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0:00:35 > 0:00:37- Forty years ago...
0:00:38 > 0:00:40- ..on the 18th of May, 1976...
0:00:41 > 0:00:44- ..I came here, - to Bingley Hall in Stafford...
0:00:44 > 0:00:49- ..to see the best rock 'n' roll band - in the world - The Rolling Stones.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51- I came here to be entertained...
0:00:52 > 0:00:55- ..and my life - was never the same afterwards.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- It was a Tuesday.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14- Ellis John - borrowed a minibus from Bob Mason...
0:01:14 > 0:01:17- ..and drove up from Dolgellau...
0:01:17 > 0:01:20- ..and picked - the rest of us up near Caernarfon.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25- I'm trying to work out - where everything was.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28- I think the stage was here.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33- It's a lot bigger...
0:01:33 > 0:01:36- ..than I remember.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40- We arrived quite early, - so we could more or less choose...
0:01:40 > 0:01:42- ..where we wanted to sit.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48- We decided to sit in the gallery - so we could look down on the stage.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52- We set up camp about three quarters - of the way down over there...
0:01:53 > 0:01:56- ..because - that's where the bar was situated.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06- I remember - this voice coming over the PA.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10- "Ladies and gentlemen, - put your hands together...
0:02:10 > 0:02:14- "..for the greatest rock'n'roll band - in the world, The Rolling Stones.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17- "The Rolling Stones!"
0:02:17 > 0:02:19- Next came the guitar riff.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29- Straight into Honky Tonk Women.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32- The place went crazy.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37- # It's the honky tonk women
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- # Gimme, gimme, gimme
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- # The honky tonk blues #
0:02:45 > 0:02:48- I was quite immature musically.
0:02:48 > 0:02:54- Before coming here, - I'd never seen anything like it.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00- I'd seen local bands - do cover versions of chart hits...
0:03:00 > 0:03:02- ..at Llallyfni War Memorial Hall.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07- I went to Bangor Normal and watched - a few bands at the students' union.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13- In a way, - this was a real eye opener for me.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22- What struck me...
0:03:22 > 0:03:25- ..was how flamboyant he was.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30- His clothes were incredible. - He influenced the era's fashion.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35- We didn't dress like this - to go to the market in Llangefni...
0:03:35 > 0:03:39- ..but we did wear flared trousers!
0:03:54 > 0:03:58- After that night, I didn't - want to be a teacher any more.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- It changed the course - of my professional life.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04- I'd been training - to become a teacher...
0:04:05 > 0:04:09- ..but then decided - to do something else with my life.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13- We lived in Dragon Goch.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17- That was the name - of our house in Penmynydd.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21- The house belonged - to the Ty Fry Estate, Pentraeth...
0:04:21 > 0:04:23- ..where I worked as a farmhand.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- It was a crazy house.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27- It was bohemian.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33- Music was always blasting - out of the house day and night.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- This momentous night - was in May 1976...
0:04:41 > 0:04:46- ..at the beginning - of a glorious summer.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48- It was sunny and warm.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50- The Eisteddfod was in Cardigan.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54- It was one of - the best eisteddfodau ever held.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59- One day, we ventured - to the eisteddfod maes...
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- ..and as you can see, - we look completely lost.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06- We didn't know - what to do or where to turn.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08- We were at our happiest...
0:05:09 > 0:05:13- ..at Cardigan rugby club, - which you can see in the background.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18- Some groups had been playing there - the night before...
0:05:18 > 0:05:20- ..and had left their gear.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24- During the afternoon, - someone said, "Let's go and jam."
0:05:25 > 0:05:28- Ithel Jones and Phil Jones - were there with me.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33- They got up and played, so I just - jumped up and made up lyrics.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36- I translated songs...
0:05:37 > 0:05:41- ..like Cross Road Blues by - Robert Johnson and stuff like that.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- People came in from the bar - and started to listen.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- We thought, - oh, OK, we'll do another.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51- Ithel sent a postcard saying, - how about starting a band?
0:05:53 > 0:05:57- I was asked to be the vocalist.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02- We needed songs, - so we started writing.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- We translated songs - or took ideas from other songs.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10- Draenog Marw - was one of the songs we translated.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16- It was an adaptation - of Dead Skunk by Laudon Wainwright.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20- # Take a whiff on me, - that ain't no rose
0:06:20 > 0:06:23- # Roll up your window - and hold your nose
0:06:23 > 0:06:26- # You don't have to look - and you don't have to see
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- # 'Cause you can feel it - in your olfactory
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- # You got your dead skunk - in the middle of the road #
0:06:33 > 0:06:37- # Dead hedgehog on the road
0:06:37 > 0:06:39- # Dead hedgehog on the road
0:06:39 > 0:06:43- # And it's stinking to high heaven #
0:06:44 > 0:06:46- The following summer in 1977...
