Dyfed Bowie present a very Welsh take on rock legend’s classic songs

Nation.Cymru staff

In the pantheon of tribute acts there’s never been quite such a brilliant name as Dyfed Bowie – a very Welsh take on the music of David Bowie.

The premise is simple with the moniker – this is where we are from and this is the music we love.

So far the group has been shrouded in mystery, having played just the one show, with very little known about the band – save this pinned to their Instagram account: ‘Much more than merely Wales’ finest Bowie tribute, DYFED BOWIE are polyphonic priests, harmonic holy men, earthly conduits for the spiritual power of the Great Man’s music. Are they, in fact, angels? Judge for yourself when you witness the majesty of DYFED BOWIE’.

We managed to track down charismatic frontman Dafydd Watkins who gave Nation Cymru the lowdown on what is possibly Wales’ first David Bowie tribute band.

Where did the idea come from?

There’s a lot of live music where we live around the pubs. Lots of open mics where people just muck in and jam with each other. I started doing some tunes with Nick Swannell of Studio 49, who is an incredibly versatile player with the chops to channel the whole gamut of Bowie guitarists, from Mick Ronson to Robert Fripp, and Carlos Alomar to Reeves Gabrels. I initially suggested doing a Roxy Music tribute band, which would have been called Proxy Music, but Nick said that Bryan Ferry was a basically jumped up Shakin’ Stevens who gave him the creeps, so it just had to be Bowie. Once that was established, we soon added the other members: Jimmy on keys and synths, Meurig on kit and Mark on bass, who all come from an R&B background.

Did you have the name first?

First came the love. And you get that from your parents. My mum caught the train from Swansea to Bristol to see Ziggy play guitar at Colston Hall in ‘73, and it’s just been in the family ever since. Secondly, came the name, and that was inspired by Elvis Preseli, which puts the Dyfed thing front and centre. So a big ‘diolch’ to Elvis Preseli, we owe you a pint of Preseli Pils.

What can we expect from a live show?

You can expect the full spectrum of Bowie’s work – everything from glam to industrial rock, funk, soul, and even a punked up rendition of The Laughing Gnome, which is obviously very sensible. The thing about Bowie is that his catalogue is incredibly rich so you can keep dipping your hand into the treasure trove. We’ve just finished practicing Five Years… what a surprise!

Will you be putting a Welsh spin on Bowie classics, and will you be singing in Welsh, English, or both?

Big time. We’ve rewritten “Heroes” through the prism of Hedd Wyn’s poem Yr Arwr (The Hero), which won the Eisteddfod in 1917 after he was killed at the Battle of Passchendaele. A word-for-word translation of “Heroes” into Welsh just didn’t feel right, even though Bowie did record versions in German and French. It wasn’t hitting the right emotion. We wanted to do something from a uniquely Welsh perspective and we’re heading into Nick’s studio to record Yr Arwr next week, as it happens, for release early next year.

What is your aim for Dyfed Bowie?

We did our first show at BOCS (music bar in Narberth) last month and the bar staff said it’s the busiest it’s been in there since they opened a year ago. Next up is our first ticketed show in Cardigan at The Cellar on the 28th of November. After that we plan on venturing out of the shires to hit your Gwynedds and your Glamorgans. Then Ireland. One day we might even cross the Severn Bridge. Everything is possible in Dyfed Bowie.

The tribute market is full of Bowie acts. Have you spotted a gap with the Welsh angle?

I was actually taken aback by the number of tributes out there. After learning about 20 songs, the internet algorithm had started feeding me ad after ad for Bowie tributes. I had to break it to the lads that I hadn’t quite done my homework on the scale of the scene. So we’ll have to be different to make it work. We aren’t going down the “dressing-up box” route to pretend to be the man himself. I’m not David Bowie. I’m Dyfed Bowie and that’s a perhaps darker, gothy take on things. A Trent Reznor-y take on things, if you will. In our promo photo, however, we’ve ended up looking like a bunch of bailiffs. I’m not sure how that’s happened. Bowie and the Bailiffs? Can’t Pay? We’ll Take It Away.

We also focus equally on later eras, not just the Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust stuff. I’m massively into his 90s work – albums like Outside (The Hearts Filthy Lesson is one of my favourite songs ever) and Earthling (with tracks like I’m Afraid of Americans and Telling Lies which seem evermore relevant). I’m very of my time so I love that distorted 90s sound. My favourite Bowie line up was the Reeves Gabrels and Gail Ann Dorsey one, which he pretty much stuck with from the mid 90s to the end of his live shows. But we’ll also be slamming out the Nile Rodgers material from the 80s, too, so it really is all in there.

We’re also adding more Welsh language versions to our repertoire, including a Welsh version of “Under Pressure” featuring an incredible female vocalist, Meg, from west Wales. That’ll take a bit more time but it should be in the set by Christmas.

What are your words to those Bowie fans who may come and see you live?

When you love something it’s natural to guard it almost jealously. We get that Bowie means a lot to people, so when you take on his stuff you have to respect the material. I’m very protective and particular about the versions we do. We want to assure all Bowie-heads that we approach his music with the utmost respect and care.

Come and see for yourself at our first ticketed show at The Cellar, Cardigan on the 28th November.

Tickets via: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/dyfedbowie/2467918

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