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Reproduced with kind permission of Cymru Culture Magazine
A BAFTA Cymru award winner, Boyd Clack is a writer, actor, singer and musician. He is probably most famous for putting the Welsh onto Welsh television, having co-written (with his partner Kirsten Jones) and acted in the sitcoms Satellite City and High Hopes . O nly graduating from the Welsh College of Music and Drama in 1986 (at the tender age of 35), h e has worked on some iconic projects, including: Twin Town ; (Rob Brydon's) Marion and Geoff ; and Pirates of the Caribbean . Just over the last year he has appeared in Baker Boys , Being Human and New Tricks .
Born in Vancouver, Boyd returned to Wales at three years old. His dad, who had been in the Royal Regiment of Canada, died of leukemia at only 45, and Boyd was brought up with his mother's sister and brother-in-law in the the village of Tonyrefail, in the south Wales valleys. Before becoming an actor, Boyd had a rather adventurous life, involving a dozen or so different jobs, a religious cult in Australia, the band 'Boyd Clack and the Lemmings' and a 'squat' in Amsterdam. Boyd kindly agreed to tell us more ...
Boyd Clack (Photo: Ben Hussain)
CC Calling your childhood 'challenging' doesn't quite cover it. How has your upbringing most affected your adult life?
BC I felt paranoid and claustrophobic in my teens. I was a delicate, bespectacled hippy and was out of place in the testosterone charged, violent, alcohol fueled enclave of the valleys. I thought I'd die. I had to get away. The girls fancied the muscle bound, chisel jawed guys who were tough and shaved when they were ten. I wanted to be with dreamers and romantics. I wanted magic, in fact. I wanted mystical couplings on exotic beaches. I wanted sex!
CC The Head Chef at Tr Cymru Culture Towers' family live in Tonyrefail. Would you tell them which part of 'Ton' you are from? We're thinking 'blue plaque', here.
BC I was brought up in 10 the Avenue 'till I was ten, then 133 High Street.
CC You had an extraordinary variety of jobs as a young man, including: tax officer; hotel porter; builder; waiter; park keeper; psychiatric nurse; telephonist; door to door vacuum cleaner salesman; and porn shop assistant. What ambitions did you have at school? Did you have any idea what you wanted to do once you had left? Would you do any of those jobs again?
BC I wanted to be a hippy, travel the world having fun and chasing after beautiful girls. I had no other ambitions. I'd work in the porn shop again - 'Venus Erotic Supplies'. Apparently I showed an aptitude for it!
CC How did you come to travel so widely?
BC I grew up in the valleys in the fifties and sixties. The fifties was dreams and fear all mixed up in sunshine and rain. The world was small, like one of those Christmas things you turn upside down and snowflakes fall. The sixties, the later sixties, was the time that shaped me. The outside world filtered in at first, then with Telstar and other satellites, it gushed in. I became the poet laureate of despair. The nights were cold and hung with fists full of diamond stars. I kissed girls outside in the cold and saw their breath rise up in clouds like angels. This intense romance and heart chilling excitement shaped me as clearly as Michelangelo shaped David. Everything I am comes from this. It will be the last image in my head as I die. Life is too weird to try to understand all of it. All I can do is live in frozen images. I think that the valleys in the late sixties was a magical experiment conducted by dead wizards. I sometimes feel so intense about it that it makes me cry. Mais, o sont les neiges d'antan? (But, where are the snows of yesteryear?)
CC What led to you to form the original Boyd Clack and the Lemmings? How long did you stay together?
BC I moved back from Australia to South Wales in 1977; into a shared house in Cardiff. The other residents were fellow zombies and we decided to form a band to do my songs. None of the others played instruments, so we had to start from scratch. It was the time of punk, so it wasn't that difficult. We were magical and sparkling in a hellish way, our songs were Doom Rock and space/time travel romance. Sanity was not our strong point. We were intense and theatrical. We were apocalyptic explorers, the world was being sucked into the pit. Amsterdam was Dead. Dark times were coming. Twilights were ominous.
