Could Manic Street Preachers represent Wales at Eurovision?

Since about the year 2000 the UK's position as regular Eurovision high achievers has been eroded, some say fatally. Never again, they say, will the UK win, battling as the country does against politically-motivated 'bloc voting', an expanded competition, anti-British sentiment and terrible performances.

The UK last won in 1997 with Katrina And The Waves' Love Shine A Light. All through the 1990s the UK came in the top 10, until 12th place in 1999. From then on, we dipped: 16th in 2000 and 2001; 26th in 2003; 16th in 2004; 22nd in 2005 and 2007; 19th in 2006; 25th in 2008 and 2010.

Jessica Garlick was one of the few highlights for the UK since 2000

Welsh woman Jessica Garlick got third place in 2002, with other high points being fifth in 2009 and a mere 11th in 2011.

So, the UK's average position has dropped a long way from the golden days of Bucks Fizz or Brotherhood Of Man.

We were wondering, therefore... might it be better if Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland embraced the spirit of independence that - politically - our assemblies and parliaments have fostered?

Might it be that the British 'Celtic' nations could bat above their average in this most politicised of 'talent' shows?

There's a man who might know, and he's Dr Patrick Finney of the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University. "What an interesting question," he says. "It's not a subject that's been rigorously addressed by political science, but in the spirit of fun I can offer some thoughts."

Let's start simply: Do you think Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland might benefit from entering Eurovision separately from England?

"They might well do, and this would certainly be in the spirit of the current moves towards the establishment of more autonomous political identities in these parts of the UK. This assumes, however, that doing well in Eurovision is a prize worth winning - given the ruinous cost of staging the contest the next year, this might be a moot point."

What do you think of something I've heard people say on occasion, that the UK as a political entity has something of a toxic identity for mainland Europe? In 2003 even Terry Wogan suggested there was a backlash because of the Gulf War.

"This is a complex problem. What factors explain the UK's recent lamentable performance in Eurovision? It could simply be the proliferation of nations competing in the event, which makes it harder for any single nation to do well consistently.

"Equally, regional voting 'blocs' have emerged in the Balkans and Caucasus, in which near neighbours tend consistently to vote for each other - out of loyalty to each other rather than hostility to the UK, of course. But it may well also be that the UK is not well-positioned to win many friends on the continent, given entrenched perceptions that it is slavishly loyal to the US and snootily indifferent or haughtily superior to its fellow Europeans in the EU and beyond."

That tallies with a conversation I had a few days ago, in which a friend was explaining how much more friendly French people were when they discovered he was Welsh, rather than English. So might a 'Celtic' identity be more appealing for mainland European countries to vote for?

"Anecdotal evidence suggest this might be so - I have in the past pretended to be Irish when abroad to good effect! And the Republic of Ireland, I think, has a track record of more recent success than the UK in the contest."

You mentioned voting blocs. If voting blocs exist in the Caucasus countries, or the Balkans, might we expect a similar voting bloc from the Celtic countries?

"Definitely possible! I doubt they would give many votes to England, however."

Do Stereophonics capture the Celtic mood with their song As Long As We Beat The English?

Indeed; we see that in sport - "As long as we beat the English," as Stereophonics once sang. But do you think that Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish entrants should perform in the indigenous languages of their countries?

"This might make sense if the main purpose was the expression of national identity; if the purpose is to win, then English would probably be the better option, especially as it is increasingly the lingua franca of entrants."

Some interesting thoughts from an academic there. As a political experiment it would be fascinating. Culture is inseparable from politics, and it's more complex than one might first suppose: the Balkans are mutually-supportive despite having engaged in the most brutal conflict since World War Two.

At the core of the issue is the fact that most European countries, especially in the expanded format we've had in recent years which embraces former Soviet states, take the competition seriously. It's a matter of national pride. If the Celtic nations entered independently, would they also have this seriousness of purpose? If the UK sees fit to enter kitsch nostalgia, might Wales enter Manic Street Preachers draped in Welsh flags? Might Northern Ireland put forward Snow Patrol to sing an elegiac epic? Might Scotland decide that Paolo Nutini would show their country in a good light?

After all, exposure to hundreds of millions of European TV viewers would be something our tourist boards would love, and wouldn't even have to pay for.

Who would you put forward for Eurovision? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

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James Fox

Looking back to 2004, what were your thoughts about Eurovision as a whole? Do you think it has a place for acts really trying to make a career?

