9099.9395

RECORDIAU CLUSTCWYR (effectively Earwax Records, though not to be confused with the Sheffield-based sister-label of that name) were a recording studio and record label based in Cwmann, near Lampeter, Wales. The studio was established by Dafydd Morgan in 1974 to capitalise on the captive student population of the nearby (and newly expanded) St David's University College. The ensuing music scene was the subject of Evan Paris's 2000 book The Locked Groove, the introduction of which is given below:

Regional music scenes vary wildly. While Manchester was producing speed-upping angry punk, its neighbours in Liverpool were getting into acid, and its neighbours on the other side, in Sheffield, were stealing their mothers’ make-up and buying synthesisers. Such variation on such a local scale continues even today despite our increasingly globalised world. Usually some of it rises to the surface, bubbling into our consciousness and influencing the bigger picture. Of the stuff that doesn’t, much might still hope to find an underground national following through niche programming and press. And then there’s the rest; the acts that never quite got there. That Peel didn’t get around to listening to. That the NME chose to ignore. For almost every musical scene in history there are the successes, the marginals and the failures. The nation knows of the Human League, the musically curious know of Cabaret Voltaire. Only the people around in Sheffield at the right time know of Hula.

A modicum of fame is available for most scenes, but not all. Some may only ever hope of reaching cult notoriety. And occasionally there is some part of the country that fails to gain any attention at all. One such region is the subject of this book.

Wales has had its share of attention over the years. Be it big vocal talents like Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey, west-coast psyche-rock acts like Man, the underground successes of Datblygu and their ilk, or the Ankst-era psychedelia of ‘90s bands like the Gorkys and SFA (not to mention the immense success of recent dad-rockers The Stereophonics). Much of the talent to have reached the attention of the English ear filtered out through the north, through Liverpool labels like Probe Plus. Even the Ankst scene was profoundly northern, based around the Caernarfon Bay area. The other breeding ground for Welsh talent is to the south, in the cities: Swansea and Cardiff. Down here, the talent tends to filter out through the less scouted exit of Bristol.

Wales is something of a natural fortress, and that which doesn’t seep out through the top or the bottom of the country is not going to get out at all.

The university town of Lampeter is further from Swansea than Manchester is from either Liverpool or Sheffield, and as far from Ankst country as Manchester is. It was there, in the Teifi valley, that  Dafydd Morgan set up Recordiau Clustcwyr, a record company that has had absolutely no commercial success outside of  the Cardigan and Carmarthen area. Anthropologists take no end of excitement from finding an isolated community hidden deep in the rainforests and untouched by the rest of civilisation. Here, in the heart of Wales, is the musical equivalent: a microcosm so trapped in its valley that it has become inbred.

Clustcwyr's primary function was as a studio, but it also operated artist-paid pressing and a limited distribution model. Surprisingly few students engaged as far as the label side of the business, and the released material comes mostly from a network of inter-related artists operating in the Ceredigion/Carmarthenshire region. These artists were largely inherited from an earlier label: Tapioca Records, founded in 1959 but closed in 1974 following a suspicious fire at their isolated Joppa studio near Llanrhystud (15 miles away from Clustcwyr). Chief among the Tapioca acts were former Lampeter students turned art-rockers Et Cetera, and Caernarfon girl-band Cathy Carrow and the Cookie Crumbs. Any map of the Clustcwyr 'scene' starts with these two groups.

In the late '70s, the label gained a strong reputation (locally speaking) for their punk output, typified by Dirywio's legendary naked gig as part of their notorious 1978 "Anhrefn Yn Cymru" tour. Such antics, and Dirywio's stage-managed rivalry with label-mates The Seed (formed by an ex-Cookie Crumb), served to bring Clustcwyr to a wider attention. The label maintained this momentum through the early-'80s with the chic yet cynical pop-rock of bands like The Margarets and Helena's Box (effectively a decapitated Cookie Crumbs). The latter would be Clustcwyr's most successful act, and the one which came closest to breaking out, nearly being signed to Island Records in 1988 but breaking up instead.

Sophisticated grunge-rock emerged after this, provided first by The Angels of Death (formed from the ashes of Dirywio and The Seed), ex-students The Moisture Farmers, and later Rotten Fruit (made up of former members of The Margarets and Helena's Box). But distribution levels fell throughout the '90s, and the label was continually being propped up by the same faces under different names (The Angels of Death would later be Cyfeb and later still Diwydianfa, in spite of an at-the-time unchanging lineup (a post-Clustcwyr iteration of Diwydianfa (with none of the original members) would, of course, become infamous for other reasons)). Furthermore, home recording technology was slowly eroding the studio side of the operation.

