Mia Lewis

Another forgotten Welsh pop singer from the mid-Sixties. A petite 5ft 1" tall, Mia Lewis had huge grey-green eyes. Between 1965-67 she cut five discs: Wish I Didn't Love Him (Decca); It's Goodbye Now (Decca); Nothing Lasts Forever (Parlophone); No Time For Lovin' (Parlophone); and Woman's Love (Parlophone).

Mia hailed from Abercraf, deep in the upper-Swansea valley. She came from a large family and was one of 8 siblings. Before becoming a professional singer, aged 18, she had worked as a telephonist at a local clock factory. Her wage was £6 per week. To supplement her income she sang regularly at the Embassy theatre in Swansea.

When Mia turned professional she left Wales to live in London. She lodged in South Hornsey with her uncle, Viv Morgan. She made many appearances on TV and toured the UK. She even had plans to visit the States where her debut single was getting decent reviews. Unfortunately, despite possessing dreamy looks and a strong voice, her records never made much of an impact on the charts, and her pop career sank without trace.

If you know what became of Mia, get in touch.

Mia Lewis: NME Cover

A while back on this blog I asked whatever became of Mia Lewis, Duffy-esque chanteuse from Abercraf, who released several singles in the mid-60s. Her daughter was kind enough to send me an email with some info. Mia is alive and well but no longer sings professionally. She married Vernon Mills who was once the bass guitarist in Tom Jones's band The Squires. Her best recorded song is the catchy Onion which was a b-side and should really have been released as an a-side. In the above picture, you can see that Mia even made the front cover of the New Musical Express (April 9, 1965).

Cindy Williams

Cindy Williams was a Swansea chanteuse active in the 1960s. Like Welsh contemporaries Mia Lewis and Tawny Reed she released a couple of records with limited success before fading into obscurity. Both of her singles were released by Parlophone in '67 when she was just 19-years-old: Eyes of a Man/My Love And I and They Talk About Us/Did He Call Today Mama?

They Talk About Us is the opening track on Dream Babes: Am I Dreaming, a recent-ish compilation of songs by Sixties girl singers chosen by Bob Stanley of St Etienne fame. Williams's 45 is a nice piece of girly melodrama as you can hear from this sample.

Cindy came from Dyfatty, Swansea, where she lived with her mother, father and three brothers. Apparently, in 1965, she appeared as a contestant on a TV show (Groucho) starring Groucho Marx. He asked her to sing - she obliged with a rendition of Sospan Fach. Soon afterwards she took singing lessons and was quickly signed up by Parlophone.

I don't know much else about Cindy Williams, so if you happen to know what became of her please get in touch.