguely,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and vaguely being the operative word here,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36if you can vaguely swing a golf club,
0:36:36 > 0:36:38there's something of a poisoned chalice
0:36:38 > 0:36:40that you get invited to all these fantastic events.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42Well, coming back to Beefy again.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45He invited me, he said he'd bring some friends...
0:36:45 > 0:36:47Gareth was one, I remember.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49He invited me on this Pro-Celebrity golf circuit.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51He told everybody I was off scratch.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54I'd only played six weeks.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58I played in this tournament - The Bob Hope Classic in Moor Park.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01It was, it was terrifying.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04It's an absolutely terrifying place to be on that first tee of a Pro-Am.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06On the tee, Max Boyce! Yes.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08I've got to stand up to do this.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11You're on, you're on the tee and for some reason,
0:37:11 > 0:37:13God...
0:37:13 > 0:37:14LAUGHTER
0:37:14 > 0:37:17For some reason, only known to himself,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20gives me somebody else's arms...
0:37:20 > 0:37:23LAUGHTER
0:37:24 > 0:37:26..who has never played before.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28LAUGHTER
0:37:28 > 0:37:30And all these doubts come in to your mind.
0:37:30 > 0:37:35You woke up that morning and you're a perfectly sane, confident person.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39You're on the tee and all these doubts and insecurities
0:37:39 > 0:37:40come flooding into your mind.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42And you start talking to yourself.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46And you're asking yourself ridiculous questions like,
0:37:46 > 0:37:48"Am I right handed?"
0:37:48 > 0:37:51LAUGHTER
0:37:53 > 0:37:56"Of course you are. How do you know? You've got a right-handed club."
0:37:56 > 0:37:58LAUGHTER
0:37:58 > 0:38:03And the first pros I played with were Nick Faldo and Howard Clark.
0:38:03 > 0:38:04GASPS
0:38:04 > 0:38:07Howard Clark never spoke to me.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10They're on, they're on the first tee and he goes first.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13250 yards. "Good shot, good shot."
0:38:13 > 0:38:15Then Nick Faldo goes with a 1-iron.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18Bang. "Oh, good shot, good shot."
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Then it's my turn.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22And I say, "Watch yourselves!"
0:38:22 > 0:38:24LAUGHTER
0:38:24 > 0:38:26But no-one, no-one believes you.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29And there's, you're looking up, you're looking up
0:38:29 > 0:38:32and there's, there's thousands of people as far as you can see,
0:38:32 > 0:38:34all leaning over the barricades.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36And I say, "Watch yourselves!"
0:38:36 > 0:38:39And they don't believe you until you've swung the club.
0:38:39 > 0:38:40"Jeez!"
0:38:40 > 0:38:41LAUGHTER
0:38:41 > 0:38:43There were people, they were,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46there were people scattering everywhere, right.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48And this bloke, this warden with an orange bib goes,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51"Attention, please, please, please don't panic.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54"Please don't panic.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58"Make your way to the fairways, you'll be safe there."
0:38:58 > 0:39:02LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:39:03 > 0:39:05True story that was!
0:39:08 > 0:39:10True story, I promise you. That is a great story.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12So, listen, you know...
0:39:12 > 0:39:15People find themselves playing Pro-Celebrity golf.
0:39:15 > 0:39:20People do not find themselves doing Pro-Celebrity Rodeo Riding.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22So, how did that come about?
0:39:22 > 0:39:26Well, the BBC were anxious for me to be on television.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29So, they came up with these adventure specials.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32I actually played in the World Elephant Polo Championships.
0:39:32 > 0:39:33LAUGHTER
0:39:33 > 0:39:36Sorry, where are they staged? In Kathmandu. Are they?
0:39:36 > 0:39:39And it was... Annually? Annually.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42I, I, my team was Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach,
0:39:42 > 0:39:44Billy Connolly and myself.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46That was, that was quite the week that was, I tell you.