"I remember being quite reticent about taking part in the selection show at the time, but not only was there the chance of representing your country on a massive scale in front of a European audience of hundreds of millions but there was also the offer of a Sony recording contract for the winner of the selection show, so that definitely tipped the balance for me.

"Eurovision was something I had watched growing up and always had this strange feeling that I would be involved in it someday. The competition is a strange concept anyway: I mean, how do you judge which song is 'better' than another? It comes down to taste, obviously, countries voting for each other and who provides the most shocking or original idea for the three minute 'mini musical theatre stage show' that it has now become.

"I think with the amount of exposure you get from the contest, that unless you have a total nightmare on the night like Gemini did the year before I did the contest, then I think it has a place for acts trying to make it, even if it does put them in a certain category within the music industry after they have competed."

What would say was the effect of your appearance on your career?

"After competing in 2004 I can honestly say that the most successful and profitable times of my career so far were in the years that followed immediately after Eurovision. It opened lots of doors and allowed me to go and star on Broadway and release my own records.

Things kicked off in 1970 with Mary Hopkin's Knock Knock Who's There? She finished second, to Ireland's Dana with All Kinds Of Everything.

Pontardawe's Hopkin told the Western Mail in 2009: "I was so embarrassed about it. Standing on a stage singing a song you hate is awful. Unless you're expressing what's inside there's just no point."

Others haven't been so down about their moment in the sun. Carmarthen's Nicky Stevens of 1976's chart behemoths Brotherhood Of Man told us: "I remember sitting at home in Carmarthen watching the New Seekers on the contest and thinking wouldn't it be marvellous to win something like that. Little did I realise what was to come. I never dreamed in a million years that one day I would be a winner."

The song, Save Your Kisses For Me, went on to win, becoming the biggest-selling Eurovision song of all time, topping the charts in 33 countries.

Watch Brotherhood Of Man perform Save Your Kisses For Me:

The UK has suffered a drop in average scores since the 1990s, some think because of political protest at the country's involvement in international conflict, some think because the songs we've put forward haven't been any good. Luckily, there was a ray of light in 2002 with Swansea's Jessica Garlick.

Here she is, talking about performing at Eurovision and the inspiration she had from previous entrants:

Watch Jessica performing Come Back at Eurovision 2002, in which she finished third:

Two years later, James Fox of Bargoed attempted to do something that no male soloist had ever done for the UK: win Eurovision. Despite the Fame Academy graduate winning the selection show by a country mile, he came 16th in Eurovision, He did, however, improve on the previous year's 'nul points' from Jemini.

Sometimes Welsh artists don't even compete for the UK. Newport's Jon Lilygreen stepped up for Cyprus in 2010 in mysterious circumstances:

Watch Jon Lilygreen And The Islanders performing for Cyprus in the 2010 Eurovision finals, with Life Looks Better In Spring:

This year we could have had another Welsh entrant as Tom Morgan went for the competition to represent Finland. Unfortunately, as he told us: "I didn't make it any further than the final 40! I got myself 826 "likes" but that wasn't enough to get me far up the chart. I think I ended up in 37th place, although I'm not 100% sure about that. At least I know I didn't come last!

"I'll admit that my song wasn't particularly great (I wrote and recorded it in a massive hurry), but I still think it was one of the better songs of the 40... maybe the Finns just didn't appreciate having a foreigner 'in the running' to represent them in Baku."

So this year we'll have no domestic talent to cheer for, but never fear. We can always pretend that Jemini were Welsh and watch this on repeat:

What have been your favourite Eurovision entries? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

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Brotherhood Of Man's Nicky Stevens of Carmarthen is to this day the sole Welsh person ever to have won Eurovision. She told us about her involvement with the competition all those years ago.

Brotherhood Of Man in 1976

Looking back to 1976, what were your thoughts about Eurovision as a whole? Did it have a place for acts really trying to make a career?

"In 1976 Eurovision was a tremendously prestigious contest to take part in, especially if you won. Of course it was a great place for acts to be seen who were trying to further their career; it still is a great 'shop window' for performers as, after all, it goes out to numerous countries accumulating millions of viewers.

"Also, let's not forget it really is a song contest. It opens many doors for the songwriters. Their product gets heard and hopefully recorded by successful recording artistes. There is no cheque as a prize, it's the prestige and high acclaim that one receives and any successful career move that results from it.

