Cool Cymru

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Cool Cymru
Manic Street Preachers performing in London. The band were one of the pioneers of the era for Welsh music.
Native name	Cŵl Cymru
Stylistic origins	Britpop pop rock Cool Britannia alternative rock
Cultural origins	Music of Wales
Regional scenes
Music of Wales
Local scenes
Music of Cardiff Music of Newport
Other topics
Welsh Music Prize Welsh Language Music Day

Cool Cymru (Welsh: Cŵl Cymru) was a Welsh cultural movement in music and independent film in the 1990s and 2000s, led by the popularity of bands such as Catatonia, Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers.^[1]

The term Cool Cymru (Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales) derived as a Welsh alternative to Cool Britannia (itself a pun on the British patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!"). Cool Britannia described the revival of British art and culture in the 1990s centred on London (as celebrated in a 1996 Newsweek cover headlined "London Rules"), emphasised British culture and used British symbols such as The Union Jack.^[2]

By 1998 many Welsh cultural figures were gaining prominence within the UK, at the same time the use of the term Cool Britannia had become maligned by some cultural commentators as a ubiquitous term for any part of British Culture.^[3] As such the term Cool Cymru gained popularity for the cultural figures and phenomena which were specifically Welsh or Welsh in origin. The term continues to be used by Welsh and British commentators long after the term Cool Britannia has fallen out of favour.^[4]

Commentators have alluded to Cool Britannia and Cymru as a by-product of the widespread 1970s economic and social malaise seen in the United Kingdom, particularly affecting Wales following the closure of the South Wales Coalfield, and the Winter of Discontent.^[5] The South Wales Valleys had seen economic deprivation following the downturn, leading to high unemployment and social discontent.^[5]

The 1980s however brought initial optimism, with the Big Bang, and this was cemented by the 1997 election of the New Labour class led by Tony Blair. The Labour Party won a landslide election and positioned itself near to political devolution for Wales and Scotland,^[6] and a PR campaign which involved association with the UK arts scene and social engagement with figures in the Britpop movement such as Noel Gallagher.^[7][8]

Author Iain Ellis attributes some of the attitude behind Cool Cymru figures to the perception that Wales had, for much of the 1960s and 1970s, been 'perennial underachievers' of the Union, stuck with "old-fashioned crooners"^[9] like Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones while England was represented across the globe by Beatlemania, The Rolling Stones, and The Who.

Ellis describes how "Scotland and Northern Ireland awoke to the call of punk, post-punk, and indie rock",^[9] from international names like Primal Scream, Average White Band, the Bay City Rollers in Scotland; and The Undertones and Van Morrison in Northern Ireland.

He further states that Wales had, compared to the rest of the United Kingdom, "a largely barren rock history".^[9] This perceived inadequacy, Ellis argues, spurred the rebellious and unconventional direction of pioneers like Cerys Matthews and Richey Edwards.^[9]

Wider political developments had taken to the fore in the 1990s, such as S4C taking a widened remit in the Broadcasting Act 1990, commercial sponsorship of the National Eisteddfod of Wales reaching over £1 million for the first time, the construction of the Millennium Stadium, the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay, the establishment of Newport Riverfront Arts Centre, and the wider political and architectural construction which followed the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum. First Minister Rhodri Morgan was also a keen advocate for the Welsh arts.^[10]

Wales in the 1990s was enjoying a particular period of international prominence. Its reputation was heightened by the performances of sporting individuals such as Joe Calzaghe, Ryan Giggs, and Scott Gibbs,^[5] as well as the notorious headlines generated by figures like Howard Marks.^[5]

Actors of prominence included Ioan Gruffudd,^[5] who appeared in Solomon & Gaenor (nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 72nd Academy Awards), as well as Rhys Ifans and Anthony Hopkins^[5] who both appeared in the Chekhov tale August, and Llangefni born Huw Garmon who starred in the Oscar nominated Welsh language film Hedd Wyn.

1997 saw the release of House of America (about a dysfunctional family in a Welsh mining town), and that same year Newport-born director Julian Richards released Darklands (the "first home grown Welsh horror film").^[11]

The Kevin Allen-produced black comedy Twin Town, which holds cult status^[12] in Swansea and internationally, showed Wales' second city in a then-controversial light of "excessive profanity, drug-taking and violence as the order of the day",^[12] and provoked the outraged response of Liberal Democrat MP David Alton who railed against the film as "sordid and squalid, plunging new depths of depravity."^[12]

The Guardian in a 2004 review of Cool Cymru described a road map of the scene as a "proud nation of footballer Ryan Giggs, movie star Catherine Zeta-Jones, clothes designer Julien Macdonald, rappers Goldie Lookin Chain and, to a lesser extent, Rhys Ifans and Huw Edwards."^[10]

Terry Morris book and exhibit was titled Cool Cymru,^[13] launched at the Wales Millennium Centre and opened by Charlotte Church.^[13] The series later became a three-part television documentary by Llanelli-based Tinopolis.^[14]

Iain Ellis describes his interpretation of Welsh music developments of the era as forming two "poles":