0:39:46 > 0:39:47LAUGHTER
0:39:47 > 0:39:51And they tried me out as a rodeo cowboy, essentially a bull rider.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54Well, listen, here are some of the moments, some of the best bits,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56of Max Goes West.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01COUNTRY MUSIC
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Grab the saddle, the horn, the horn! Oh, the horn.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16GASPS
0:40:29 > 0:40:30GASPS
0:40:36 > 0:40:38LAUGHTER
0:40:43 > 0:40:47CLANGING BELL
0:40:47 > 0:40:50GASPS AND GROANS
0:40:50 > 0:40:54APPLAUSE
0:40:55 > 0:40:58I'm not sure if riding bulls qualifies as real sport,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01but we haven't really spoken about sport very much.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03We've got so many great sportsmen in the audience.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Robert Jones, over there, what do you want to say?
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Penblwydd hapus, first off, Max.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11It's a real pleasure to be here tonight
0:41:11 > 0:41:12to celebrate this fantastic occasion.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14It's a simple question, really.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17I've experienced the highs and all the lows
0:41:17 > 0:41:19in rugby at the highest level.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Um, what's the nearest you've ever come to sporting greatness.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25MAX CHUCKLES
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Not very close, Rob.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29LAUGHTER
0:41:29 > 0:41:32But I, I did play for the Dallas Cowboys.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34America's team.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39And they'd been told, they wanted to do this documentary for Channel 4
0:41:39 > 0:41:42to introduce American football to the discerning British public.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45And they used me to introduce it.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47And the Dallas Cowboys had been told
0:41:47 > 0:41:49I was the biggest thing in British rugby.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50LAUGHTER
0:41:50 > 0:41:53They assumed I was a player.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58So, I got off the plane and, and all these camera crews and news people
0:41:58 > 0:42:00and press and all that.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02And , he saw me, I got off the plane and he said,
0:42:02 > 0:42:04"You're kind of small, ain't ya?"
0:42:04 > 0:42:07I said, "I haven't been very well."
0:42:07 > 0:42:08LAUGHTER
0:42:08 > 0:42:10And, and, and they...
0:42:10 > 0:42:12They sent me on this, the day after,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15they sent me on this ten-mile run in all the gear.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18And, ur, and they set out and I hadn't trained or anything.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20I hadn't done anything for 20 years.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24These guys were coming back in like 28 minutes, 29 minutes, 31 minutes.
0:42:24 > 0:42:25When I came back, it was dark.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27LAUGHTER
0:42:27 > 0:42:29But I tell, we've got the opening titles
0:42:29 > 0:42:32of that programme from Channel 4 here.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Just the end, just watch the end of this. You'll love it.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38MUSIC
0:42:42 > 0:42:44LAUGHTER
0:42:50 > 0:42:52Longer, longer, good. Longer.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55That's it. Now, hard back. All the way back. All the way back.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04Hang on.
0:43:05 > 0:43:06LAUGHTER
0:43:11 > 0:43:12Do you feel that?
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Aargh!
0:43:31 > 0:43:34This is Billy Jo. How are you doing, Buddy? I'm fine, thanks.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36It's a bit hot. A bit hot.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39Come over here. Just stand there and lean down a little bit.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41And when the ball is snapped, when I snap the ball,
0:43:41 > 0:43:44this is what a defender, usually, will do to me.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46He'll come in and strike me. I won't do it real hard,
0:43:46 > 0:43:49but, you know, I'll show you a little bit what he does.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51He comes in and...
0:43:51 > 0:43:53Max, Max, you weren't concentrating.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55LAUGHTER
0:43:55 > 0:43:58You're supposed to be my friend!
0:43:58 > 0:44:00You just, you just weren't ready.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02I mean a lot of friends will come up
0:44:02 > 0:44:05and, you know, just hit you on the side of your head.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:44:15 > 0:44:16So...
0:44:17 > 0:44:22From that inauspicious start, did you actually ever get picked?
0:44:22 > 0:44:24Well, I did, actually, yeah.
0:44:24 > 0:44:29When they picked, this Coach Landry, he took, he really respected me
0:44:29 > 0:44:31for how hard I tried when I was up against impossible odds.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33Because I was like...
0:44:33 > 0:44:35They were the pick of America's athletes and I was nearly 40.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39You know, and he did, he respected me for it.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42When they picked the team, the offence for the first game,
0:44:42 > 0:44:44against Green Bay Packers,
0:44:44 > 0:44:46I was, I was in the team.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48It was just, absolute, nobody could believe...
0:44:48 > 0:44:50So this is the proper match?