"I remember sitting at home in Carmarthen watching the New Seekers on the contest and thinking wouldn't it be marvellous to win something like that. Little did I realise what was to come. I never dreamed in a million years that one day I would be a winner."

Brotherhood Of Man in 1976

What would say was the effect of your win on your career?

"The contest for us had the most marvellous effect on our career. Save Your Kisses For Me went on to be number one in 33 different countries. For us it could not have been any better.

"The year that we won saw a new concept introduced. The songwriters for the first time were able to choose the artist that they wished to perform the song. Our song-writing team of Hiller, Lee and Sheridan obviously chose Brotherhood Of Man as Hiller was our manager and Lee and Sheridan were two of the group members!

"The song eventually sold six million copies worldwide and is still the highest selling Eurovision winner ever. It earned us a platinum disc and ended up the top selling single of 1976, and is currently one of the top 100 selling songs in the UK.

"After Kisses, we continued with several hit records worldwide, travelling the world performing in concert and numerous television appearances. We have been privileged to meet and perform in front of many of the worlds greatest dignitaries, including our own Royal Family and appeared at some of the world's most prestigious venues.

"Due to our success of winning the Eurovision, we still perform internationally in concert and television and we are now celebrating our 40th year together and still the same four original line up. So, for Brotherhood Of Man, a performance of a three minute song in 1976 at the Hague in Holland changed our lives forever."

Brotherhood Of Man in 2011

As the only Welsh artist to have ever won the contest, do you have a sense of pride in representing 'the land of song' at such a high level?

"As the only Welsh artist to ever win the Eurovision contest, it goes without saying that I am so proud to have represented Wales at such a high level. I remember so well how exited the townsfolk of Carmarthen were and the numerous cards and telegrams that I received. The art master, Terry Johns, of Carmarthen Grammar School had designed and made good luck pendants for each of us. We had them in our pockets as we performed the song. That's the Welsh for you - and yes, there is always a welcome in the hillside when I go home."

You guys must have attracted groupies and engaged in all sorts of high-jinks... or not? Is the idea of the big 70s band a bit of a myth?

"The 1970s produced many bands with many different personalities, shall we say. Yes of course we had our regular followers, some are still following us now and bring their children to see us, would you believe.

"As a group back then, we would do our fair share of partying; we were young but we were a very clean-living group and were always devoid of any scandal. Not one of us were ever involved in the drugs scene and when we were not working we would be with our family and friends.

"Most of our friends were outside the business so we were never part of the London scene mixing with people of similar success. It goes without saying the boys had their female admirers and Sandra and I had male ones, but they were always just admirers as we were all in stable relationships."

Looking at Eurovision now, do you think it has the same appeal for acts and audiences?

"For some, the contest is still as appealing and for others not. We still perform in other European countries, sometimes performing on their Song For Europe; this year we performed on the Irish one in Dublin where Jedward were chosen again. I do find that other countries are far more enthusiastic than the UK.

"When we won. there were only 18 countries entering. Now there is an elimination contest as well as the major one. It still has the appeal for acts and even though I speak to people who feel that it has lost its appeal, I find that they still watch it. The media still show the same interest as this time of year we find ourselves doing numerous radio and television interviews."

Lastly, what do you make of the camp take on the contest that Terry Wogan and subsequent presenters have driven? Is that the right way in which to view the contest?

"The camp take on the contest can be funny and sometimes not. I think it depends on one's sense of humour and seriousness. Wogan got on my nerves many a time but other times I had to laugh.

"However, one year we were performing in Copenhagen and watched the contest there. I really enjoyed it more because if the commentator was throwing quips around. We did not understand the language and I must say I found it refreshing!"

I like the big gestures of Mahler, the rawness of Shostakovich, the unabashed heart on sleeve writing of Tchaikovsky, and for me, Debussy's music has always seemed a little too intangible, a little too diaphanous. I often find myself a little overwhelmed by what can sound like a wall of sound, an orchestral wash of colours.

Approaching Images this week has been something of a revelation for me. François has an amazing way of breaking the music down so that you can hear all the layers of the music (and being Debussy, the layers are many), building it up bit by bit to create the whole picture.

This is so helpful, as it means you understand exactly where your line fits in and your ear learns what it can latch on to. The end result is that, rather than being a wishy-washy, airy-fairy, sensuous melee of Frenchness, the music can blossom forth with all the subtlety and nuances needed to make this style of music successful.

