Cerys Matthews

Cerys Matthews MBE
Matthews in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Cerys Elizabeth Matthews
Born	(1969-04-11)11 April 1969 Cardiff,Wales
Origin	Swansea,Wales
Genres	Alternative rock Cool Cymru Britpop indie rock pop rock folk
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Years active	1990–present
Website	www.cerysmatthews.co.uk

Cerys MatthewsMBE(/ˈkɛrɪs/;born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock bandCatatoniaand a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru"movement of the late 1990s.

Matthews programmes and hosts a weekly music show onBBC Radio 6 Music,a weekly blues show onBBC Radio 2,and a weekly show onBBC Radio 4,Add To Playlist,which won the Prix Italia and Prix Europa 2022. She also makes documentaries for television and radio and was a roving reporter forThe One Show.She founded "The Good Life Experience", a festival of culture and the great outdoors inFlintshirein 2014, and is author ofHook, Line and Singer,published byPenguin Books,and children's storiesTales from the DeepandGelert, A Man's Best Friend,published byGomer.

Her illustrated version ofDylan Thomas'sUnder Milk Woodwas published in November 2022, byWeidenfeld and Nicolson.

Early life

Matthews was born inCardiff,the second of four children. The family moved toSwanseawhen she was seven. She went to Bryn Y Mor Welsh language school until 11 years of age, then attendedSt Michael's School, Llanelli.She then attendedYsgol Bro Gwauncomprehensive school when she lived in thePembrokeshirevillage ofTrefin,andBryanston School,an independent school in Dorset, England.

Matthews is fluent in English, Welsh, Spanish, and French.She has cited her childhood heroes as beingPippi Longstockingand writersWilliam Butler YeatsandDylan Thomas.

She learned to play the guitar at the age of nine, sang Welsh folk songs and taught herself traditional songs from all over the globe including blues and Irish folk songs.She was a member of the West Glamorgan Youth Orchestra.She had a stint in Spain as a nanny, where she learned to speakCatalan.

Career

Catatonia

Main article:Catatonia (band)

Catatoniawere formed in 1992, after Matthews metMark Roberts.She subsequently sang lead vocals on, and co-wrote the music and lyrics for, the band's hits. Songs she co-wrote included "You've Got a Lot to Answer For","Mulder and Scully","Dead from the Waist Down",and"Road Rage".Matthews also played guitar on the earlier material before second guitaristOwen Powelljoined the band. She also performed a single with the bandSpacenamed "The Ballad of Tom Jones",which tells the story of two lovers who want to kill each other, but then hear aTom Jonessong that defuses their homicidal feelings. Matthews later collaborated with Jones to record a version ofFrank Loesser's "Baby, It's Cold Outside"on Jones's 1999 albumReload.Matthews was voted the "Sexiest Female in Rock" in a 1999 readers' poll in the now-defunct magazineMelody Maker.

After Catatonia's rise to fame with their second albumInternational Velvet,and subsequent success withEqually Cursed and Blessed,the band returned in 2001 with their fourth studio album,Paper Scissors Stone.In September 2001, the band officially split.

2000s

Matthews joined thePet Shop Boyson the Pyramid Stage atGlastonburyin June 2000, performing a duet of their hit "What Have I Done to Deserve This?".In December 2001, she returned to the recording studio for the first time since Catatonia split up. She recorded a song in both English andWelshfor the pre-school cartoon seriesSali Mali.She provided guest vocals on the track "Cyclops Rock", from USalternative rockbandThey Might Be Giants2001 albumMink Car.Her line was originally supposed to be provided byJoe Strummerofthe Clash.Cerys went on to co-write "Gypsy Song" with Strummer on herCockahoopalbum released by Rough Trade in 2003.

Matthews moved toNashville, Tennessee,in 2001. On her arrival she began playing withBucky Baxter,who had playedlap steel guitarforBob DylanandRyan Adams.She had already collected 76 traditional folk songs with the idea of making an album of folk covers. Her debut album,Cockahoop,ended up consisting mainly of her own songs. It was recorded in seven months and appeared onBlanco y Negro Recordsin the United Kingdom in May 2003. While recording this album she met Seth Riddle, whom she married in Pembrokeshire on 22 February 2003.She toured the album around Britain with minimal promotion as she was several months pregnant at the time. The album'sStateside Recordsrelease followed in October 2004.

In December 2005, Matthews recorded a version ofLen Barry's 1960s UK and US top-10 hit "1-2-3"in Nashville. She released it as a download-single with all profits going to a children's charity.In early 2006, Matthews introduced material from her then upcoming album atSXSWinAustin, Texas.

In 2006, Matthews conducted a short tour of the UK to promote her second solo album,Never Said Goodbye.The album was preceded by the single "Open Roads". Band members included Kevin Teel on guitar, Ben Elkins playing keyboards,Mason Neelyon drums, andJeff Irwinplaying bass. She headlined Cardiff'sBig Weekend festival.During September and October 2006, Matthews embarked on a UK and Ireland tour, during which she played tracks from her first two solo albums as well as three Catatonia hits. She also embarked upon a short acoustic Welsh tour in November 2006 before returning to Nashville for Christmas.

Matthews appeared on the 2007 series ofITV'sI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!,which aired from 12 to 30 November. She was voted off one day before the final episode, coming fourth behindJason "J" Brown,Janice Dickinsonand eventual winnerChristopher Biggins.Matthews became involved with fellow contestantMarc Bannermanafter the show, but they split four months later. Matthews appeared at the liveGuilty Pleasuresconcert at theHackney Empire,London in 2007. She performed theBonnie Tylerhit "Total Eclipse of the Heart"and theDolly Parton/Kenny Rogersduet "Islands in the Stream"along withTerry Halland theBBC Concert Orchestra.

In an interview on the eve of the launch of her Welsh mini-albumAwyren = Aeroplane,Matthews confirmed she had divorced from Riddle and temporarily moved back to her farm in Pembrokeshire.Awyren = Aeroplanewon her the "Contemporary Composition" award in the NationalEisteddfod.The award had been resurrected and presented for the first time since 1936. In 2007, Matthews became Vice-President of the Welsh homelessness charityShelter Cymru.She also accepted a role of Performing Arts Ambassador forLinden Lodge School,Wimbledon in the same year.

Matthews joined the Welsh bandManic Street Preachersonstage atThe O2on 28 February 2008 to sing the female vocals of their 2007 hit "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough"as part of theNME awardscelebrations that year. She replacedNina Perssonin both the awards ceremony (withinindigO2) and at the following "Big Gig" live show (within TheO2 Arena).

Matthews at Glastonbury in 2008

From November 2008, Matthews sat in forStephen MerchantandMarc RileyonBBC 6 Musicand went on to presentGeorge Lamb's slot in April 2009. In May 2009, she presented the showA Month of Sundays With... Cerys Matthews.She then covered forNemoneon 6 Music from July 2009, while Nemone was on maternity leave.

Matthews began maternity leave from November 2009 and had to finish presenting the show a month early. In April 2010, Matthews returned to 6 Music to present a weekend show on Sunday mornings. She produces and presents radio documentaries and shows, includingHook Line and Singer,where she shared her love of fishing on Radio 4.

Matthews released her first CD in two years in October 2009. The album, titledDon't Look Down,was released in two versions, one in English and the other in Welsh (the title of the Welsh edition wasPaid Edrych i Lawr). It was recorded inProvidence, Rhode Island,Nashville,Seattleand London, and coincided with a two-week UK tour in October.

Since 2010

Matthews has coveredGlastonbury Festivalfor bothBBC Televisionand BBC 6 Music, she wrote and presented aBBC Twoprogramme on poetry and presented TV documentaries on singerDorothy Squires,theMississippi Riverand Cuba. She wrote and presented a documentary on early blues players such asMemphis Minnie,children's characterPippi Longstocking,Mahalia Jacksonand the celebrated British blues label "Blue Horizon". She has presented a documentary for BBC Radio 2 on Maida Vale studios. She frequently contributes toBBC Radio 4programmes such asFeedback,Frontrow,Loose EndsandSaturday Live,also writing a column for world music magazineSonglines.Since 2021, Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye have presentedAdd To Playlist,which explores connections in music.She has curated festivals for theTate Modern,the Shetland theatre and Womex.

In 2010, Matthews releasedTir(in Welsh: "territory" or "land" ), a collection of traditional Welsh songs, and of photographs from her family archive from the 1880s to 1940s of people at work and play.They included "Calon Lân","Cwm Rhondda","Migldi-Magldi "(sung as a duet withBryn Terfel), "Myfanwy" and "Sosban Fach".This is the third release on her own label, Rainbow City.

Exploreris Matthews's fourth solo album (2011). In both selecting and writing the songs she delved into the influence of both the music she has heard round the globe, and the places she had visited. Recorded over seven days, the album from the outset had no pre-determined sound or calculated format.On the album she incorporates a little Spanish, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and American sensibilities, styles, and genres.In April 2011, a video was released through Matthews's official YouTube Pageof the lead single fromExplorer,"Sweet Magnolia".

Matthews played the Isle of Wight and Hay festivals in 2012, the latter with aWoody Guthrietribute show, and collaborated with artists such as Arun Ghosh,Tunde Jegede,Attab Haddad, Frank Moon and theLondon Bulgarian Choir.2012 also saw Matthews play music from her collection of Welsh traditional songsTir,withBallet Cymru,ending in a show inSadler's Wells,and a nomination for a Theatre Critics Award 2012.

For Christmas 2012, She produced and arranged Christmas albumBaby, It's Cold Outside(2012) to much acclaim, recognised by theSunday Timesas an "essential seasonal album".

Matthews played UK literary festivals including Dartington, Chester, Hay and Edinburgh and released an album of traditional Welsh reels and songs,Hullabaloo.She sangPatsy Cline's "Crazy"and Dylan's"Blowin' in the Wind"as part of the memorial service for esteemed War correspondentMarie Colvin,in May 2012. Also in 2012, Matthews appeared as a celebrity guest mentor forTom Jones's team on the first series of the UK version ofThe Voice.

In 2014, Matthews co-founded an interactive festival,The Good Life Experience,with Charlie and Caroline Gladstone, held every September on the Gladstone estate in Hawarden, Flintshire near the Cheshire border. It is a festival which celebrates the great outdoors, with abseiling, campfires, axe throwing, foraging, talk on survival, as well as cultural activities, crafts, books and music.

Awards and recognitions

Matthews won gold at the 2013Sony Radio Academy Awards,winning in the "Music Broadcaster of the year" award for her show onBBC Radio 6 Music.

Matthews won a "St David Award" – for her contribution to culture in 2014 – run by the Welsh government, in its inaugural year, 2014.She was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire(MBE) in the2014 Birthday Honoursfor services to music.

In July 2014, Matthews was awarded an honorary degree fromSwansea University.

Matthews won the Best Presenter Music award at the Audio Production Awards on 23 November 2016.

In 2017, she was a guest presenter on the BBC's coverage of theRoyal Welsh Show,along withAndi Oliverand Omar Hamdi.On 14 May 2018, Matthews took over fromPaul Jonesas the presenter ofThe Blues ShowonBBC Radio 2.

In 2019, Matthews was one of the three judges for the 2020CountryfileCalendar, sold in aid ofChildren in Need.

In 2022, Matthews made a pilot for a newBBC Radio 4music programme calledAdd To Playlist,with Jeffrey Boakye. This emerged as a weekly Friday night show which Matthews and Boakye present and direct musically, production is by Jerome Weatherald.Add To Playlistwent on to win both The Prix Italia and Prix Europa in the music radio category in 2022.

Personal life

Matthews has two sons and a daughter. She married her second husband,Steve Abbott,who also has two children, in 2011 and they live in west London.In 2019, to celebrate her 50th birthday, Matthews took her nine- and 12-year-old sons and husband to hike toEverest Base Camp.

Discography

Catatonia

Main article:Catatonia (band) § Discography

As a solo artist

Studio albums

• Cockahoop(UK No. 30) (Blanco y Negro– 2003)
• Never Said Goodbye(Rough Trade– 2006)
• Awyren = Aeroplane(mini-album) (My Kung Fu 030 – 2007)
• Don't Look Down(Rainbow City Recordings – 2009)
• Tir(Rainbow City Recordings – 2010)
• Explorer(Rainbow City Recordings – 2011)
• Baby It's Cold Outside(Rainbow City Recordings − 2012)
• Hullabaloo(Rainbow City Recordings – 2013)
• Dylan Thomas: A Child's Christmas, Poems and Tiger Eggs(Marvels of the Universe – 2014)
• We Come from the Sunwith theHidden Orchestraand 10 poets(Decca Records – 2021)

Singles

• "The Ballad of Tom Jones"(withSpace) (1998, UK No. 4)
• "Caught in the Middle" (2003, UK No. 47)
• "1-2-3"(2005)
• "Open Roads" (2006, UK No. 53)
• "Some Kind of Wonderful"(withAled Jones) (2007)
• "Arlington Way" (Rainbow City Recordings − 2009)
• "Into The Blue" / "Mae Angen Llong Ar Gapten" (Rainbow City Recordings − 2010)
• "Sweet Magnolia" (Rainbow City Recordings − 2011)

Other appearances

Appearances on other original recordings

• Space–Tin Planet,duetting on "The Ballad of Tom Jones" (1998)
• Tom Jones–Reload,on "Baby, It's Cold Outside"(1999)
• They Might Be Giants–Mink Car,guest vocals on "Cyclops Rock" (2001)
• Aled Jones– Reasons to Believe, duetting on "Some Kind of Wonderful"(2007)
• The Fron Male Voice Choir –Voices of the Valley:Home, singing "Calon Lan" (2008)
• MAVIS presentsCandi Staton& Cerys Matthews, singing "Nemesis Required" (2010)

Appearances on compilations

• Brand New Boots and Panties!!(2001) – contributed "If I Was With a Woman"
• Listen to Bob Dylan: A Tribute(2005) – contributed "I Believe in You", aBob Dylansong fromSlow Train Coming
• Hands Across the Water(2006) – contributed "An Occasional Song"
• Songs for the Young at Heart(2007) – contributed "White Horses",the theme song toThe White Horses
• Over the Rainbow(2007) – contributed "Secret Love"

Bibliography

• Hook, Line and Singer,Matthews' collection of singalong classics published by Penguin, became a top-3Sunday Timesbestseller in 2013. The book includes personal anecdotes and song histories. Song examples are "Let's Go Fly a Kite", "Oh Susannah", and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot".
• Tales from the Deep(2011), Gwasg Gomer, Wales: Gomer Press Limited,ISBN978-1-84851-312-9Nominated for a People's Choice Award.
• Gelert, a Man's Best Friend(2014), Gwasg Gomer, Wales: Gomer Press Limited,ISBN978-1-84851-464-5
• Where the Wild Cooks Go: Recipes, Music, Poetry, Cocktails(2019),Penguin UK,ISBN978-1-84614-962-7
• Cerys Matthews' Under Milk Wood(2022),Weidenfeld and Nicolson,ISBN978-147462-250-9

External links

• Official website
• The Blues Show with Cerys Matthews(BBC Radio 2)
• Cerys Matthews(BBC Radio 6 Music)
• BBCOne Showprofile
• Cerys MatthewsatIMDb
• cerys-matthews-1 Cerys MatthewsonJournalisted
• August 2006 interview with Matthews
• BBC WalesMusic –Matthews microsite
• Garvey, Jane(8 October 2007)."Woman's Hour"(RealAudio).BBC Radio 4.