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Yes, yes, proper game, the Texas stadium, 80,000 people
0:44:52 > 0:44:55and, and, like, I couldn't believe it.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59And, and, and the stadium announcer would announce the offence
0:44:59 > 0:45:02and you'd run on on your own. You'd run on from the...
0:45:02 > 0:45:04right across the field to the centre circle.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06And then, the, the stadium announcer goes,
0:45:06 > 0:45:12"Wearing number, wearing number 33 from UCLA, Tony Dorsett."
0:45:12 > 0:45:15And all these cheerleaders would be dancing and things blowing.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19"Wearing number 45 from Kentucky High, Butch Johnson."
0:45:19 > 0:45:21"Hooray!"
0:45:21 > 0:45:25"And wearing number ten, from Trefforest School and Mines..."
0:45:25 > 0:45:28LAUGHTER
0:45:28 > 0:45:30"..running back Max Boyce."
0:45:30 > 0:45:32They're all going, "Yay...Who's that?"
0:45:32 > 0:45:35LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:45:37 > 0:45:39We haven't really mentioned rugby very much,
0:45:39 > 0:45:41but do you think you're lucky to have been
0:45:41 > 0:45:43brought in to the rugby fraternity
0:45:43 > 0:45:45or born into it, obviously from start,
0:45:45 > 0:45:48so that there's such a rich array of stories
0:45:48 > 0:45:51and such an extraordinary variety of people that have produced,
0:45:51 > 0:45:53I guess, an awful lot of material for you?
0:45:53 > 0:45:56Great characters and I've had lots of stories,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59some I've invented, but some are true.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03One true story which people don't, I've embroidered it a little,
0:46:03 > 0:46:06but not much really, because there's so much happens
0:46:06 > 0:46:09on these great occasions that are the Six Nations.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12I went to, I remember, it's a long time ago now, in Ireland,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16I had my, I had my wallet stolen and my ticket, my return ticket.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19And this, I went up to this young girl in the Aer Lingus desk
0:46:19 > 0:46:21and she didn't know who I was.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23I said, "I've, I've had my wallet stolen",
0:46:23 > 0:46:27I said, "And I, I," and I said, "And my, and my, my return ticket.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30"But my name, Max Boyce, is in, it's in the manifest," I said,
0:46:30 > 0:46:31"You'll see it in the manifest."
0:46:31 > 0:46:34She said, "Sure, sure, it's in the manifest here. Max Boyce.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38"But there's no telling who you are, I can't leave you on the plane."
0:46:38 > 0:46:41I said, "Well, I didn't invent it, I couldn't invent a name."
0:46:41 > 0:46:44"Sorry, sir, that's rules and regulations.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46"I can't leave you on the plane unless you've got a ticket."
0:46:46 > 0:46:49So, I said, "See all those supporters over there?
0:46:49 > 0:46:53"Any one of those Welsh supporters, just pick any one of those
0:46:53 > 0:46:56"and bring them over, and if he says, if he says that's my name,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58"will you leave me on the plane?"
0:46:58 > 0:47:01She said, "Well, that sounds fair enough to me, sir.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03"I'll, I, I think that's fair enough now."
0:47:03 > 0:47:06So, I, she said, "That wee man there."
0:47:06 > 0:47:09I can see this, this bloke comes over. I can see him now.
0:47:09 > 0:47:14He was dressed in a Welsh flag. He had a plastic daffodil under one arm
0:47:14 > 0:47:16and a sheep under the other arm.
0:47:16 > 0:47:17LAUGHTER
0:47:17 > 0:47:20And I said, I said, "Do you know who I am?"
0:47:20 > 0:47:21He said, "Of course I do."
0:47:21 > 0:47:24I said, "Will you tell this girl who I am?" He said, "Brad Pitt."
0:47:24 > 0:47:27LAUGHTER
0:47:30 > 0:47:32"Ah, Mr Pitt, is it now, sir?"
0:47:32 > 0:47:35I said, "Now, then, now, will you leave me on the plane?"
0:47:35 > 0:47:38"I'm sorry, Mr Pitt..." Mr Pitt!
0:47:38 > 0:47:40"I'm sorry, Mr Pitt, I can't leave you on the plane."
