Cofio Dewi Pws: Welsh cultural icon remembered at Wrecsam Eisteddfod

Some of Dewi ‘Pws’ Morris’s most famous songs echoed around the National Eisteddfod Maes as friends of the beloved actor, singer and legendary joker paid a moving tribute to him.

Dewi passed away at the age of 76 after a short illness just a few days after last year’s National Eisteddfod.
Last night, a special concert called Nwy yn y Nen gave the audience a chance to remember Dewi and sing along to some of his most popular songs.

Many of those who came to the Maes stage on the warm evening wore red neckerchiefs – a signature look of Dewi Pws.

Honour

His wife, Rhiannon, said Dewi would have loved the idea of a concert celebrating his music.

She said: “He would’ve been thrilled! He might not have understood why people were singing his songs, but he would’ve seen it as a great honour. He’d also love knowing he wasn’t expected to perform – just sit back and enjoy.”

Dewi Pws was the lead singer of the pioneering group Y Tebot Piws. Later, with Hefin Elis, he helped form Wales’s first supergroup – the rock band Edward H Dafis.

Among his compositions are Lleucu Llwyd – one of Y Tebot Piws’s most popular songs – and Nwy yn y Nen, which won the Cân i Gymru (Song for Wales) competition in 1971.

Emotional evening

Rhiannon added that the idea for the concert came from Dewi’s friends shortly after his passing.

“Cleif Harpwood suggested it first, and I thought it was a great idea. He went ahead and organised everything. Mei Gwynedd chose the songs and who would perform them,” she said.

One of the performers was singer and presenter Meinir Gwilym.

She said: “I got to know Dewi Pws over the past five years. He often came to Pedair gigs and, being Dewi, he had to crack a few jokes – but he was always enthusiastic about what we were doing. That gave us joy and confidence.

“It’s an incredible and emotional honour to be invited to take part in the tribute concert.”

Rhiannon agreed it would be an emotional evening: “Dewi’s songs are still played on the radio, and they bring warm feelings when you hear them – knowing he hasn’t been forgotten.”

Dewi was part of the original cast of Pobol y Cwm and Rownd a Rownd and the iconic TV film Grand Slam. He wrote several books, including children’s books, and was Wales’s Children’s Poet in 2010.

He was inducted into the Gorsedd Cymru and took part in its ceremonies at the Eisteddfod in Llyn and Eifionydd.