0:06:46 > 0:06:51- ..a group of hippies settled in - Bethesda and organized a festival.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56- They booked us - to play in the afternoon...
0:06:56 > 0:06:58- ..with Meic Stevens.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02- At the end of the night, we all went - back to Dragon Goch for a party.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07- There was a knock at the door, I - opened it and it was Meic Stevens.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- He'd been hiding - in the back of our van.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14- I think he was with us for 10 days. - We couldn't get rid of him.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17- We became good friends, fair play.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20- He put my name forward for a part...
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- ..in the Dic Penderyn rock opera - he'd written...
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- ..with Rhydwen Williams.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28- That's when I got my Equity card.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32- It's thanks to Meic - that I started acting.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43- This was the night...
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- ..that made me consider - making a career...
0:07:47 > 0:07:49- ..from rock'n'roll.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52- It was an Eureka moment.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- I went from being - a face in the crowd...
0:07:56 > 0:08:01- ..to suddenly realizing this is what - these guys did all day, every day...
0:08:02 > 0:08:04- ..and I wanted a piece of it.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- I received my Equity card in 1979...
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- ..so it became a ticket - to another profession.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33- I was invited to be a presenter...
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- ..on a magazine programme - called Ser.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40- I found out pretty soon...
0:08:40 > 0:08:43- ..I wasn't comfortable presenting...
0:08:43 > 0:08:47- ..though I enjoyed - the physical side of it.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51- At the same time, - the Bara Caws theatre company...
0:08:51 > 0:08:54- ..had been going - for about two years.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- Everyone was talking about - this new, radical, political...
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- ..and trailblazing company.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- In 1981 I acted in my first play...
0:09:05 > 0:09:07- ..entitled Oes 'Ma Bobl.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12- While I was working - with Bara Caws...
0:09:12 > 0:09:16- ..I lived in Regent Street - for 18 months to two years.
0:09:16 > 0:09:22- It was nice coming back to - Upper Bangor after studying here.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25- After living in Cardiff - for a while...
0:09:26 > 0:09:31- ..I saw Upper Bangor - in a very different light.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45- The fact that Bara Caws was radical - and different was an attraction.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- It was a pioneering - and political company...
0:09:49 > 0:09:53- ..led by Iola Gregory, Valmai Jones, - Dyfan Roberts and Mei Jones.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01- I was in and out - for three or four years...
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- ..doing individual plays...
0:10:04 > 0:10:08- ..before being offered - full-time work.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13- A few of us researched, - wrote and performed.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- I acted in many interesting plays.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19- It was a learning curve for me.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- I learned about writing, - what made a good play...
0:10:24 > 0:10:26- ..what audiences wanted...
0:10:27 > 0:10:32- ..and finding the right balance for - getting the play's message across.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- The work was rewarding.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39- That passion is still there. - The flame still burns inside me.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42- It's important to put on plays...
0:10:42 > 0:10:47- ..for people in their communities - about subjects which concern them.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50- It was a special place...
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- ..and it was - a very happy time in my life.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58- It also inspired the song, - Mardi Gras Ym Mangor Uchaf.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- # Dire Straits on Holyhead Road
0:11:02 > 0:11:04- # And Led Zep... #
0:11:05 > 0:11:07- By 1982, S4C was launched.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- The Tir Glas company - was looking for new artists.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15- Huw Jones asked me - if I'd perform as a solo artist.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20- The first song I ever wrote...
0:11:20 > 0:11:24- ..I had a melody in my head...
0:11:24 > 0:11:28- ..and the lyrics came easily - one Saturday morning...
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- ..while I went to fetch - something for breakfast.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34- It came to me very organically.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38- # Everything for every occasion - on sale in every shop
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- # Shopkeepers... #
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- It's easy - to romanticize about these places...
0:11:45 > 0:11:49- ..because Upper Bangor - has always been a charming place.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51- It's gone downhill these days.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55- Ed Povey's murals have gone, - the colourful shops have gone.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- Despite its appearance, - it's a busy place...
