AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh legend Max Boyce - " I have another big concert tour starting in October until December following a very successful TV programme celebrating my 70th Birthday which was actually had the highest viewing ratings that year! I am also in the process of writing my autobiography for publication when I finally finish it! "

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AmeriCymru:  Hi Max and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. I read in a previous interview that you have "always loved folk music and poetry". Are there any particular musicians or poets who influenced or inspired you?

Max: I would probably say Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie & Ewan MacColl.

AmeriCymru:   You worked as a coal miner in the 1960's. How and to what extent did this influence your music?

Max: I did indeed and this influenced my music massively.  To write accurately about your subject matter you have to experience it personally. For me, it was that special camaraderie and sharing the same dangers that really enabled me to write my songs with first-hand experience and which ultimately has given my songs their poignancy. All great works, whether they be paintings or songs are at their best when created from personal experience.

AmeriCymru:  What can you tell us about the night your Live in Treorchy album ( 1974 ) was recorded?

Max: Well it was put together very hastily so not foreseen at all! Initially I was selling my tickets for 50p just to get an audience for my show as I needed them for my chorus songs!  I was in fact giving them away and think people only came to see me out of sympathy!  It was the audience’s spontaneous reactions that made this album the success that it was. I made a conscious decision to choose a place where I had never been before so I got a fresh reaction and it went fantastically well!

Max Boyce Live At Treorchy

AmeriCymru:  How did it feel to go straight to number 1. in the charts with your second album 'We All Had Doctors Papers'?

Max: Unbelievable! I still find it strange when I think back. Wherever I was in the country I would always buy a copy of The Melody Maker and The New Music Express just to see if I was still up there!  I remember seeing my name on the list ABOVE Rod Stewart and The Beatles! Totally amazing.

AmeriCymru:  Did you ever think that your song 'Hymns And Arias' would become anthemic? How did that song come to be written?

Max: No I didn’t. No-one could foresee that. It became a song of the people which just cannot be manufactured.  Funnily enough the Irish and Scottish anthemic folk songs ‘Fields of Anthenry’ and ‘Flower of Scotland’ were actually written at a very similar time to when I wrote ‘Hymns and Arias’. I had just been to Twickenham and was writing topical songs. So I basically wrote about my memories  of the whole trip and probably did it in about 2 hours!  I wish I could change a line or two today but obviously cannot!

AmeriCymru:  You have performed all over the world. What was your most memorable performance and why?

Max: Probably Wembley before the Wales vs England game. It was a home game and should have been in Cardiff but they were building the stadium for the World Cup. Such an iconic venue with 80,000 people singing along..wonderful.

AmeriCymru:  You toured Australia in 2003 during the rugby World Cup. Any memories you would like to share?

Max: Performing at Sydney Opera House was tremendous and I had Katherine Jenkins as my guest. She performed one song and then was very quickly signed up after that!

Hymns and Arias

AmeriCymru:  You have visited and performed in the States in the past. How did you enjoy your time in the US?

Max: I absolutely loved it and I loved the different culture.  Also what a privilege afforded to very few, if any, to play for 2.5 months with The Dallas Cowboys. To be picked by Coach Landry to play offence in the first game in the Texas Stadium against the Green Bay Packers is something I will never ever forget.  Following on from the success of that, I was then also asked to ride bulls in the rodeo and again, was very touched by the similar camaraderie that they had, as we did in coal mining, in sharing the same dangers.  Bull riding is America’s truest sport I think and an experience that I will treasure always.

AmeriCymru:  What's next for Max Boyce? Tours? Recordings?

Max: I have another big concert tour starting in October until December following a very successful TV programme celebrating my 70th Birthday which was actually had the highest viewing ratings that year! I am also in the process of writing my autobiography for publication when I finally finish it!

AmeriCymru:  Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru? 

Max: Please carry on with the missionary work and come back and see us soon – we miss you!