Famous people of South Wales

After leaving the Guildhall School of Music and Drama early to join the Royal Shakespeare Company, Evans built a dual career as a performer and director. His Olivier Award-winning turn in 'Merrily We Roll Along' and earlier nomination for 'Candide' established him as a leading interpreter of Sondheim and musical theatre repertoire, while his tenures leading Sheffield Theatres and Chichester Festival Theatre marked him out as one of Britain's most respected artistic directors before his appointment at the RSC.

Dannii's great-grandfather, George Morgan Riddiford, married Margaret "Megan" Hughes at St Michael's Church, Llangynwyd, in January 1920 — the couple's daughter Millicent Riddiford was Dannii's grandmother.

Beyond his work with Das Psycho Rangers, Casino Drive and TK, Edwards' collaboration with American blues guitarist Eric Sardinas reflects a career that moved fluidly between rock and blues circles. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he continues to play guitar and write music.

The same Rhondda ancestry is also the basis for the existing famouswelsh.com entry on Dave's brother and Kinks bandmate, Ray Davies. Both brothers' connection to Wales is through their shared paternal grandfather rather than through birth or upbringing.

After Love Sculpture, Edmunds built one of the most respected production careers in British rock, working behind the desk for the Stray Cats, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Status Quo and the Everly Brothers among many others, and later co-founding the band Rockpile with fellow musician Nick Lowe.

Baird's career has taken him from the Welsh theatre scene in Cardiff, where he helped found the Cardiff Laboratory Theatre, to Artistic Director roles at Doppelganger Theatre in the UK and Handspan Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. He later became known internationally as an author, with his 'A Thousand Paths' series of illustrated inspirational books reaching a wide readership, while continuing his work in music and theatre as Musical Director for MakeBelieve Arts.

Now based in Austria, where he has lived since 1992, Bell continues to work as a touring and recording musician, drawing on his roots in the Welsh music scene while building an international session career that has taken in blues, rock and folk collaborations across Europe.

There is also a musical connection worth noting. John Cale -- the Garnant-born Welsh musician who co-founded The Velvet Underground - was a friend and collaborator of Bowie. In one interview, Cale recalled that Bowie "used to put on a thick valleys accent as a joke when they met." Whether this was affection, pastiche or something more knowing, it points to a genuine familiarity with Welsh culture that went beyond the merely accidental.

David Bowie remains one of the most extraordinary artists of the 20th century -- a shape-shifter of genius who reinvented himself across five decades, from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke to the elegant elder statesman of Blackstar. His death on 10 January 2016 - two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album - was mourned across the world. A spontaneous memorial appeared beneath the Platform 9¾ sign at King's Cross station. In Brixton, where he was born, flowers filled the streets. In Maesteg, we like to think, someone raised a glass at The Old House.

Jenkins left The Iveys in 1967 and did not go on to a prominent professional music career, but he has stayed connected to the Badfinger story, including attending the 2013 unveiling of a blue plaque for bandmate Pete Ham in Swansea.