0:12:00 > 0:12:02- ..buzzing with creativity.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- It's provided a lot of fun - for people over the years.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11- People are fonder of Upper Bangor - than they are about the city itself.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15- # Nugget, Meri, Meris - and Common Jacks of the world #
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- Nugget was Cefin.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25- That came from Valmai telling him - he was so intrinsically Welsh...
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- ..he had a gold nugget inside him...
0:12:28 > 0:12:32- ..which gleamed every time - there was any talk of cerdd dant...
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- ..or something Welsh-orientated.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39- Meri Meri was Valmai Jones, - who was more influenced...
0:12:39 > 0:12:42- ..by English culture - than Welsh culture.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- I was the Common Jack, of course.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50- It was our form of shorthand...
0:12:50 > 0:12:54- ..for pigeonholing people.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59- # Jabbering in Welsh - at Y Glob almost every night
0:12:59 > 0:13:03- # Menai Vaults and the Belle Vue, - Bangor aye and who knows?
0:13:03 > 0:13:07- # Nugget, Meri Meris - and the world's Common Jacks
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- # Speaking Esperanto, - that's the only language there is
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- # It's Mardi Gras in Upper Bangor
0:13:16 > 0:13:20- # Calypso on everyone's lips #
0:13:20 > 0:13:22- You don't realize it at the time...
0:13:23 > 0:13:25- ..but in the early 1980s...
0:13:25 > 0:13:30- ..I didn't know what was going to - happen for the rest of that decade.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33- In 1983 I became a father.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36- In 1988 Sobin was formed.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- Crysbas was dead on its feet.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- My acting career - had taken over by then.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46- Those wild, crazy days...
0:13:47 > 0:13:51- ..spent in places like this - came to an end, to some degree!
0:13:51 > 0:13:54- # The singer
0:13:55 > 0:14:01- # The singer all alone #
0:14:09 > 0:14:10- .
0:14:11 > 0:14:11- Subtitles
0:14:11 > 0:14:13- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:14:22 > 0:14:25- DUBLIN
0:14:35 > 0:14:38- We've crossed the water to Dublin.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42- I've come to the National Stadium...
0:14:42 > 0:14:47- ..the only building in the world - exclusively designed for boxing.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51- I came here - on the fourth of June, 1988...
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- ..to see - a very special man from Canada...
0:14:55 > 0:14:57- ..called Leonard Cohen.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01- # He's here in front of me now
0:15:01 > 0:15:04- # He's composing poetry - where once was boxing
0:15:06 > 0:15:09- # A city celebrating a millennium
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- # And the Jew singing a welcome #
0:15:12 > 0:15:16- There's not much to say - about the building itself.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20- Dublin was celebrating - 1,000 years since its founding.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- He came on and said...
0:15:23 > 0:15:27- .."Thanks for the welcome, - it's good to be here in Dublin.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31- "It's good to be performing - in one of the original buildings."
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- # Remembering his no-nonsense words
0:15:35 > 0:15:38- # Janis and the poet from Montreal #
0:15:38 > 0:15:41- We were sitting - down at the bottom...
0:15:41 > 0:15:43- ..in the centre of the square.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46- There was a scruffy hippy - right at the end.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50- In between every song, without fail, - he shouted...
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- .."Hey, Lenny! Lady Midnight!
0:15:53 > 0:15:56- "Lenny, why don't you sing...?"
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- In between every song.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00- After half an hour...
0:16:01 > 0:16:05- ..Leonard had had enough of him - and he turned on him and said...
0:16:05 > 0:16:11- "Listen, I've forgotten that song - and I advise you to do the same."
0:16:11 > 0:16:15- # He says what he's got to say - without smiling
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- # "Lady Midnight" the hippy insists
0:16:19 > 0:16:22- # "Oh, no, I've forgotten it"
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- # "Do the same, you idiot
0:16:27 > 0:16:29- # "Because I remember you well
0:16:31 > 0:16:33- # "At the Chelsea Hotel" #
0:16:34 > 0:16:36- He's a very complex man.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- I know - he's been battling depression.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43- Many people - think his songs are depressing...
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- ..but I can see - a lot of humour in them.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52- # I remember you well - in the Chelsea Hotel
0:16:53 > 0:16:57- # You were famous, - your heart was a legend
0:16:59 > 0:17:03- # You told me again - you preferred handsome men
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- # But for me - you would make an exception #
0:17:08 > 0:17:12- He's very different from people - like Mick Jagger and others.