CC When you re-formed the band in 2007, did you contact any of the original line-up?
BC When I did Welsh Bitter last year I called the band The Lemmings as a tribute to the original band. But that's where the similarity ended, except for a few of the songs, which were done by the original band.
CC Who are your musical influences?
BC My musical influences are essentially mainstream sixties psychadelic pop e.g. Pink Floyd; Small Faces; Badfinger; Amen Corner; The Move; The Beatles of course; The Kinks; Donovan; Neil Young; Cat Stevens; and The Searchers (not psychadelic but great) etc. Also, Dr. Feelgood; early The Who; Bowie (up to Station to Station ); and scattered one hit wonders from the sixties . I love The Monkees too. Then there's Leonard Cohen; Joni Mitchell; Jacques Brel; Alex Harvey; Kate Bush; and Gabriel-era Genesis. My pop musical likes ended in 1975. The post-punk, late 70s band Killing Joke are cool. I love the soundtracks of Blade Runner - Vangelis ; and The Last of the Mohicans Clannad. And Mike Oldfield, paticularly Ommadawn and Voyager . No-one now; I am into Mahler.
CC How extensively did you tour before your second album, Welsh Bitter , was released? Do you have any dates planned now?
BC We didn't gig much in the new band, just a handful to get tight before recording and one at The Globe to release the album. I am at present recording a new album to be released hopefully at the end of the year. It's called Labourer of Love and Ill do a couple of gigs to promote it.
Cover of Boyd Clack's autobiography (Photo: Kirsten Jones)
CC Your autobiography, Kisses Sweeter Than Win e* , published late last year, discusses you dealing with the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of your clinical depression. Have you noticed any change in attitudes to mental health issues since you first became aware of them?
BC I think society's attitudes to mental illness has changed little. It's like racism, sexism etc. - always there, but fashionably empathetic at the moment. Suffering is ugly and the world worships prettiness. Mental illness is marked out by terrifying loneliness. It brings the vibe down. People despise their own imperfect reflections.
CC Who were your contemporaries at the Welsh College of Music and Drama? Have they ever forgiven you for winning the WCMD's 'Best Actor' award?
BC My most successful contemporaries at the Welsh College are Dougray Scott, Rob Brydon, Mark Lewis Jones, Bethan Morris and Maldwyn John. I don't think any of them think about me other than in a general thinking of the past way, except Mark who is a little puppy dog, and I am happy for their success. Proud in some cases. I have no competitiveness. It would be silly in an unreal profession where lack of logic is the norm. I just do what I do and seek to make it beautiful. Let the Gods do what they do.
CC Had you not been walking past the WCMD, on the last day available to apply for their auditions, what do you think you would have been doing for the last 25 years? Would you still have written Satellite City for the Chapter Arts Centre?
BC Had I not strolled past the Welsh College on that far off summer morn, and not become an actor, I would have retired from the world and become a hermit or a monk.
Cast of Satellite City (seies 2)
CC What insipred you to write the sit-coms Satellite City and High Hopes ?
BC The inspiration behind all of my work is to celebrate and analyse the human condition. In Satellite City and High Hopes it is done through the medium of comedy within family relationships. The comedy is natural. I have never forced a word. It comes from character and situation. Both shows also demonstrate human fallibility and kindness. There are no bad guys. Being Welsh and using a Welsh setting is perfectly natural don't you think. An American wouldn't be asked why his work was based in American society, with American accents, neither would an English writer. We are every bit as significant and interesting as any other culture.