Self consciously Welsh Acts

To Ellis, Super Furry Animals, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, and Catatonia were "ambitious beyond their borders", yet "asserted national identity by integrating Welsh language songs into their repertoire".^[9]

Neither eschewing nor celebrating Welsh Acts

In contrast stood Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, and Mclusky, who "saw its identity more through musical genre than geography. Neither eschewing nor overtly celebrating their Welsh roots, these bands implicitly looked beyond their borders, indeed any borders."^[9]

The Stereophonics' debut album, Word Gets Around, was released in 1997, and the band drew attention when they became the first to sign for Richard Branson's V2 Records.^[5] The album went on to receive acclaim, with its asking of potent questions for 1990s young people in Wales, including the line from Traffic:

"Is anyone going anywhere?

Everyone’s got to be somewhere."

Stereophonics - "Traffic"^[15]

Tackling the topic of youth unemployment was also a focus of the era:

"I don’t live to work,

I work to live,

I live at the weekend."

Stereophonics - "Last of the Big Time Drinkers"^[15]

Writer Griffin Kaye described Stereophonics as "proud, unapologetic Welshmen who serve as the anchormen of the Cool Cymru sound, helping carry the sound from one generation to the next."^[16]

Ellis describes Gruff Rhys' psychedelia driven art as "the heart and soul of the "Cool Cymru" movement",^[9] yet he acknowledges it was the act's resonance with the "London-based Britpop movement and its attendant media" which helped its growth, thanks to their dissonance with the more standardised acts of the era such as Oasis. The group famously reached number 11 in the UK charts with Mwng in 2001, to much surprise given the presence of a full ten Welsh language songs on the album.^[17]

Pooh Sticks lead singer Huw Williams, who helped raise the profiles of 60 ft Dolls and Catatonia,^[18] co-founded the Welsh Music Foundation, a now defunct Government supported organisation which in the Cool Cymru era was praised for raising the profile of Welsh music internationally and at home.^[18] The organisation is credited with individual successes such as the growth of Lostprophets and Mclusky,^[18] as well as bringing BBC Radio 1 on its first visit to Wales for Sound City in Cardiff.^[18]

Amid the growth of Welsh Language Music Day, Horizons Gorwelion, Sŵn Festival, Tafwyl, and the wider proliferation of contemporary independent Welsh musicians, the BBC has asked whether Cool Cymru is back.^[19] Huw Stephens addressed the idea in his BBC Radio 4 programme, Cymru Rising.^[20]

Throughout the 1990s Colin Jackson became one of Great Britain's most successful athletes, but was also notable for waving the Welsh flag after every win for Great Britain. Jackson would later acknowledge that he had become more aware of his identity due to Anti-Welsh sentiment during this period, stating "I felt the discrimination was because I was Welsh more than anything else."^[21]

Jackson's success and open pride in being Welsh saw him idolized in Wales, and he became an early icon of Cool Cymru, with Jackson winning BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year three times and being invited to present the Best British Group Award to fellow Welshmen, The Manic Street Preachers at the 1997 Brit Awards.^[22]

In his first year, Graham Henry led Wales to a then record ten straight victories. A first ever win for the Welsh against South Africa and a close victory over England at Wembley.

A song detailed Wales' recent losses and suggested that the losses would be forgotten with victory over England, and was viewed by some commentators in England and Wales as antagonistic or jingoistic. However, the song also received praise as showing the pride Wales was now displaying in the BBC's "year of Cool Cymru".^[24] The build-up to the match also featured Tom Jones and Max Boyce as well as traditional Welsh choirs.

With a much fancied England aiming to complete a Grand Slam they looked by far the better team for much of the game, but only lead Wales by 6 points with 3 minutes left. With Wales' final attacking play, Scott Quinnell passed the ball to Scott Gibbs who memorably broke through England's defensive line, ran around one defender, side-stepped another and crossed for one of the most celebrated tries in Welsh rugby history. Man of the match Neil Jenkins kicked the conversion to win the match by a single point. Gibbs's try has since become one of the most celebrated in Welsh history, being replayed at many events such as that year's Stereophonics concert at Morfa, Swansea.^[25]

With rugby becoming a professional sport in 1995 and Wales winning the bid to host the 1999 World Cup, the Welsh Rugby Union was able to finance redevelopment of the old National Stadium. The project was costed at £121 million and was partially funded by £46 million from the Millennium Commission, as such the new development was named the Millennium Stadium.^[26][27]

The project was completed by June 1999 in time to host the opening ceremony of the World Cup and seven matches including the World Cup Final. The development also foreshadowed more redevelopment in Cardiff and Cardiff Bay. The development was a major part of Cardiff's urban renewal. The stadium has contributed between £100m-£135m to the city's economy every year since its construction.^[28]

In 2021, Matthew Rhys spoke about his belief that Cool Cymru had a positive impact on the acceptance of the Welsh language, adding that he wished to emulate that affect in his own career.^[29]

• Cool Britannia
• British Invasion
• Cool Japan
• Korean Wave
• Taiwanese Wave
• Post-Britpop