0:17:12 > 0:17:17- Jagger'd argue that you have to - sustain the audience's attention...
0:17:17 > 0:17:19- ..with some kind of movement - or whatever...
0:17:20 > 0:17:22- ..but he believed - the total opposite.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- He preferred to present his lyrics - in the best way he could...
0:17:27 > 0:17:32- ..and let the audience - absorb the sentiment...
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- ..process them - and interpret them as they wish.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44- You take elements of both things - when you're with a full band.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48- You're aware that you need - to move and give a performance.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53- With the quiet acoustic stuff - that I sing...
0:17:53 > 0:17:58- ..it's enough to sit on a stool - and sing the lyrics...
0:17:59 > 0:18:02- ..of Emyr Huws Jones - or Alun Sbardun Hughes...
0:18:02 > 0:18:07- ..and let people enjoy it and think - about the lyrics in a different way.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- I've seen him - many times after that...
0:18:14 > 0:18:17- ..but because - he's become so popular...
0:18:17 > 0:18:19- ..the venues are much bigger.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24- That night, - in this intimate setting...
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- ..I feel as though - I met Leonard Cohen...
0:18:27 > 0:18:32- ..and he was talking directly to me - and none of the 2,000 who were here.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- I have to say, - I love coming to Dublin.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- I've been coming - since the end of the 1970s...
0:18:49 > 0:18:51- ..for various reasons.
0:18:51 > 0:18:56- Living in North Wales, it's easier - to come to Dublin to see a show...
0:18:56 > 0:18:59- ..than travel all the way to London.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10- As the years went by and - I started to work for Bara Caws...
0:19:10 > 0:19:14- ..we came here - to perform numerous plays...
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- ..that were held nearby - in the New Theatre.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20- I've come here to sing - over the years too...
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- ..especially during - rugby internationals.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29- But whilst filming Midffild, - we'd come here for wrap parties...
0:19:29 > 0:19:31- ..after the shoot was over.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36- We'd often go to O'Donoghue's - and the Baggot Inn.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40- If you come to Dublin, - there's one thing you must have.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42- A pint or two of Guinness.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12- You've gone up in the world.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17- It's the only bar in the world where - the barman stands on the counter.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22- We came here on Midffild trips - for almost three years.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27- We went to Galway the following year - but it was a big mistake.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29- We should've stuck to Dublin.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33- It got messy in Galway. - Even messier than Dublin!
0:20:33 > 0:20:37- # Through the world's violence
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- # Its length and breadth
0:20:40 > 0:20:43- # When I was young #
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- Fun afternoons - rather than fun nights.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- It started quietly - with everyone chatting...
0:20:49 > 0:20:53- ..and then the Irish - would start singing...
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- ..and we'd start singing - at the other end.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01- # Before I return to Wales, - my friend #
0:21:01 > 0:21:06- By now, it's fair to say I've - established myself as an actor.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10- People regard me as an actor, - not just as a singer who acts.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15- Obviously Midffild - was one of S4C's great successes.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19- It helped me acquire other roles.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21- Move, you yob.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23- You move, pillock.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28- That's enough. Pack it in. I'm sick - of you two. Bryncoch's sick of you.
0:21:29 > 0:21:29- He started it.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33- He started it.- - Turn that off! It's like High Noon!
0:21:33 > 0:21:37- I had dozens of work offers - after that.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- Usually, I'd look to do - a series like Midffild...
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- ..a film with Sion Humphreys...
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- ..and two tours with Bara Caws.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49- My diary was full during that time.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- I'd done Gaucho with Endaf Emlyn...
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- ..Yma I Aros, - a film written by Meic Povey...
0:21:56 > 0:22:00- ..with songs composed by Ems - about a country music duo.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05- I also appeared - in the Minafon and Jabas series.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08- Talcen Caled was another success.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- It was a gritty series - based in Porthmadog.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16- People still ask me if I'm going - to reprise the role of Les!
0:22:34 > 0:22:38- The time has come - to bid farewell to Dublin.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41- I've enjoyed being back here...
0:22:41 > 0:22:45- ..reliving some of the good times - I've had here, as others have had.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50- To be honest, - visiting all three places...
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- ..has reminded me - of what I enjoy doing...
0:22:53 > 0:22:59- ..and what's so great about my job, - which is entertaining people.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02- I'm bringing enjoyment - to people's lives.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05- It something I'll continue to do.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:23:35 > 0:23:36- .