At the time Satellite City came out there had been no previous indigenous sit com in English, so it seemed to be making a point; but it wasn't. It was just real. One thing I have learned in life is that all people in all nations are exactly the same. We all want safety, warmth, love and happiness. This is as true of a loin cloth wearing Amazonian native as a Russian prince. There is a commonality, a collective unconscious as Jung put it, that flows through us all. This is what I have always sought to highlight. It is what makes racism the idiocy that it is. No-one is inherently better or worse than anyone else full stop. Some ancient Greek dramatist said that action is character, and I think that's spot on. If I am better than someone else it is because I do better, more humanistic things. I am better than a thug who goes around bullying weak people, for instance. I am better than Tony Blair, say. I have never murdered people or stolen people's hard-earned wealth. Nelson Mandella is a better man than me because he has devoted more of his time to helping others.
What unites us is far greater than what keeps us apart. The problem is that the qualities of 'bad' people - greed, self interest, brutality, lack of empathy etc - are also the very qualities that lead to positions of influence in society. Hence the appallingly low standard of those in public office, the prediliction to favour themselves and their fellow charlatans ahead of us, and their casual warmongering and incitement of bigotry, suspicion and hatred amongst us. They do this because it advantages them to have us blame each other for the unfairnesses in society, rather than turn our anger on those rightfully to blame, i.e. them. It is a part of the duty of the artist to highlight unspoken truths. Comedy is a good way of doing this. Every episode of High Hopes has a specific angle that takes this into account. It may sound corny, but the basis of everything I do is an empathy for other people. Love, in fact. Because love is as necessary to life as air to breath, and there's nowhere near enough of it about. Old Hippie that I am.
CC What were the main changes to Satellite City from stage, to radio and then television?
BC The difficulties in transferring Satellite City from radio to TV were the same as any other such transfer, though the world created was so distinct on radio and the characters so strong that it proved not too difficult.
CC I am at a loss to understand how a BBC series, which won a BAFTA Cymru award for 'Best Entertainment Series' would not be shown on the BBC, UK-wide. How was it explained to you?
BC Satellite City wasn't networked for a variety of reasons, none of which were to do with the quality of the product, which no-one doubted. Television is a strange inward looking thing, favours are offered and accepted, there's endless nepotism and bitternesses. A whole world of egos swirling and buffeting up against each other in a huge swirling miasma of money and self interest. Had it been shown it would have gone down a storm throughout Great Britain, I've not a shred of doubt.
CC At least the pilot for High Hopes was shown across the UK (1999). Why did it take three years to be commissioned into a series?
BC For High Hopes : see above!
Some of the cast from High Hopes
CC Inexplicably, High Hopes (the series) only aired on BBC Wales. What reason did its producer, Gareth Gwenlan (also the producer of Only Fools and Horses ), give for this?
BC Gareth Gwenlan did all he could to get High Hopes networked, but was stymied by a senior figure in BBC Wales who didn't want the English to see us in what they regarded as a negative light. This is ridiculous of course, the show shows us in a wonderful light, but there is nothing more dangerous than a figure in authority with a bee in their bonnet. Reason goes out the window.
CC When Ben Evans (who played Charlie) left the series, what made you decide to re-cast the role, rather than write in another character?
BC We re-cast Charlie because he was so essential to the concept. Ben is as lovely a man as you'd ever meet. He wanted to get into musicals though and had a great opportunity he couldn't turn down. He's in Jersey Boys in the West End at the moment. Ollie [Oliver Wood Ed.], who took over did a wonderful job. He's a cracking lad too. There were no fallings out about anything.
CC Would you re-cast the role of Mam if High Hopes is recommissioned?
BC Margaret John was a lovely, tallented and interesting woman, a fine actress and sorely missed. She had a great life and enjoyed every minute of it. She told me that High Hopes was her most enjoyable and loved roll. If we did more High Hopes we would not re-cast Mam, that wouldn't work, but we'd keep her 'alive'. This could be done in several ways. Has she gone to Greece on holiday with Mrs Coles? Has she met Stavros (played by Tom Conti) an old flame from her erotic dancing time, and fallen in love? Is she staying over there with him? It could be done. It would be fun to do it. Like I say, contact BBC Wales; let them know the demand is there.
