Why can’t we sing in Welsh and be successful?
For Swnami it was never a consideration to sing in English – Welsh is their first language.
While there has always been a thriving music scene in Wales, breaking out across the UK isn’t easy when you don’t sing in English.
Because Welsh is a minority language and therefore a limited market? Of course, it’s always possible their music isn’t very good.
For some reason, the circumflex doesn’t work in WordPress. Not even using the HTML code for it.
Ah, the Welsh. What are humourless bunch of people they are. Does anyone remember when (it was twenty years ago) Anne Robinson said she wanted to put the Welsh into Room 101 in the TV programme of the same name? She got into trouble for that of course, and was accused of racism.
The idea that the Welsh are a different race from, say, the English is crazy. Is a white Welshman a different race from a white Englishman? Of course he isn’t. But that doesn’t stop the perpetually offended idiots screaming “racism!”.
The word racism no longer has any meaning. It’s a generic insult that is used against anyone who dares to disagree with the narrative.
We’re over that now. It was touch & go for a while.
Pricks.
“…breaking out across the UK isn’t easy when you don’t sing in English.”
Well Duh. So, you either carry on singing in Welsh and stick with your niche market or you sing in English in order to broaden your appeal. It’s hardly a difficult conundrum really, is it?
Clannad were fairly successful but they also sang in English.
I always thought that Clannad were Irish, from County Donegal. Same difference I suppose.
Thats right. They sang in gaelic and English.
The Joy Formidable do songs in Welsh, and they’re rather successful.
The Dø is an internationally successful group who do songs in Finnish.
There’s plenty of musicians like Sophie Hunger who sing in multiple languages.
There’s an obvious way to produce music in whatever language one wants, that people want to listen to: don’t be crap.
Depends how successful they want to be. Bands/singers that sing exclusively in Welsh are successful here in Wales.
Mrs. Stonyground has a greatest hits type CD of Abba singing in Spanish. I seem to recall that the Beatles recorded some of their songs in German.
In the article, it mentions a band that sings in French. I would suggest that there are more English people who can understand Spanish, French or German than those who understand Welsh. That said, I bought Clannad and Enya albums without being able to understand Gaelic. But, some of the tracks were in English and those that weren’t were sufficiently good to keep me listening.
Just before we were all locked up there was a Mongolian band The Hu breaking. They’d had a top 20 album in the Uk and number one singles in various American charts. All the songs are in Monglian. If the music appeals it will sell.