Debussy's scores are always so explicitly marked. In one bar of four notes, you can often have four different articulation marks over each individual note. It can often feel like information overload, and there can be the temptation to gloss over some of the details. The problem with that is, while you will still get the general gist of what it sounds like, you miss the crucial details that give the music its character, and you can also adulterate what the music is really supposed to be saying.

Glossing over is strictly prohibited in François' rehearsals. Any attempts to do so are normally met with "Ah, my very dears, do you not see in your score that this is different from the note that came before? Why you no play this?"

I guess the thing with Debussy's music is that it is a subtler style of writing than the music of the German romantics whose music I love so much, or the Russians whose music thrills my mind. With Debussy, the devil really is in the detail, and I think this is the first time I've really full grasped that. I have found myself really challenged to capture every nuance in the score, and, as a result, am enjoying Images in a way that I have never enjoyed playing Debussy before. I can honestly say I get it now.

My goodness, it is hard work though. My brain feels full up. I feel slightly cross eyed, slightly overwrought, I definitely have a slightly furrowed brow and I could do with a coffee!

The orchestra performs Debussy's Images at Cardiff's St David's Hall on Friday, and Swansea's Brangwyn Hall on Saturday. For tickets and more information, call 0800 052 1812.

First up was We Bring An Arsenal from their fifth album Weapons. Watch it here:

Then the band was joined by Hackney songwriter, rapper and producer Labrinth for a cover of his single Earthquake:

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Playing up his reputation for regaling interviewers with anecdotes of his time hanging out with the likes of Elvis and Frank Sinatra, the video features Brydon as a medium, communicating with the spirits in the ethereal realm.

Jones' record label has put the skit up on YouTube, which we've embedded here:

Spirit In The Room, the follow-up to 2010's successful Praise And Blame, has been largely well-received, with The Independent giving it 4/5: "Continuing the association with producer Ethan Johns that proved so fruitful on Praise And Blame, Tom Jones's 2010 exploration of American blues and gospel modes, Spirit In The Room takes a decisive step forward by focusing instead on a more modern repertoire."

The Guardian (3/5) comments: "Ultimately, you conclude, Jones's golden voice was built for hooting, hollering and hubba-hubba-ing at the ladies, not mulling things over."

The Telegraph (3/5) concludes: "When Jones really connects with the material the results have undeniable emotional heft, with an elegiac delivery of Paul McCartney's (I Want To) Come Home and a brooding interpretation of Blind Willie Johnson's dark blues Soul Of A Man. The album has to be judged a late-period triumph, even if I am not entirely convinced The Voice's avuncular judge is quite as deep as the material demands."

What do you think of the video and the album? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

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It's a maxim, however apocryphal, that has power, and which drives a lot of the thinking of commentators in politics, economics and culture to this day.

It has its place in music too: how regularly do we hear statistics bandied about when it comes to the 'best-selling' or the 'fastest ever sales' and so on and so forth.

But where's the truth? And does the truth even matter?

The Bee Gees

Today the sad news came through of Robin Gibb's death. The Bee Gees singer and songwriter has rightly been eulogised for his artistic accomplishments, but in passing a figure of 200m record sales has been mentioned. Sometimes generally as 'records' but sometimes more specifically as 'albums'.

For those of us immersed in the business of music, it matters how facts and figures are reported. Call it geeky if you will, but with the continuing assault by Adele upon the UK's best seller list, it's in the news almost every week. Cower before the might of Adele as she vanquishes Dire Straits, Pink Floyd and even Michael Jackson.

The message to news consumers, to people who might even occasionally buy records, is that sales figures are inherently newsworthy. If that's the supposition, then a certain degree of accuracy should be striven for, as with all other subjects of news journalism.

The trouble is that music is inherently unreliable, muddled and muddied in the upkeep of its own history. Until the 1970s at the earliest, charts were often manipulated - the 'payola' scandal in America had record companies paying radio stations to play their works. Skulduggery and underhand tactics characterised the industry across the world. It still does in some territories.

But that's not to say that educated guesses can't be made.

In America, the world's largest music market, an album goes platinum at sales of one million, while in the UK it's 300,000. France, Turkey and Germany are 200,000 and Japan 250,000. These are the biggest music markets in the world, by far. The rest of Europe, Asia and Australasia add another significant portion of course, but individual countries have far lower thresholds than these examples.

It is plausible that the 'rest of the world' could double the sales of these main markets.

Sales figure data is easy to come by for these main markets, owing to three decades of 'point of sale' electronic scanning. So...

