As readers will know, I've been trundling through David Owen's excellent and thoroughly page-turnerish book Cerys , Catatonia and the rise of Welsh Pop ..... and when I got to page 27 I read about Y Crumblowers .. described by Owen as " a rumbling, tumbling carousing confection of The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays."
Well, I have seen that name crop up many times on my travels through the mysterious land called Youtube ... but I had never listened to them, never even considered it ... I had them down as one of those crappy semi-comedic Welsh bands that do the circuit year after year in increasingly run-down clubs and pubs. I'm sure you know what I mean. All because of their name.
And yet ... and yet ... here's an absolutely beautiful song .... by ... Y Crumblowers ... Byd yn Troi ....
Cardiff-born Cerys may have been brought up down west, but her musical education began in the Welsh capital when she formed Catatonia with her then boyfriend Mark Roberts (the former frontman of revered Welsh language indie outfit Y Cyrff). Roping in fellow Cardiffian and former Y Crumblowers guitarist Owen Powell, Llanelli-born Aled Richards and Roberts’ former Y Cyrff bandmate Paul Jones, the Welsh capital launched Cerys and Catatonia on an unsuspecting world.
And ...
Owen Powell is well-known as the guitarist from Catatonia, but he started his musical career in the band Crumblowers as a teenager. Owen composes for film and television and he's a familiar face on S4C. He has also composed for the singer Duffy. Owen is the Musical Co-ordinator for Cân i Gymru.
I can add to that the factoid that he was also a judge on Wawffactor ... which I promise I have not made up.