IT’S A VERY RESPECTFUL NOD OF THE HEAD FROM SUPER FURRY ANIMALS TO COVER DATBLYGU’S ‘Y TEIMLAD’ ON ‘MWNG’, WHY THIS PARTICULAR SONG?

‘Y Teimlad’ was the most obvious pop song that they ever wrote. There’s other songs, like ‘Casserole’, but I think that ‘Y Teimlad’ is an absolute standard song, you know, and someone could do a Sinatra version. I wish we could have done a full-on orchestral version, but the song is there now for someone else to do that!

IT SITS VERY WELL AMONGST THE OTHER SONGS ON MWNG BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL SIMPLE AND DIRECT TOO, WAS IT IMPORTANT TO PRESERVE THAT SIMPLICITY?

Dave Datblygu once criticised one track minds working in forty eight track studios, so we thought that we would maybe be respectful of that. Also we’ve recently been touring with bands like ‘Olivia Tremor Control’ who keep the recording really simple. Most of their stuff is recorded on 4 track. People like ‘Palace’ record whole albums in five hours.

WAS ONE OF THE OTHER REASONS FOR DOING THE ‘DATBLYGU’ SONG MAYBE TO DRAW PEOPLE’S ATTENTION TO THAT FACT THAT THERE WERE GREAT WELSH BANDS BEFORE THE MANICS THAT ARE ALMOST IN DANGER OF BEING FORGOTTEN BECAUSE OF THE SPEED OF THE RECENT RENAISSANCE?

I don’t think that we would exist as a band that’s sort of well known if it hadn’t been for bands like Datblygu and Anrhefn who sort of paved the way for us politically, for bands like us to exist.

Diolch i Carl Morris, felly, am hala copi o’r PDF ata i. Rhowch glec ar y llun isod i’w darllen. Mae PDFs pob rhifyn o Plan B – sydd erbyn hyn wedi peidio â bod, yn anffodus – ar gael o’u gwefan, fel torrent.

Erthygl Plan B

A photo in the booklet for Wyau/Pyst/Libertino, the essential collection of Datblygu albums, shows a temporary stage housed on a huge truck, someweher in Wales, covered by a tarpaulin and occupied by Datblygu themselves. You have to look twice to notice anyone apart from vocalist David R Edwards, who’s standing on the lip and barking at six children sitting on the grass wearing anoraks. It’s an image so dreary and purgatorial, you imagine that despite being a black and white picture, it was taken using colour film. Intentionally or otherwise, it conveys the notion of a prophet unrecognised in his own land, which is at least a half-truth…

I don’t know how much I’m missing out on by not being a Welsh speaker, but even accounting for whatever nuances are lost post-Anglicisation, DRE still beats down almost all late 20th Century lyrical challengers. The Dylans, Cohens and Mark E Smiths take their rightful place in the comparison fodder…

Dear Dave, thanks for the card. Just come back from Caernarvon (sorry, can’t remember the correct spelling) (is it Caernarfon?) Your name came up a lot and I was given a cassette of the new LP. It sounds like a serious return to form. I’m glad about that – you’re something of a national asset, you know. I hope you look after yourself accordingly. It’s not just Welsh music that would be impoverished if anything happened to you. Seriously, John Peel.

Dear David, thanks for the letter. Grateful no Melanie figure came to sing to me – but there plenty of them about, aren’t there? Look forward to your L.P. Feel embarrassed about not having offered Anrhefn another session but I don’t think they are the most interesting Welsh band. What do you think? Someone wrote to complain one of the Welsh language bands was advocating violence – presumably against we Englanders. Do you know who it was? Apparently the replacement for Bogshed, Phillips Law, are very good too. I certainly hope so. A final word – don’t get kidney stones. Strictly no fun. May have to have an operation yet. All the best, John. (Peel)

Delweddau