The Bee Gees' best-selling record is the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It's 15 times platinum in the US, with more than 15m sales. Its sales in the other main markets add about five million. At the upper-end this album might have sold 40m.

Their only other US number one album was 1979's Spirits Having Flown. Its total sales from the main markets is 5.5m. So let's estimate total worldwide sales, at absolute maximum of 11m. USA Today puts it at 20m, so just for the sake of argument let's take that.

This gives us 60m so far. There's another 140m to account for. Let's estimate that the other studio albums sold another 10m (they really weren't very successful). Can singles sales take care of 130m? That's far from likely.

It seems likely that reported sales figures are cobbled together from online encyclopaedias, which only require one source for stated facts. It's therefore easy to imagine figures amalgamating, expanding and getting a life their own, without any mathematical analysis being applied to them.

Why is any of this important? Well, it's part of a wider picture. The more inaccurate facts people have, the less they understand about the industry. Down the bottom of the ladder, artists have to deal with their audiences fundamentally misunderstanding their capacity to earn, to live, to make a career.

The vague notion people have that any kind of chart appearance or magazine coverage means riches and stardom is so far wide of the mark that it's almost humorous, but it's a serious issue when the reality is so far wide of the mark.

Accuracy helps to give a more complete picture of an industry in which a tiny percentage of acts make any money at all. Inflated estimates of the top acts' sales figures knock that drive for accuracy before it's even begun. Why should anything be accurate if this isn't?

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Wu Tang Clan

New York's Wu Tang Clan will play Big Splash on Monday 16 July.

On Twitter the response to the booking was a combination of the ecstatic and the incredulous. @garethjphillips said: "What a massive coup for Newport", while @Beau__ said "Wu-Tang Clan are playing Newport in July. I'm genuinely ridiculously excited."

It was perhaps expressed most succinctly by @Lou_143: "Holy cow!"

A note of caution was expressed, however, by a local music industry linchpin:

"Hats off to the organisers of the festival if they've managed to book Wu Tang Clan," said south Wales promoter John Rostron, who co-runs the Sŵn festival. "It certainly makes a change from the usual fare at civic festivals. The thing with The Wu Tang Clan, though, is that you don't know who you're going to get these days."

And that might be the problem for the Big Splash: Wu Tang Clan, once a globe-straddling unified collective, have become increasingly fractured over the years and given the fluid nature of their working practices might be represented by anything up to the full nine members.

This booking could be a massive triumph for the officials of the Big Splash, if it goes well. The ambition is to be applauded. And, lest we forget, Newport hasn't been averse to a spot of hip hop magic over the years.

Will you being going? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

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The students win their places by competitive audition, in much the same manner that each of us have won our jobs. The successful students take part in rehearsals throughout the year, sitting beside members of the orchestra. The opportunity to work with the orchestra gives students an intimate insight into working life.

Firstly, it demonstrates how prepared your music must be before the first rehearsal. In my first year of Ulster Youth Orchestra, I thought it was good enough to give the music a cursory glance before rehearsals began. Surely rehearsals were the time when you learnt all the notes? Wrong! Lessons were quickly learnt on that course.

As all of the violas appeared to have the seem attitude as me, the conductor made us play, desk by desk, a particularly nasty viola passage in front of the whole orchestra. In a subsequent course the late Mike Cookson asked if I knew which instrument the violas played a particular passage alongside. I did not, and he kindly pointed out to me that, although I could play the notes, I did not know the music. He was right.

While it is seldom that a conductor will pick out individual string players to play passages in front of all their colleagues, the point is that you probably should be able to if you were asked to, and you should know where in the grand scheme of the music your line fits in. In order to lift the music to a high standard, you simply have to know the music thoroughly before you arrive for rehearsal.

In addition to this, the scheme gives students the opportunity to hone their awareness skills. In the orchestra a lot is done within sections without much being said. You are supposed to keep an eye on the music, an eye on your principal, an eye on the leader of the orchestra and an eye on the conductor. Now, I'm rubbish at maths, but that's too many eyes, but all the same, you have to get quick at doing it.

As the summer term wears on, with the summer break itself approaching (someone might like to remind the weather of that fact), the colleges will all be gearing up for final recitals. Students will be frantically practising their recital programmes, with the final year and postgraduate students hoping to demonstrate to the examining panels the culmination of what they have learnt during their studies. This is a stressful time for students; it can feel like the rest of your life is dependent upon you not messing up that shift, not splitting that note.

