| Yr Anhrefn | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Bangor, Wales |
| Genres | Punk rock |
| Years active | 1982–1995, 2007 |
| Labels | Anhrefn, Workers Playtime |
| Associated acts | Mangre |
| Members | |
| Sion Sebon Dylan Hughes Sion Jones Ryan Kift |
|
| Past members | |
| Rhys Mwyn Hefin Huws Dewi Gwyn Dafydd Ieuan |
|
Yr Anhrefn, also known simply as Anhrefn, were an influential Welsh punk rock group of the 1980s and 1990s.
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Anhrefn (Welsh for "Disorder") formed in 1982,[1] and initially sang only in Welsh.[2] The band were not supported by Radio Cymru or Welsh-language TV channel S4C, beyond an occasional interview, and bassist Rhys Mwyn became known as an outspoken critic of the Welsh pop industry.[1] Mwyn (born Gareth Rhys Thomas) set up his own Recordiau Anhrefn label in 1983, helping to promote like-minded Welsh bands as well as their own music.[2] The band were championed by John Peel and recorded three sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show; Peel even travelled to Wales to see the band perform.[1][3] The band played up to 300 gigs a year at their peak,[2] and were featured on Channel 4 TV show The Tube in 1987, although they were largely ignored by the British music weeklies.
Original members Hefin Huws and Dewi Gwyn left the band in the late 1980s and were replaced by Dylan Hughes (formerly of Y Cyrff) and Sion Jones (formerly of Maffia Mr Huws).
The band made their first English language recording in 1990, on a single with Pauline Murray, and also collaborated with Margi Clarke (they released a cover of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" as a single).
In 1995 the band released Hen Wlad fy Mamau - Land of My Mothers, before splitting up.
Mwyn and Sebon formed a new band, Mangre, in 2000. Mwyn went on to manage the Crai label and work as an agent. He managed Catatonia and more recently Jeb Loy Nichols, which prompted a resurrection of Recordiau Anhrefn.[4]
In 2007 Anhrefn reformed without Mwyn, now with Ryan Kift on vocals.[5]
Super Furry Animals drummer Dafydd Ieuan was also in Yr Anhrefn for a time, playing on their 1993 Peel session,[3][6] and SFA had started out as a techno band, supporting Yr Anhrefn on a tour of France in 1993.[7]