{"product_id":"international-velvet-how-wales-conquered-the-90s-charts-9781915279309","title":"International Velvet: How Wales Conquered the '90s Charts","description":"\u003cb\u003eHow Welsh bands and musicians soared up the music charts in the 1990s.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The 1970s and '80s were a bleak time for much of Wales: the closure of steel works and coal mines led to mass unemployment while the country's culture and language were disregarded by politicians and the music industry alike. Some bands even traveled across the Severn Bridge to make sure their records arrived at the London offices sporting an English postmark. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The 1990s changed everything. While Wales was already known for Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, and Male Voices Choirs, bands such as Catatonia, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, and Super Furry Animals exploded into the charts and showed the UK population the breadth of what this small but inherently musical nation could offer. Meanwhile, the Welsh-language television channel S4C gained new prominence and a new Welsh Assembly was on the horizon. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Featuring fresh analysis and new interviews, \u003ci\u003eInternational Velvet \u003c\/i\u003echarts music in the UK during the decade of the Cool Cymru cultural movement, showing how it inspired the still-vibrant Welsh music scene into the twenty-first century and beyond. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNeil Collins\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer born and bred in Cardiff. A former journalist for \u003ci\u003eWalesOnline\u003c\/i\u003e, he has also been featured in newspapers in Bristol, Newcastle, and Liverpool as well as websites including \u003ci\u003eLouder Than War, Nation Cymru, This is Anfield, The Liverpool Way, Buzz, Wales Arts Review, Alternative Wales, Chortle, \u003c\/i\u003eand the\u003ci\u003e British Comedy Guide\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eMake Us Dream\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRed Mist\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Calon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50919468630290,"sku":"9781915279309","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7cd4d520-9817-4640-90b0-61cd5164905b.jpg?v=1738895293","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/international-velvet-how-wales-conquered-the-90s-charts-9781915279309","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}