I would like to wish all the students who have worked with us all the very best for their recitals and for the future.

The orchestra presents a programme of Debussy and Shostakovich at Cardiff's St David's Hall on Friday 25 May, and Swansea's Brangwyn Hall on Saturday 26 May. For more information and tickets, call 0800 052 1812.

This, and a host of other ear problems, are a problem in the classical music world. In my own practice, if I have repeatedly practised a particularly high, loud passage, I am conscious of discomfort in my ears - and that is nothing to do with dodgy intonation or screechy strings, thank you very much. I am often very thankful not to be a piccolo player when in a practice room. If there can be discomfort with just one person playing, how much worse can it be with multiple musicians playing?

When we rehearse music of a particularly bombastic nature, for example a Mahler or Bruckner symphony, or something very contemporary with an abundance of loud, jarring dissonances, I often feel that the silence on leaving the studio is very loud. Sometimes, I get a slight ringing in my ears, but thankfully for me, this is not a continuous sensation.

When I was young, my parents, quite rightly, were continually telling me to turn the volume down in my headphones. Alas, in work it is impossible to do that and you can't walk away from the noise in the way that you can move away from speakers at a gig or festival.

As musicians, our livelihood is somewhat dependent on our ability to hear satisfactorily and, therefore, we have to do what we can to minimise the damage inflicted on our hearing. This is often a compromise and involves a fair bit of trial and error.

On stage you frequently see little perspex screens behind various players' heads. These screens are supposed to protect the player from the sound levels coming from behind them, but often have the adverse effect of simply throwing that noise back to the colleague from which it is emitting, therefore placing their hearing at greater risk also. We have been experimenting with screens of different shapes and materials in work, but I don't know if there has been a conclusion reached yet. We're continuing to work with the orchestra's management to try and find a solution that works for everyone.

In the BBC National Orchestra of Wales we all have fancy-pants earplugs created from moulds of our ears, but I personally still do not find them particularly comfortable. I'm trying to persevere with them. Earplugs can sometimes make it difficult to hear either yourself, or the delicate nuances called for, and I personally hate feeling that I'm not catching all the details I should. However, better that than burgeoning hearing problems, I guess.

February saw British Tinnitus Awareness Week and now, Action on Hearing Loss' Loud Music Campaign aims to raise awareness about hearing health. Perhaps it is time for all of us to really start thinking about the health of our ears.

The orchestra presents an afternoon of Brahms, Mozart and Hindemith tonight (Wednesday 16 May) from 2pm, at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay. For more information and tickets, call 0800 052 1812.

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This week we bathe in the heartening radiance of a live set from The Gentle Good, aka Gareth Bonello. I wrote - at length, with a certain amount of ear drool spilling on to my keyboard - about Gareth's excellent live set t'other night elsewhere in these blogs, well this is 13 minutes of that set. Lucky for us, truly.

Elsewhere Huw Williams talks about Datblygu, Ben Hayes inspires us with some Essential Logic (a programme first!) and Lara Catrin tackles the not inconsiderable task of translating a couple of verses from Genod Droog for us.

Then - of course - there is the music. New tracks from The School, Race Horses and Future of the Left - and debut plays for The Secret Agent 5, Mike Fantastic, Amane, Best Days, Ronnie Parry, Panabrite, Exempt, Ric L. Washer and Bo Walton.

Please mail new releases/demos & gig info to themysterytour@gmail.com, or post baubles to:

BBC Wales
Canolfan y Diwydiannau Creadigol/The Centre for the Creative Industries
Prifysgol Glyndŵr/Glyndŵr University
Wrecsam/Wrexham
LL11 2AW

Here are the show stats for the year so far. Not that I'm obsessed or at all bothered by statistics. Well, maybe 47.946% of the time I am - at a rough estimate.

628 unique songs/734 Total. 405 Artists in 20 shows since 1st, Jan '12 (~songs per show:37, unique artists per show:20) Welsh:94%

Top 5 played since 1st, Jan '12: Future Of The Left(18), Irma Vep(17), Y Niwl(16), Cate Le Bon(16), Georgia Ruth(13).