0:47:40 > 0:47:42I said, "You're telling me
0:47:42 > 0:47:44"that you wouldn't leave Brad Pitt on the plane?"
0:47:44 > 0:47:46"That's right, sir." I said, "Why?"
0:47:46 > 0:47:48She said, "In case Mr Max Boyce comes late."
0:47:48 > 0:47:52LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:47:52 > 0:47:54And that, that...
0:47:56 > 0:48:00That, that, that was true, but I, I just embroidered the end a bit.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02LAUGHTER
0:48:02 > 0:48:04We come bang up to date with one of the great names of Welsh rugby
0:48:04 > 0:48:07in the room at the moment. I think he's got a question for you. Adam.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Hi, Max. Happy birthday.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Um, just a quick one. I won't keep you to long.
0:48:12 > 0:48:13Us, in the Welsh team,
0:48:13 > 0:48:16we all love the songs you write about the '70s boys.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Are you ever going to do one about us?
0:48:18 > 0:48:22Well, I have. I wrote it about the Grand Slam of two years ago.
0:48:22 > 0:48:27And, ur, because as you know, that was, um, the Year of the Dragon.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30And we nearly lost two games in the last-minute.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32It seemed to me that God was on our side.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34So, it's called, The Year of the Dragon.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36It looks back at, like, all the games
0:48:36 > 0:48:39in which you played such a prominent part.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43We flew out to Dublin where the Liffey still flows
0:48:43 > 0:48:46Passed the Temple Bar's pubs of renown
0:48:46 > 0:48:48Where a fiddler played me The Cliffs of Dooneen
0:48:48 > 0:48:51And we sang as the black stuff went down
0:48:51 > 0:48:53When we left for the game, well, we all looked the same
0:48:53 > 0:48:56For all my old Donegal tan
0:48:56 > 0:48:58That a moment of blame at the end of the game
0:48:58 > 0:49:00Meant we dreamt of another Grand Slam
0:49:00 > 0:49:03With Faletau, Lydiate and Sam
0:49:03 > 0:49:04We dreamt of another Grand Slam
0:49:04 > 0:49:06It can't be denied
0:49:06 > 0:49:07We had God on our side
0:49:07 > 0:49:11And Faletau, Lydiate and Sam
0:49:11 > 0:49:13We then went to London where this new English side
0:49:13 > 0:49:15CHUCKLING
0:49:15 > 0:49:18LAUGHTER
0:49:18 > 0:49:20APPLAUSE
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Had sworn to put discipline right
0:49:23 > 0:49:26The wild drinking parties were a thing of the past
0:49:26 > 0:49:28And the dwarves have gone back to Snow White
0:49:28 > 0:49:32LAUGHTER
0:49:35 > 0:49:38In a game full of tension it went to the end
0:49:38 > 0:49:40And we all felt their anguish and pain
0:49:40 > 0:49:43LAUGHTER
0:49:45 > 0:49:48When we all watched that replay played over again
0:49:48 > 0:49:49And again
0:49:49 > 0:49:51and again
0:49:51 > 0:49:52and again
0:49:52 > 0:49:55When Les Bleus came to Cardiff after losing in France
0:49:55 > 0:49:57The Tricolore fluttered in shame
0:49:57 > 0:50:01But the Dax bands were playing to the emptying streets
0:50:01 > 0:50:03And they drummed us in time to the game
0:50:03 > 0:50:06They had the roof open to the wind and the rain
0:50:06 > 0:50:08To sully the gold in our crown
0:50:08 > 0:50:10But the silence for Merve
0:50:11 > 0:50:13Was so hard to observe
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Like the sadness that fell on the ground
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Looking back I remember at the start of the year
0:50:19 > 0:50:21No-one thought of another Grand Slam
0:50:21 > 0:50:24The first game in Dublin, the hardest of starts
0:50:24 > 0:50:26Where the lion lies down with the lamb
0:50:27 > 0:50:29But the moment of blame at the end of the game
0:50:29 > 0:50:32Meant we danced in the pubs and the bars
0:50:32 > 0:50:34In the Year of the Dragon
0:50:34 > 0:50:35It was just meant to be
0:50:35 > 0:50:37It was written as such
0:50:37 > 0:50:38In the stars
0:50:38 > 0:50:44APPLAUSE
0:50:54 > 0:50:56Would you have swapped everything you've had
0:50:56 > 0:50:59and everything you've done for one Welsh cap. Yes.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01LAUGHTER
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Playing at, in what position? Outside-half. Outside-half.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06And who would have been your nine?