I would also like to put in a word for Islwyn Morris, Dad in Satellite City , who died a month after Maggie. I knew Islwyn well. He was as wonderful a man as you'd ever meet. He was honest, intelligent, kind, and a brilliant actor. He was a gentle and dignified man with a fine sense of humour and a deep religious conviction. His warmth and friendship touched everyone who knew him. He was my hero and I loved and respected him. RIP old friend.
CC You can often be seen walking around central Cardiff, just doing your shopping etc. Are you recognised, and how do you react?
BC I do get recognised and approached a lot. I regard it as a great compliment that my work has given such pleasure to so many people. I am quite touched by it in fact.
CC Your affection for the valleys shines through in High Hopes . And the series was truly loved by many people (including just about everyone we know). Is there any possibility of another series?
BC We would love to do another series of High Hopes . The public would too. The recent third repeat of the best bits had a huge audience and audience share. There is a petition for the Beeb to do more, which you can sign online if you so desire [ click here for the petition Ed.], though it appears that they are putting their money into other projects at the moment.
CC You've done a variety of work in different media, including: Twin Town and Pirates of the Caribbean ; Othello , A Midsummer Night's Dream , Macbeth , Hamlet and Coriolanus ; Dez Rez (Royal Television Society award winner), Satellite City (on stage, radio and TV), High Hopes , A Small Summer Party ( Marion and Geoff ), Baker Boys , Being Human and New Tricks . Which is best: stage or screen (big or small)?
BC Both stage and screen are great fun. There is a magic on stage that you don't really get on screen; mainly because you have a live audience coming on the journey with you. And screen is shot out of sequence, so you don't feel the build up, the effect of the dramatic flow, so clearly. That said, screen, large and small, has its own magic. I love both. Acting is the greatest of experiences when it clicks. It is a time machine, a portal to another dimension. I love it, full stop.
CC Please tell us about your involvement in National Theatre Wales
BC I played Con in A Good Night Out in The Valleys last year, which was the inaugural production of the newly formed, and none too soon, National Theatre of Wales. I was very honoured to be cast and the experience was wonderful. I hadn't been on stage for 14 years, and had forgotten the immense physical and mental pressure of playing such a huge part. It nearly killed me.
The National is a fine organisation. It has a fine, enthusiastic, involved permanent staff, which is guided by John Magrath with an imaginative and inclusive hand. My partner Kirsten and I are involved in developing a stage idea with them at the moment; an adaption of a short story - Standing in the Valley of the Kings .
Album cover of Welsh Bitter
CC Judging from your recent work, you will have a dozen projects (at least) in the pipeline. Which ones seem the most exciting?
BC ... At the moment I am filming the second series of Baker Boys for the BBC. I am doing some gigs with Paul Childs and Jamie Pugh, which are fun. I am recording a new album, a follow up to Welsh Bitter (songs from which I sing in the concerts). It's going to be called Labourer of Love . I recently finished writing two novellas - Something Like Love and The River of Souls - which I am very, very happy with, and I'm working on a few other writing ideas. Acting work comes in reasonably regularly and I am reasonably content. The world is a funny old place though, and life has a weird way of catching you out, so who knows what the future may bring. The thing that really matters is being a decent person and valuing the friendship and love of your fellow beings. The rest of it is tinsel.
CC ... Boyd Clack, thank you.
* Kisses Sweeter Than Wine , Parthian Books, isbn: 9781906998301, 14.99
2011 Caregos Cyf. | Hawlfraint - All rights reserved
I run Treorchy.net and Treherbert.Info with my partner Rosemarie. It's a community website insomuch that we created it in order that people can pass on information, make enquiries, advertise societies or businesses or whatever they wish. It's complimented by a magazine we produce about three times a year in which much of the information we've collected is published and distributed to local communities in order that those who do not have access to t he internet can also benefit from and or contribute to the information we collate. We research information for ex pats, send them photographs of their families homes, help them contact relatives etc. We do this for free. The magazine and the upkeep of the websites are funded by local businesses who wish to advertise with us
2. You have a keen appreciation of the history of the Rhondda Valleys. What future do you think they have in the aftermath of the coal-mining era?