SECRET AGENT FIVE, THE - 'The Twonky'
Ruthin

SCHOOL, THE - 'You Make Me Hear Music ( Inside My Head )'
Cardiff

RACE HORSES - 'Mates'
Aberystwyth

Y NIWL - 'Undegnaw ( Sesiwn Gwobrau Roc A Phop 2012 )'
Gwynedd

GEORGIA RUTH - 'Etrai ( Sesiwn Gwobrau Roc A Phop 2012 )'
Aberystwyth/Cardiff

MOWBIRD - 'Thank You, You Are Revolting'
Wrexham

HUW WILLIAMS - 'Spoken Contribution'
Swansea

DATBLYGU - 'Y Teimlad'
Cardigan

JOY FORMIDABLE, THE - 'Cradle'
Mold

MIKE FANTASTIC - 'Hands Up'
Unknown.

AMANé - 'Sunday'
Aberystwyth

RICHARD JAMES - 'Down To My Heart'
Croes - Y - Ceiliog

BEST DAYS - 'Wasted'
Cardiff

FUTURE OF THE LEFT - 'Beneath The Waves An Ocean'
Cardiff

GENTLE GOOD, THE - 'Llosgi Pontydd [ Live At Telford's Warehouse ]'
Cardiff

GENTLE GOOD, THE - 'Pamela [ Live At Telford's Warehouse ]'
Cardiff

GENTLE GOOD, THE - 'Siwrne'r Wylan Fry [ Live At Telford's Warehouse ]'
Cardiff

HEAVY PETTING ZOO - 'Deathproof'
Swansea

RONNIE PARRY - 'Trust And Money'
Ruthin

JEWELLERS - 'Lakes'
Newport

PANABRITE - 'Equinox'
Seattle/Welsh Label

BWGAN, Y - 'Gwaelod Y Byd'
Porthmadog/Caernarfon

JOANNA GRUESOME - 'Sweater'
Cardiff

EXEMPT - 'Blown Away'
Cardiff

RIC L. WASHER - 'Clock Watching'
Cwmbran

EUROS CHILDS - 'Spin That Girl Around [ Single Version ]'
Pembrokeshire

CATE LE BON - 'Through The Mill'
Penboyr

BAREFOOT DANCE OF THE SEA - 'One, Two, Three'
Cardiff

STEFF ADAMS - 'Hectic Day'
Cardiff

MOWBIRD - 'We Sell Maternity Simwear'
Wrexham

BO WALTON - 'I Like It Like That'
?

FAMILY OF THE YEAR - 'Stairs [ E P Version ]'
Wrexham/L.a.

THREE PAIRS OF SHOES - 'From Wics To Burs'
Cardiff

JAGUAR MIN - 'Hormarma'
Newport

YR ODS - 'Dwi'm Yn Angel ( Sesiwn Gwobrau Roc A Phop 2012 )'
Gwynedd

SŵNAMI - 'Cyfle ( Sesiwn Gwobrau Roc A Phop 2012 )'
Dolgellau

LARA CATRIN - 'Spoken Contribution'
Bangor/Cardiff

GENOD DROOG - 'Gwn Tatws'
Porthmadog

BEN HAYES - 'Spoken Contribution'
Ruthin

ESSENTIAL LOGIC - 'Aerosol Burns'
?

SECRET AGENT FIVE, THE - 'The Twonky'
Ruthin

Gareth Bonello, The Gentle Good

I'm pleased to say that Museums At Night is back, and this year it's at the heart of the Cardiff Story in the Old Library in Cardiff. Playing this Friday (18 May) will be The Gentle Good, Spencer McGarry, Evening Chorus, Miss Maud's Folly and Little Arrow. Catrin James of Clwb Ifor Bach has helped curate the evening. I caught up with her to find out more.

Where did the idea come from, and what's the main aim?

"The event is part of Museums At Night, an annual after-hours celebration of arts, culture and heritage when hundreds of museums, galleries, libraries, archives and heritage sites open their doors for special evening events. It is coordinated by Culture24, and takes place over the weekend of Friday 18 to Sunday 20 May.

"The Cardiff Sessions will celebrate some of the best live music Cardiff has to offer, and also give visitors a chance to see the galleries and the city's history in a new light, completely free of charge. Lauren Laverne is the ambassador for Museums At Night 2012."

The atmosphere at the museum will be pretty unique, but what else makes the location special?

"The location is special as you are able to walk around the galleries and take in the history and information of the museums collections while listening to local artists."

The artists are all Welsh, but is it a wider concept across the UK?

"Museums At Night is taking place nationally in hundreds of museums and heritage sites but it's the first time the Cardiff Story has taken part as we opened our doors to the public only one year ago."

