The greatest ever Classic Rock songs from Wales

27 February 2025, 15:58

To mark St David's Day, here's a selection of big rock tunes from the Land Of Song: everyone from Bonnie Tyler to Jones The Voice.

1. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart

   

   Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (Turn Around) (Official Video)

   Born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, Neath Port Talbot, Bonnie Tyler came to the attention of the world when her single Lost In France broke the Top 10 in November 1976. Her distinctive raspy voice was the product of an operation on vocal cord nodules, but it stood her in good stead when she collaborated with producer Jim Steinman in 1983.

   The man behind Meat Loaf's monster Bat Out Of Hell album completed Tyler's metamorphosis into a genuine rock diva, with her single Total Eclipse Of The Heart topping the chart for two weeks in March '83. She was awarded an MBE for services to music in Queen Elisabeth II's final birthday honours in 2022.

2. Badfinger - Without You

   

   Badfinger Without you 1970

   Originally known as The Iveys, Swansea's Badfinger was discovered by Beatles associate Mal Evans and signed to the Fabs' new label Apple in 1968. Paul McCartney wrote Come And Get It for them and the track was issued as the theme tune to the film The Magic Christian.

   Badfinger's Pete Ham and Tom Evans wrote the song Without You for the band's third album No Dice, which went on to become a huge worldwide hit for Harry Nilsson and, much later, Mariah Carey. Business struggles plagued the band, however and sadly both Ham and Evans went on to die in tragic circumstances - but Without You is an incredible legacy.

3. The Alarm - 68 Guns

   

   The Alarm - 68 Guns

   Fronted by Mike Peters and hailing from Rhyl, North Wales, The Alarm gained the approval of U2 and released a number of hit singles in the 80s, including Sixty Eight Guns (1983), Spirit Of '76 (1986) and Rain In The Summertime (1987). Their latest album was 2018's Equals, but the band recorded The Red Wall Of Cymru as the Welsh official anthem in Euro 2020.

4. Dave Edmunds - I Hear You Knockin'

   

   Dave Edmunds - I Hear You Knocking ( Original Footage 1970 Audio Replaced )

   Born in Cardiff in April 1944, guitarist with the band Love Sculpture who had a hit with Khachaturian's Sabre Dance in 1968. He went solo in 1970, having that year's Christmas Number 1 with a cover of Smiley Lewis' I Hear You Knockin'. Edmunds went onto have success across the rest of the decade with solo hits like Girls Talk and Queen Of Hearts and the band Rockpile, which also featured Nick Lowe as a member.

5. Tom Jones and Stereophonics - Mama Told Me Not To Come

   

   Tom Jones, Stereophonics - Mama Told Me Not To Come

   The Voice was born Thomas Woodward in Treforest and scored a UK number 1 with his second single It's Not Unusual. While Jones' oeuvre leans towards the more showbiz end of the musical spectrum, he does have his rockier moments; his cover of Prince's Kiss on The Last Resort With Jonathan Ross in 1987 reignited his career for a new generation and he's collaborated with The Cardigans' Nina Persson on a version of Burning Down The House by Talking Heads and joined up with fellow countrymen Stereophonics for a new take on this Three Dog Night classic.

6. Scritti Politti - Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)

   

   Scritti Politti - Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)

   Green Gardtside was born in Cardiff, but moved to Leeds to study fine art where he formed Scritti Politti. Beginning life as a post-punk act with political leanings, the band moved into sophisticated synth-pop on their debut album Songs To Remember, which spawned the hit Sweetest Girl, later covered by Madness.

   This was followed by the hit album Cupid & Psyche 85, which included The Word Girl and this classic. Gartside is still making music, under his own name and contributed vocals to fellow Welshmen the Manic Street Preachers' 2014 album Futurology.

7. Racing Cars - They Shoot Horses Don't They?

   

   Racing Cars - They Shoot Horses Don't They (1977)

   Formed in the Rhondda Valley in 1973, this soft rock outfit had a Top 20 hit in March 1977 with this song based on Sydney Pollack's 1969 drama concerning a dance marathon.

8. The Spencer Davis Group - I'm A Man

   

   Spencer Davis Group - I'm A Man (Promo Video, 1967)

   Davis was born in Swansea and met fellow R&B enthusiast Steve Winwood in Birmingham in 1963. Their band had two Number 1 hits in Keep On Running and Somebody Help Me in 1965, while 1966's Gimme Some Lovin made Number 2 the following year. The band wound down after Winwood left to form Traffic in 1967, but their single I'm A Man was later covered by Chicago on their debut album.

9. Man - Angel Easy

   

   Man - Angel Easy (1971)

   Formed in Merthyr Tydfil in 1968, this progressive rock band had a string of well-received albums in the early 1970s: 1973's Back Into The Future, 1974's Rhinos Winos And Lunatics and 1975's Maximum Darkness all made the Top 30. Man split in 1976, but reformed in the early 80s and are still performing in March 2025!

10. Budgie

    

    BUDGIE - BREADFAN

    Metallica acknowledge the influence of these metal pioneers from Cardiff and covered their track Breadfan as the b-side to Harvester Of Sorrow. Budgie's self-titled 1971 debut album was recorded with Sabbath producer Rodger Bain at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire and their most commercially successful LP was 1974's In For The Kill.

    The band's appeal stretched into the era of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, leading them to headline Reading in 1982. After retiring in 1987, Budgie reformed in the mid 1990s and issued the album You're All Living In Cuckooland in 2006; due to frontman Burke Shelley's ill health, the band called it quits in 2010.

11. World Party - Is It Like Today?

    

    World Party - Is It Like Today?

    Prestatyn-born Karl Wallinger joined The Waterboys in 1983 and appeared on their first three albums, but friction with frontman Mike Scott led to the musician leaving after This Is The Sea in 1985. He formed his own collective, World Party, which released the acclaimed albums Private Revolution (1987) and Goodbye Jumbo (1990). The band's biggest success came in 1993, with Bang!, which made Number 2 and spawned the single Is It Like Today? Sadly, Wallinger suffered a brain aneurysm in 2001, which hampered his ability to record music, but returned to live performance some five years later. He died of a stroke in March 2024, aged 66.

12. Amen Corner - Get Back

    

    Amen Corner - Get Back (The Beatles cover)

    Best known for their 1969 Number 1 hit (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice, Cardiff's Amen Corner also had a 60s classic with Bend Me Shape Me, but our attention is drawn to their respectable cover of The Beatles' Get Back, released in October 1969. It didn't chart, and the band called it a day shortly afterwards. Frontman Andy Fairweather Low went onto work with the likes of The Who, Roger Waters and George Harrison, while keyboard player Blue Weaver and drummer Dennis Bryon later worked with the Bee Gees, including appearing on their monster hit Saturday Night Fever album.