The Rhondda is becoming a largely residential feeder area for Cardiff and the M4 cor ridor. There has been some sobering talk lately of reopening the pits. However at the moment there's very little industry here.
3. You have contributed many short prose pieces to ( read Ian's blog here ) Americymru. What would you describe as your main inspiration as a writer?
My inspiration would be the absurdity of life, its whimsy and it's humour. I particularly enjoy humour being used to show up the self important and the sanctimonious.
4. Who do you like to read and why?
Gwyn Thomas, Tom Sharpe and Alan Coren are the authors who make me laugh the most.
5. You have also contributed many photographs to this site ( view Ian's photo's here ). What inspires you as a photographer?
Fun. I was trained as an artist and so it was just an extension of creating a picture. Believe me it's a damn site easier taking photographs than carting an easel and paints all over creation. I still use pencil, ink, pastel brush et al though.
6. Once again you have contributed a great many masterful caricatures some of which are featured on this page. How long have you been a caricaturist and what is your favorite character?I just fell into caricaturism as an extension of my leaning towards humour and art. As a kid I started to watch Warner Bros and Tex Avery cartoons and was fascinated and entertained by the whole concept. The characters in these cartoons inspired me not only because of the surreal nature of the whole genre but also because of the talents of people like Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc who put it all together by artistry, mimicry, characterisation and timing. I still have to limit myself to about three of these cartoons at a time because I laugh so much it hurts. My favourite character would have to be Yosemite Sam closely followed by Foghorn Leghorn and the Dawg.
7. What inspired the creation of your character Quentin Whistleton Thyne (Col Retd) . Anyone you know personally?I created QWT to show up the absurdities of the worst of The Conservative Party in Britain and all it stands for. This was inspired in no small part by living through the Thatcher Administrations. I found it much more effective to use an overblown imperialist buffoon to make the points I wanted to make about inequality, feudalism, royalty, unbridled capitalism, the public school system and all the other trappings of establishment tripe that we're fed every day. I studied politics at university and could have launched humourless attacks on all of the above but as I've a tendency toward the eccentric I thought I'd make my points with humour. The character himself is a combination of characters played by Peter Cook, Stephen Fry, C Aubrey Smith, Terry Thomas and the stiff upper lip chaps portrayed in films like The Four Feathers.
8. In the wake of the deplorable conduct of certain parties in the colonial elections, do you think it's finally time to admit that this whole "independence" experiment has been a ghastly mistake and humbly reapply to rejoin the British commonwealth?
Wouldn't it be ironic if there was the United Kingdom of America and Wales would have to fight for it's independence. We'd win of course and call ourselves The Peoples Republic of Ton Mawr. We'd stride the globe like a cockle. Possessed of an economic powerhouse based on cawl and grass, Nations would tremble before us. Se what you've done now Ceri! You've sent me off on a trail of whimsy. Ha ha!
9. On a lighter note....I recently referred to a walk home from the pub in Llwynypia to Newport . What do you estimate to be the distance involved?
Depends which way you went. Shortest route would be about 30 miles or so.
Read Ian's entry in the Left Coast Eisteddfod Short Story Competition HERE. Enter competitions HERE.
Please join us in beautiful Niagara Falls, Ontario, for a very special weekend celebrating our Welsh heritage, music and culture.
This year we are very honoured to have the renowned
Bois y Castell
from the Tywi Valley in Carmarthenshire, Wales as our guest choir, with their conductor, Nia Clwyd.
In addition, we will have all your usual favourites such as a welcome tea with harp entertainment, a traditional noson lawen with loads of talented participants, childrens activities, poetry reading, seminar , a banquet with a presentation of the annual Gold Award, concert afterglow and two glorious hymn singing sessions.