How will the Cardiff Story play into this evening?

"Music will play a major part in phase two of the the Cardiff Story which will be opening in the next two years, making the museum double its size with collections to do with its music history, culture and diversity and communities."

Line-up and details are here and there's also a Facebook event page.

Born in Dowlais on 24 November 1873, John Hughes, a deacon and chorusmaster at Salem Welsh Baptist Chapel in Llantwit Fardre, died on 14 May 1932. Twenty-five years before his death, he composed a melody entitled Rhondda.

It would eventually become a rugby terrace anthem.

Hughes showed musical talent from an early age, which was fostered by his equally-musical father, Evan, who bought him a harmonium with which to develop his skills.

His working life began as a 12-year-old boy in the Gelynog Colliery, but he became ill with typhoid after drinking from an infected stream. His illness prevented him carrying out any underground work, so he became a colliery clerk instead.

In the early years of the 20th century he took over from his father as Salem Chapel's chorusmaster and began composing works for worship, most especially for the congregation of Temple Church on the Graig at Pontypridd.

It was in 1907 that a fevered writing session resulted in a melody that would bring him the recognition his talent deserved.

He was invited to compose a work for Capel Rhondda's annual music festival which would coincide with the installation of a new organ at the chapel.

On 1 November 1907 his new melody was performed as planned on the new organ, with a choir marrying the words from Wele'n Sefyll Rhwng Y Myrtwydd by Ann Griffiths (1776-1805) to the tune.

Hughes would later choose Peter Williams' Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah to accompany his melody, and it was in this version that became famous as a song of worship across the world. By 1908 it was known as Cwm Rhondda.

During his lifetime Hughes composed dozens of other other hymns. At the time well-known, they have now slipped out of usage and Cwm Rhondda remains his best-known work.

He died in 1932, aged 58, from illness complicated by - as with many men of the time - his time in coal mining.

After his death Cwm Rhondda developed a life of its own. Rugby fans at the Arms Park would arrive early to guarantee good viewing positions, and keep themselves entertained by singing popular songs from their chapels. Cwm Rhondda began to gain momentum. Its spine-tingling power can still be felt when the Millennium Stadium crowd does what its chapel-going forebears did.

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With music it is very much the same. What was down with the kids in Bach's time was so out of vogue by Beethoven's time that it was almost fashionable again.

This year's Vale of Glamorgan Festival has highlighted works that have not just challenged what I see as 'good' music or 'not so good' music by the yardstick of our western sensibilities, but has also made me question what I believe to be beautiful in music.

One of the works by Qigang Chen, Iris Devoilée, mixes traditional Chinese instruments with our traditional western orchestral instruments, and mixes a voice of the Beijing Opera with two western operatic singers.

In rehearsal, the first entry of the Beijing Opera soprano was really quite a shock. This is singing like nothing found in the western canon, but that does not mean it has not its own beauty. The range is quite unique, the form of ornamentation completely alien to our ears, and the tone is very different from the carefully crafted, rounded tones considered desirous and beautiful by western operatic singing.

Once you allow your ear to grow accustomed to the Beijing style however, it is eerily expressive and other worldly, in a way not often found on the stages of our great opera houses. For this alone, I think Friday's concert is worth a nosey!

Also featured in this work are three traditional Chinese instruments - the pipa, the ehru and the zheng. The one that looks a little like a skinny, stunted cello is my favourite: the ehru. I cannot for the life of me figure out where all the sound comes from that it manages to produce; unlike the big resonating chamber of a cello, or viola, it has instead this little barrel-like structure. Years ago, in Cambodia I tried my hand (exceptionally unsuccessfully) at a similar Khmer instrument, called a tro, and I can confirm that not only is it very difficult to play in tune, but it is also very difficult to make a beautiful sound.

Thankfully for all concerned, I shall be sticking to the viola for this concert. We will also be performing Chen's Reflect d'un Temps Disparu for solo cello and orchestra, with soloist Li-Wei Qin. This piece has lots of interesting effects for the strings.

The concert will also feature another work by Philip Glass, The Olympian (it is, in fact, an Olympian effort to get all the repeat bars and da capos and 'go to the codas' right) and Iris by Per Nørgärd.

The Vale of Glamorgan Festival closes tonight (Friday 11 May) with a concert by the Orchestra at BBC Hoddinott Hall, 7pm. For tickets and more information, call 03700 101051.