0:51:06 > 0:51:07Gareth.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09So, Hymns and Arias!
0:51:09 > 0:51:12In many ways, that's your legacy to Wales,
0:51:12 > 0:51:13that song, in many ways.
0:51:13 > 0:51:15Well, I don't know about that, but,
0:51:15 > 0:51:18as a singer-songwriter who started out in folk music,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21it's part of what I call "the folk song process"
0:51:21 > 0:51:25where a song, for whatever reason, is adopted by a nation or by a country.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28I never thought it would last, like, you know, 40 years.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31It was just another song, another topical song I wrote at the time.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34One of the great things about it is that it is a song
0:51:34 > 0:51:36almost for every occasion.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39# Here's to this Assembly
0:51:39 > 0:51:41CHEERING
0:51:41 > 0:51:43# That they built along the shore
0:51:43 > 0:51:46# They'll build it here in Cardiff
0:51:46 > 0:51:47# Though Cardiff voted no...#
0:51:47 > 0:51:50LAUGHTER
0:51:52 > 0:51:53You did!
0:51:53 > 0:51:54LAUGHTER
0:51:55 > 0:51:59# Swansea fought a long campaign
0:51:59 > 0:52:01CHEERING AND LAUGHTER
0:52:01 > 0:52:04# And well it must be said
0:52:04 > 0:52:06# But all they offered Swansea was
0:52:06 > 0:52:09# A swimming pool instead
0:52:09 > 0:52:10LAUGHTER
0:52:10 > 0:52:14# And we were singing
0:52:14 > 0:52:18# Hymns and arias...# Let's hear you Cardiff!
0:52:18 > 0:52:22# Land of my fathers...# On your own!
0:52:22 > 0:52:25# CROWD: Ar hyd y nos. #
0:52:25 > 0:52:29CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Who'd have thought that these days, you know,
0:52:36 > 0:52:38it gets sung at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge?
0:52:38 > 0:52:40I never thought that would happen.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43I went, I went to see the Swans play Man United last year.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45To hear them singing it continually before kick-off
0:52:45 > 0:52:46was, I couldn't believe it.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48We've got a quick message here, actually,
0:52:48 > 0:52:50from some of the Swansea players.
0:52:50 > 0:52:51Happy birthday, Max.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54Thanks for bringing Hymns and Arias to the Liberty Stadium.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56LAUGHTER
0:52:56 > 0:52:58I said it was quick. They were brief.
0:52:58 > 0:52:59LAUGHTER
0:52:59 > 0:53:01Brief but heartfelt.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03LAUGHTER
0:53:03 > 0:53:05But, even by your own admission, actually,
0:53:05 > 0:53:08you're not the best exponent of that song
0:53:08 > 0:53:10because, because your granddaughter is.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12CROWD: Aah!
0:53:12 > 0:53:13You'll love this, you really will.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18# And we were singing
0:53:18 > 0:53:22# Hymns and arias
0:53:22 > 0:53:26# Land of my fathers
0:53:26 > 0:53:30# Ar hyd y nos. #
0:53:30 > 0:53:35APPLAUSE
0:53:38 > 0:53:41And in those rock'n'roll years in the '70s and beyond
0:53:41 > 0:53:43was it the family that sort of kept you grounded?
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Yes, they sacrificed everything, really.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50You know, they took a back seat and let me follow my dream.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53And, um, yeah, without them, I wouldn't have achieved anything.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56They are...I have a fixed back.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59Well, their contribution to you is superseded, I think,
0:53:59 > 0:54:01only by the contribution you've made to the Welsh nation.