For more information please go to
www.ontariowelshfestival.ca or e-mail us at
publicity@ontariowelshfestival.ca or phone 613-725-2704
Download the flyer (.pdf) here or click on the image below.
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Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog
Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church
For details of how to sponsor see this post
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I was amused, while reading the 'marathon running' section in Google news to find this article:-
Running the Big Sur marathon ... on a treadmill
You'll need to read the article to get the full flavor but this quote should give you the gist of it:-
The aim is to give people better options than standard TV to liven up their cardio workouts. Runners at health clubs that have the equipment can opt to virtually run the Big Sur marathon and other simulated race events.
How long before we will be able to run a marathon on specially adapted bar stools with pedals and big TV screens for scenery and ambience? And all while enjoying a few pints of our favorite tipple.
Given that this ideal is not achievable yet I must continue to circle the veggie patch in my efforts to 'fitten' up for my ordeal on July 4th. I hope to be able to report that I have broken the 30 minute endurance barrier shortly. Thirty minutes may not seem like a long time to some of my readers but at age 55 after leading a sedentary lifestyle for the last decade, it's quite an achievement
I apologise to anyone who was awaiting the appearance of the sponsorship 'widget' over the past two days. I have been distracted by the necessity to develop a 'one stop shop' event page for the West Coast Eisteddfod. Thankfully that has now largely been achieved ( still a few bells and whictles to add ) and the sponsorship widget will not be far behind. It should be in place by the end of the month and the serious fundraising Gaabi referenced in her introduction to this series, can commence.
Anyway I'd better click 'Publish'. I'm trying to get this blog online tonight before SJ posts a reminder
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URGENT!!!!!!!! THE WEST COAST EISTEDDFOD NEEDS YOUR HELP! PLEASE READ AND CIRCULATE!
By Ceri Shaw, 2011-11-08
Quick Guide
Go here:- http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/263243673-mlmef click 'Vote and Share' include a message appealing to your FB friends to vote as well. PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK 'VOTE AND SHARE' AND NOT JUST THE LIKE BUTTON.
More Info
In 2010 the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation in association with AmeriCymru participate in the the Chase Community Giving contest on acebook. On that occasion we fell short of making the top 100 by JUST 30 VOTES!!!
This time around we are hoping to make the top 100. BUT we can only do so with your help!
Heres how the prize money is awarded:-
THE WINNER recieves $250,000
THE NEXT FOUR charities each recieve $50,000
THE NEXT 95 each recieve $25,000
We esimate that we will need between 2 and 3 thousand votes to qualify. It's a tall order and there are no guarantees BUT with your help we might just do it.
IN order to vote all you have to do is go to this page:- http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/263243673-mlmef or click on the graphic below, like the app and click 'Vote and Share' Dont forget to add a personal appeal to your friends for their support before you share' PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK 'VOTE AND SHARE' AND NOT JUST THE LIKE BUTTON.
OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP
1. Email, IM or phone your friends and appeal to them to vote. Remember to tell them that it only takes a second and that all money raised will got to bring Welsh artists and performers over to the US for the West Coast Eisteddfod 2012. This is the most effective method ( particularly IM'ing people on Facebook when they appear in your chat panel ). Use any materials from this blog ( and the others we will be putting out periodically ) to make a standard email to circulate to all your friends.
2. Use the graphic link and or text link from our voting page to embed on your website. This links directly to our voting page.
A THOUSAND DIOLCH'S IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE CAN DO IT!!!!! CYMRU AM BYTH!!!
PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK 'VOTE AND SHARE' AND NOT JUST THE LIKE BUTTON.
ROBIN FRIDAY: THE MOVIE -WEBSITE
AmeriCymru: You've said that you saw Robin Friday play, where and when was this and what do you remember about it?
Mike: It was the Cardiff v Fulham game. It was not known but Robin had been arrested by S. W. Police having travelled down from Reading for his debut ( he had travelled on a platform ticket). The game was to star Bobby Moore and Georgie Best both playing for Fulham and a huge crowd came along largely to see them play. Best cried off with an injury ( probably more a night on the tiles) and Robin took over the game scored two great goals and ran the World Cup Captain ragged.