From the mid-'90s onwards, the label shifted its focus to progressive folk acts such as Llefrith (another decapitation in the Cookie Crumbs / Helena's Box line) and Rhonwen Stephens (the last student on the label's books, and briefly also a member of Llefrith). The new direction was sufficient to aid a small revival in fortunes, and a number of prodigal acts returned to the label, not least Sheffield-based The Science Department (an Et Cetera spin-off). This loose collective of electronic musicians introduced other Sheffield-scene acts to the valley, not least Chesterfield duo MOSFET. In 2001, a sister label, Earwax Records, was founded by The Science Department in Sheffield, and this introduced a brief period of cultural exchange. In 2002 the two labels merged as part of a buy-out by ACNC Records to create RCE Records (Recordiau Clustcwyr / Earwax). In spite of the merger, the two labels retained their former identities, though many of the more experimental acts drifted to the Sheffield arm. 

Following the buy-out, Dafydd Morgan emigrated to Mallorca. Gorwel Edwards, who had bankrolled the label in its early days and had co-managed since the mid-80s, stayed on at the helm, but was arrested for fraud in 2003, and declared bankrupt in 2004. Dafydd Morgan died later that year.

The continuing rise of home recording and paid tuition, general decline in record sales and record retailers, some unquestionably bad management, and a lack of investment finally took their toll on the two studios, and RCE Records were wound down in March 2006.

The barn that housed Clustcwyr had remained the property of Dafydd Morgan until his death in 2004. It was then bequeathed to John Craven (ex-Et Cetera) and Helena Jones (ex-Cookie Crumbs; ex-Helena's Box) -- the two artists had formerly hated each other, and had to perform a duet of "Some Velvet Morning" to receive the bequest; they now live together at the barn. The offices were converted into a flat, and the pair maintained the studios until 2007 when flooding destroyed much of the equipment. A good deal of the Clustcwyr back-catalogue was also severely damaged. The former studios have subsequently been repurposed as a practice space and venue. The Sheffield studios were likewise hit by flooding in 2007, and are now derelict.

100890

DIWYDIANFA (the name is a corruption of the Welsh for "Industry", and is taken from a misprint in a Welsh/English dictionary) were a left-wing Welsh Nationalist performance art collective who were responsible for the London Bomb. The name was first applied in 1996 to an aggressive rock band formerly known as Cyfeb (itself a rebranding of an earlier outfit: The Angels of Death).

The Angels of Death were formed in Carmarthen in 1980 as a backing band for Leeds-born guitarist John Craven. The original lineup consisted of former Gong guitarist Steve Hillage and session keyboardist Carl Whittington, plus Petra Corren and Dewi Newbold from legendary Welshpool punks Dirywio. Warren Smith, Adrian Mooney and Chris Holland of Dirywio's old rivals The Seed, had replaced Hillage, Whittington and the erratic Newbold by 1984.

The Seed had been formed in Bangor in 1974, and had established themselves as an important Welsh Punk / New Wave act. Initially raw pub-rock, they progressed to a more mature punk sound before dabbling with electronics on their second album. Their rivalry with Dirywio was largely stage-managed by the Clustcwyr label. The later lineup of The Angels of Death was effectively a takeover by The Seed -- only bassist Iain Calloway was left behind from the old lineup, effectively replaced by Petra Corren.

Corren was unquestionably the leading influence within the group, and the source of their growing militancy. She instigated the name-change to Cyfeb in 1992, and, after a spell of pregnancy and child-rearing, the further metamorphosis into the noisier, hip-hop influenced Diwydianfa. 

Diwydianfa released one 7" single each year from 1997 to 2002. The rest of their year was spent on political activism. Diwydianfa left the Clustcwyr label following the ACNC takeover in 2002, and subsequent releases were home-made productions.

Corren stood for Plaid Cymru in the 2005 general election but failed to win her seat. In 2008 she gained a place on the Carmarthenshire County Council, only to be expelled from Plaid two years later after an undisclosed incident involving the council's Chief Executive and an otter. In 2012 she retained her seat as an independent candidate.

Corren chose not to stand for re-election in 2016, instead rekindling Diwydianfa as a performance art collective, for the most-part with new (and no-longer strictly musical) personnel: membership of the group appears to have been somewhat fluid, and Corren herself took something of a back seat after the collective's 2017 stint at the Edinburgh Fringe. They embarked upon a tour of the UK, performing their anarchic blend of music, magic and dance in city centres. One part of their show was a disappearing act using a nuclear missile prop (intended as a metaphor for nuclear disarmament). It is not known where they originally got this prop (common speculation has it that Chris Holland bought it in a pub), but concert footage proves it had been on stage with Diwydianfa before their split with Clustcwyr in 2002. The disappearing missile formed part of a televised routine for ATV's "Saturday Night at the Lindrick Palais" variety programme on 5° May 2018. One viewer wrote in to express concern that the missile was a genuine ex-Soviet weapon (or to congratulate the designer on their copy). Four days later, members of the Diwydianfa troupe (subsequently identified as Cam Jones, Ffion DeGroot, Daf Harris, Ed Llewellyn, Rosie Proctor, Clare Swinford, Alan Stevens, Em McLaren, and an otherwise unidentified performer known only as Hyzenflay) were performing in Trafalgar Square when the device exploded. The detonation is assumed to have been accidental.

3000363

CONSTANCE FELICITY KING (25° January 1959 - ), politician.

Born in Sheffield; raised in Laughton-en-le-Morthen, Rotherham; educated at University of York (Philosophy, 1977-80), University of Sheffield (Librarianship, 1980-1). 

Sheffield Central Library

Assistant Librarian (1981-2); Librarian (1982-6); Chief Librarian (1986-1989)

Sheffield City Council

Arts Committee: lay member (1986-1989); council member (1988-1991)

Councillor (Labour), Sheffield Central ward (1988-2001)

Planning Committee: member (1991-1994); chair (1994-2000)

As a consequence of her meteoric library career (which owed much to her impressive interview skills and cool under pressure), King acquired a lay seat on the Sheffield City Council Arts Committee. An impassioned speech to the committee in 1987 helped persuade the city to abandon a costly bid for the 1991 FISU Universiade student games, and to focus instead on maintaining and developing critical city-centre infrastructure. Her performance encouraged her decision to run for council in 1988, and influenced her move to the city's planning committee, which she would go on to chair. During this period she was undoubtedly instrumental in the approval of a wealth of landmark building projects for ACNC, and she co-authored the city's Millennium development plan.

In 2001 she resigned the council, having been elected Labour Member of Parliament for the new Rotherham constituency of West Lindrick (from 2007 simply Lindrick). In 2002 she gave evidence in the ACNC fraud trial.

Parliamentary Career

Already notorious in Westminster circles for being a “conscientious rebel” (as Tony Benn described her) in the governments of Tony Blair, she rose to public attention in 2007 when she put herself forward as a candidate for party leadership against Blair’s chosen successor Gordon Brown, citing the principle that “leadership should be the choice of the party and not something traded under the table in a restaurant” (a reference to the supposed 'Granita Pact' in which Blair and Brown were understood to have agreed the terms of a political succession). She entered her candidacy less than an hour and a half before the deadline, having struggled to gain the required 45 nominations. King consistently played down the ensuing leadership election campaign, describing it as “a formality designed to affirm Gordon’s suitability for the job in the eyes of the public”. However, as the campaign went on it became clear that King’s blend of Old Labour economics and social libertarianism were going down well with a significant core of the party membership, and the fact that King had voted against the Iraq War was another factor in her favour. She ultimately attained 42% of the overall vote, winning the Affiliate college (60%) and Member college (51%) but taking only 15% of the MP and MEP ballot. With such a share of the vote it was inevitable that King would secure a cabinet position in Brown’s government. It is understood that she was offered something approaching a free choice of ministries, but whatever the truth of the matter, she accepted the Department of Trade and Industry. It is also widely believed that Brown would not have called the 2007 election without significant persuasion from King.

Following the economic crisis of 2008, King was an advocate of bank nationalisation, and helped to establish the arm's-length oversight scheme by which banking debt was to be rebalanced. Her suggestion that Brown call another election in early 2009 to judge public support for tougher banking regulation was apparently considered but ultimately rejected. 

King was untarnished by the parliamentary expenses scandals of 2009, but was concerned that the government should improve its image, especially after a severe kicking in the council elections. The 'National Government' reshuffle of June 2009 has the fingerprints of both King and Brown, but King's persuasive abilities were surely a factor in bringing it to fruition. She subsequently developed a strong working relationship with Liberal Democrat Treasury Minister Vince Cable. Later in 2009, King cemented her popularity by renationalising the East Coast rail franchise, and she followed this up in 2010 by blocking an American bid for the confectioner Cadbury's. By this point she was being characterised in the press as 'King Constance', an epithet she increasingly played up to. Her self-belief added to her persuasive powers, and was likely crucial in guiding the economic recovery.

King held onto her portfolio within the Brown/Clegg coalition that followed the 2012 election, and continued to pursue an effectively leftist agenda with Castle-like determination. As a Rotherham MP and former Sheffield councillor she was tangentially affected by the sex abuse scandals that emerged in the mid 2010s, and was swift to criticise former colleagues. But her own reputation remained largely untarnished. In 2015, Brown announced his intention to stand down from his position as PM, triggering a leadership contest. King put her name forward alongside David Miliband, Ed Miliband and Yvette Cooper, and won the first round of the election with 36% of the overall vote. However, after Ed Miliband and Yvette Cooper were eliminated and alternative votes applied, David Miliband was declared winner with an overall share of 50.02% against King's 49.98% -- as with 2007, King won both the Member college (53%) and Affiliate college (62%), but polled only 35% of MPs and MEPs. King was visibly disappointed to have lost so narrowly (a single MP would have swung things in her favour), but was nonetheless keen to use that narrowness to strengthen her economic brief and maintain her cabinet role overseeing Trade and Industry. King's election pitch had been criticised as too left-wing in comparison to David Miliband's neo-Blairite stance (she had characterised the choice on offer "ideology versus boring"), but she sought to use her strong showing as a means to reign in any Miliband-led drift back to "a dangerous Champagne Socialism" during the formation of the 2016 Manifesto.

Under the terms of the coalition agreement, Nick Clegg assumed Prime Ministerial duties going into the 2016 General Election. Labour gained 192 seats, against the Lib Dems' 189 and the Conservatives' 184: the closest three-way UK General Election result to date. Miliband and Clegg renegotiated the terms of the coalition, with Miliband as Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, and Clegg in a strengthened second role as First Lord of the Treasury (decoupled from its traditional association with the PM post). This move gave the Liberal Democrats a much greater control of economic management, sidelining King's more radical agenda. Many of King's supporters saw this move as a slight, and were quick to caricature David Miliband as a self-absorbed peacock astrut upon the world stage, handing government to the Lib Dems to keep it unsullied by the left wing of his own party.

King shifted her efforts towards addressing the clamour for greater federal powers across the UK. She advocated the creation of 12 assembly areas to coincide with the European Parliamentary Constituencies ("let's keep it simple, eh?", as she told the House of Commons), and was promoting this model in Birmingham at the time of the London Bomb. Her reactions to the incident, caught on camera, were unquestionably impressive. She later told Lana Botney: "I don't know whether it was just a growing-up-in-the-'80s-watching-Threads sort-of-thing, or what it was, but I just kind of feared the worst: it seemed the most likely fit for what we'd just experienced. It was either that or an asteroid or something, and I thought, well, whatever it is, it's going to pose the same sort of threat." Before any confirmation was received, King had aides and press gathering weather reports, enacting local emergency strategies, contacting experts and planning evacuation options. As the enormity of the crisis became clear, she remained focused on the humanitarian aspect, maintaining an open, candid, and often emotional dialogue with the press.

Following the devastation of the London Bomb, King found herself the most senior member of the coalition, and promptly called an emergency assembly in York for any surviving MPs. Only 47 attended the first such assembly: the so-called Meeting of the 47. The meeting set priorities and enacted emergency powers, establishing King as interim Prime Minister. King appointed a new temporary cabinet built largely of lay experts, while council members from across the country were drafted to the new Parliament to re-establish a representative democracy.

King now faced growing criticism from the more Hawkish element of her new Parliament (and indeed from media and the military) who demanded retaliatory action. Chief of the Defence Staff, General Eugene Medlev, revealed military intelligence suggesting Iranian responsibility, and this increased the pressure on King even further. King remained unconvinced by Medlev's evidence, and stressed the need to concentrate military minds upon the relief effort. Medlev ignored King (operating on the dubious principle that the elected Prime Minister and his nominated 'second' were both dead, thereby permitting the armed services to follow the tactical lead of the 'letter of last resort'), and ordered HMS Vengeance to ready for a nuclear strike against Iran. On 21° May several King-loyalists and cabinet members were arrested by military personnel. King herself was at Lindrick, examining evidence discovered by a team of monitoring journalists at AVW that the bomb was the work of a company of unconventional performance artists called Diwydianfa, and that the 'plot' had even been outlined on an ATV variety show a week earlier. ISA officers then set about smuggling King into a safe-house in Sheffield, as reports came through that troops from the Fulford barracks were blockading the ad hoc parliament at the University of York.

From her safe-house, King broadcast the Diwydianfa evidence, partially undermining Medlev's integrity. She also revealed that Æ had regained control of the Teleforce system and had just used it to neutralise a sea-launched missile attack on Iran such as the one Medlev had been advocating. She demanded the release of all parliamentary and cabinet personnel, and the immediate withdrawal of York troops. But Medlev refused to comply with her demands, and the rest is an unpleasant present.

AVW continues to assert King's rightful authority as UK Prime Minister.