0:54:01 > 0:54:02It's been fantastic.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05As a final thing, because we could be here for hours,
0:54:05 > 0:54:06but the clock has beaten us,
0:54:06 > 0:54:09we've got, if you like, the next generation of Welsh performers,
0:54:09 > 0:54:11Only Boys Aloud,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14who are going to sing a medley of Max's greatest hits.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16So, would you welcome, Only Boys Aloud.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18APPLAUSE
0:54:18 > 0:54:22MUSIC: "Sosban Fach"
0:54:30 > 0:54:31# Oi, oi
0:54:31 > 0:54:34# Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi brifo
0:54:34 > 0:54:36# A Dafydd y gwas ddim yn iach
0:54:36 > 0:54:37# Oi, oi
0:54:37 > 0:54:40# Mae'r baban yn y crud yn crio
0:54:40 > 0:54:44# A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach
0:54:44 > 0:54:47# Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tan
0:54:47 > 0:54:50# Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr
0:54:50 > 0:54:56# A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach
0:54:57 > 0:55:00# Dai bach y sowldiwr
0:55:00 > 0:55:03# Dai bach y solwdiwr
0:55:03 > 0:55:06# Dai bach y sowldiwr
0:55:06 > 0:55:09# A gwt ei grys e mas
0:55:13 > 0:55:16MUSIC: "The Pontypool Front Row"
0:55:16 > 0:55:20# Now I'll tell you all a story about some lads I know
0:55:20 > 0:55:23# Who are known throughout the Valleys as the Pontypool front row
0:55:23 > 0:55:26# They got a certain chorus and that chorus you all know
0:55:26 > 0:55:28# So tell me are you ready
0:55:28 > 0:55:34# Up and under here we go
0:55:34 > 0:55:37# Are you ready yes or no?
0:55:37 > 0:55:40# Up and under here we go
0:55:40 > 0:55:43# It's the song of the Pontypool front row
0:55:43 > 0:55:48MUSIC: "Hymns and Arias"
0:55:48 > 0:55:53# And we were singing
0:55:53 > 0:55:58# Hymns and arias
0:55:58 > 0:56:02# Land of my fathers
0:56:02 > 0:56:05# Ar hyd y nos
0:56:07 > 0:56:13# We paid our weekly shilling for that January trip
0:56:14 > 0:56:20# A long weekend in London, aye, without a bit of kip
0:56:21 > 0:56:27# There's a seat reserved for beer by the boys from Abercarn
0:56:28 > 0:56:31# There's beer, pontoon, crisps and fags
0:56:31 > 0:56:34# And a croakin' "Calon Lan"
0:56:36 > 0:56:41# And we were singing
0:56:41 > 0:56:44# Hymns and arias
0:56:44 > 0:56:49# Land of my fathers
0:56:49 > 0:56:53# Ar hyd y nos
0:56:54 > 0:56:57# Now Max has reached the milestone
0:56:57 > 0:57:00# Our tribute must be paid
0:57:01 > 0:57:04# He's done as much for rugby
0:57:04 > 0:57:07# As anyone who's played
0:57:07 > 0:57:11# So on his special birthday
0:57:11 > 0:57:14# Let us raise our bitter ales
0:57:14 > 0:57:18# And celebrate the legend
0:57:18 > 0:57:21# That is Boyce, the Bard of Wales
0:57:21 > 0:57:23APPLAUSE
0:57:23 > 0:57:28# And we were singing
0:57:28 > 0:57:32# Hymns and arias
0:57:32 > 0:57:36# Land of my fathers
0:57:36 > 0:57:41# Ar hyd y nos
0:57:41 > 0:57:46# And we were singing
0:57:46 > 0:57:50# Hymns and arias
0:57:50 > 0:57:55# Land of my fathers
0:57:55 > 0:58:01# Ar hyd y nos... #
0:58:02 > 0:58:07APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:58:09 > 0:58:10# Oi, oi! #
0:58:10 > 0:58:13APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:58:14 > 0:58:16Ladies and gentlemen,
0:58:16 > 0:58:19happy birthday to the one, the only, the incomparable
0:58:19 > 0:58:20Max Boyce!
0:58:20 > 0:58:24CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:58:24 > 0:58:29# And we were singing
0:58:29 > 0:58:33# Hymns and arias
0:58:33 > 0:58:38# Land of my fathers
0:58:38 > 0:58:42# Ar hyd y nos
0:58:42 > 0:58:47# And we were singing
0:58:47 > 0:58:51# Hymns and arias
0:58:51 > 0:58:56# Land of my fathers
0:58:56 > 0:59:01# Ar hyd y nos. #
0:59:01 > 0:59:06CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:59:09 > 0:59:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd