Welsh Rock Juvenilia

Here are two pictures which feature a couple of Welsh rock music luminaries. Above is a fresh-faced Richard Parfitt who would later go on to find fame in 60ft Dolls. In this snap from 1984 he is performing with Newport band The Colours. They were a kind of Jam-inspired combo who had a reasonably large following in south Wales at that time. They even released one single The Dance / Sinking in 1983. Below is a 14-year-old Gruff Rhys. He is the one with a cymbal on his head. The band he was in at this point was called Machlud (sunset) which preceded both Ffa Coffi Pawb and Super Furry Animals. The photograph is taken from Welsh-language fanzine Sgrech circa 1984.