As Boyce's popularity became established across Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom, he became involved in many side projects, including three books, several television series and televised concerts, and three multi-part television specials produced by Opix Films. [ citation needed] His spoken and sung poetry was first collected in Max Boyce: His Songs and Poems in 1976, with an introduction by Barry John. The comic illustrations that accompany the poems were drawn by his friend Gren Jones of the South Wales Echo (who had also illustrated the cover of We All Had Doctors' Papers). This publication was followed up with a similar collection, I Was There!, in 1980. [ citation needed] Glynneath RFC". Glynneath Online. Archived from the original on 15 April 2007 . Retrieved 27 June 2007. Some of my songs and stories are designed for ‘performance’ and need an audience to give them their ‘life force’. Comedy is always in need of an echo and is constantly being judged by the barometer of applause, which the written word can’t afford. Laughter can never be forced or cheated. Boyce's greatest musical success in recent years was his 2003 tour of Australia, coinciding with the Rugby World Cup which was being hosted there at the time. He held concerts in Adelaide and Melbourne, but the highlight was his sold-out performance at the Sydney Opera House, which was later released on DVD as Max Boyce: Down Under. [ citation needed] Following the programme, which Laurie Lee had listened to, we met up in Cardiff, and I was overwhelmed to share a glass of red wine with him and listen to him tell of his reminiscences of the Aberfan disaster, ‘When a Village Lost Its Children’, and hear him read the first few lines of his beautifully crafted essay ‘The Firstborn’, which every new parent should read.

In 1999, he was awarded an MBE by Prince Charles and in 2013 he received the Freedom of the Borough of Neath and Port Talbot, following in the footsteps of Sir Richard Burton and Sir Anthony Hopkins. In 2022, there are plans to unveil a bronze lifesize statue of Max in his hometown – a fitting and deserved tribute to a modern-day folk hero whose poems, songs and stories have become part of Welsh legend. Tarleton, Alice. "University of Glamorgan". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 17 May 2007 . Retrieved 27 June 2007. This was so true, so sad and left a deep impression on me how powerful simple words could be in colouring a memory and painting a picture. A true wordsmith who ‘carved words like jewels’ and was an early influence.His 70th birthday was celebrated with an hour-long programme [18] shown on BBC One Wales on 25 September 2013, recorded in front of a live celebrity audience. [ citation needed] He’s got a brand new car. Looks like a Jaguar. It’s got a leather seat. It’s got a CD player, player, player, player, player, player, player.” Ah, I never get bored of singing along to this one. Much of my work is based on personal experience, born of a truth that gives me the credence to tell my stories and sing my songs. I received a letter from a nurse who asked me to write something to lift the spirits of the frontline workers of the NHS in the most trying of times.

My children love this song and pretending to be monsters coming over the hill. The official video is a tongue-in-cheek adventure that sees the band hunting for various monsters. We always have to rewind the Yeti-style monster wiggling his bum.

My earliest influences in songwriting were Ewan MacColl and Pete Seeger, who wrote and/or performed ‘songs of the working man’, such as ‘Close the Coalhouse Door’, ‘The Shoals of Herring’ and ‘The Big Hewer’. These songs were a great influence on me and still are. Another one to bring a lump to your throat, Myfanwy is a traditional Welsh folk song, where a man asks why his love is so angry. Here’s Rhydian Roberts, Bryn Terfel and Only Men Aloud singing it at Wales Millennium Centre for Children In Need in 2009. I’ve sung this at countless weddings and funerals… but its status as unofficial rugby anthem always means people belt out the “bread of heaven/feed me til I want no more, want no more” refrain as passionately as it gets sung at the rugby. Here it is sung by the legendary Michael Ball at Wales Millennium Stadium at the opening of the Rugby World Cup in 1999. His next album, We All Had Doctors' Papers, was also live, recorded at Pontarddulais Rugby Club. This was released in late 1975 and, unexpectedly, it reached the No. 1 position on the UK Albums Chart for the week ending 15 November. [8] This recording has the distinction of being the only comedy album to ever top the UK Albums Chart. [9] Boyce released several albums over the next few years, receiving further gold discs for The Incredible Plan in 1976, and I Know 'Cos I Was There in 1978. [1]