AmeriCymru: Were you aware of him and his reputation before you watched him play?
Mike: Yes he had almost single handedly dragged Reading IP from Div 4 the previous season but his reputation preceded him.
AmeriCymru: You've been described as a "lifelong fan of Cardiff City league" and you ran a youth football/soccer club in Los Angeles, it seems inevitable you'd be involved in a football film. Had you always wanted to tell a story of Robin Friday?
Mike: It was one of those memories that was re-triggered by the publication of the book The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw which I optioned.
AmeriCymru: How did this film come about, who read the book and decided "this is going to happen?"
Mike: My co-producer Mark Ambrose and then he found me a besotted fan not particularly known for live action movies.
AmeriCymru: What do you hope to communicate to audiences with this film, what do you want them to take away from seeing it?
Mike: It's not a "soccer" film more a film about a guy who lived his life the way he wanted to and dammed the consequences. As it says in our blurb "the rest of us didn't have the balls"!
AmeriCymru: Will we be able to see it in the US?
Mike: Yes certainly. The casting which I cannot reveal here will help it. The movie is an edgier cross between "Billy Liar" and "Crush".
Mike Young
ROBIN FRIDAY LINKS
Robin Friday on the Bleacher Report
".....When the team meeting was called just before the team left for the match a disheveled Friday showed up still naked but carrying a swan that he had procured from a nearby lake!"
The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: The Robin Friday Story
Musical Tribute: Super Furry Animals
Goal machine Dixie McNeil was a star football striker whose career spanned three decades. Dixie played the beautiful game at Leicester, Exeter, Northampton, Lincoln, Hereford and Wrexham. Top goal scorer of all four divisions in the Football League in 19745 and 19756, he played against some of the best sides in the land and in Europe. Hero-worshipped at Wrexham FC, he spent nine years there as a player and later as their manager.
His new autobiography, called Dixie charts his life in football from those early days as a youngster in the star-studded Leicester squad, which included Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton, to management at Wrexham FC. Following his release from the First Division club, he then joined Exeter City and made his Football League debut at Wrexhams Racecourse ground in August 1966. After Exeter and a stint at Corby Town, he signed for Northampton Town and played in the famous FA Cup tie against Manchester United when George Best replied to Dixies goal with six of his own. He then moved to Lincoln City and, after finishing top scorer in the Football League for two successive seasons, he asked for a 5 a week pay rise and was promptly put on the transfer list by Graham Taylor. He then signed for Hereford United and, with 69 goals, helped the side gain promotion to the Second Division for the first time in their history. But after one season, Hereford United was relegated and Dixie was sold to Wrexham FC for 60,000.
As well as charting the glorious years of Cup and League success at the Racecourse, where Dixie helped the team into the second tier of football, Dixies book gives a humourous insight into life behind the scenes and also marks the differences between the game today and the game in the 1970s. Dixie also comments on the present-day struggles at Wrexham FC.
Dixie certainly mixed with some of the footballing greats. In his foreword tothe book, Graham Taylor, former England Football team manager writes of him, As a player his career record is there for everyone to see: 239 goals in 522 appearances speaks for itself. John Sillett, former Hereford United and Coventry City manager, comments, He had that great ability to score goals, but also good touch and vision and a wonderful understanding you were one of the best signings I ever made.
Dixie McNeil will be signing copies of his autobiography at Ellesmere Books, ELLESMERE on Saturday 26 November 1112.30 and at Waterstones, 1820 Commercial Street, HEREFORD on Saturday 10 December from 11 a.m and at Waterstones, WREXHAM on Saturday 17 December, 122p.m.
Y Lolfa Cyf., Talybont, Ceredigion, CymruSY24 5HE
ffn 01970 831902
www.ylolfa.com
c y h o e d d wy r a c a r g r a f f w y r
