Punk Rock in Bethesda

I found a great interview with Gruff from a Welsh mag called Planet Magazine. Malcolm Lewis talks to him about growing up in Wales in the 70s, his family background, the Welsh language and the impact of music on him as a child. It's nice to read a bit more about his background, in particular the impact his parents and siblings had on his music tastes and his early musical influences. I found this one of the more insightful interviews I've read with Gruff and I really recommend having a read.

Unfortunately it's only half an interview as the magazine haven't made part 2 available online. You can, however, still order both back issues on their website.

The following link is to the PDF file (PLEASE NOTE, the following link will download the PDF, but I can't guarantee that this file is safe to download, if in doubt, don't download it!);

Punk Rock in Bethesda

If you'd prefer to go straight to their website, here's the link;
Planet Magazine

If you liked that...
If you have an urge to find out more about the Bethesda music scene that Gruff was active in as a member of Ffa Coffi Pawb, then I recommend having a look at the 2005 Sioe Gelf Documentary Special 'Pesda Roc'. You can view it online on Huw Roberts YouTube channel, in a nice edited form in Welsh but with English subtitles (woohoo!);

Pesda Roc

Fast forward to 6:50 to catch a clip of a young Gruff Rhys touting Ffa Coffi Pawb tapes with a ridiculously glorious haircut. Aside from that, there are a couple of clips interviewing Gruff, Les Morrison and other Welsh musicians that came from the same area around the same time.

And Gruff has another funky hat on. Groovy.