Cool Cymru () was a Welsh cultural movement in music and independent film in the 1990s and 2000s, led by the popularity of bands such as Stereophonics, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia and Super Furry Animals.
Etymology and usage
The term Cool Cymru (Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales) derived as a Welsh alternative to Cool Britannia (itself a pun on the British patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!"). Cool Britannia described the revival of British art and culture in the 1990s, the term captured the cultural renaissance centred on London (as celebrated in a 1996 Newsweek magazine cover headlined "London Rules"), emphasised British culture and used British symbols such as The Union Jack.
By 1998 many Welsh cultural figures were gaining prominence within the UK, at the same time the use of the term Cool Britannia had become maligned by some cultural commentators as a ubiquitous term for any part of British Culture. As such the term Cool Cymru gained popularity for the cultural figures and phenomena which were specifically Welsh or Welsh in origin. The term continues to be used by Welsh and British commentators long after the term Cool Britannia has fallen out of favour.
Socio-political context
Background
Commentators have alluded to Cool Britannia and Cymru as a by-product of the widespread 1970s economic and social malaise seen in the United Kingdom, particularly affecting Wales following the closure of the South Wales Coalfield, and the Winter of Discontent. The South Wales Valleys had seen economic deprivation following the downturn, leading to high unemployment and social discontent.
The 1980s however brought initial optimism, with the Big Bang, and this was cemented by the 1997 election of the New Labour class led by Tony Blair. The Labour Party won a landslide election and positioned itself near to political devolution for Wales and Scotland, and a PR campaign which involved association with the UK arts scene and social engagement with figures in the Britpop movement such as Noel Gallagher. However some have debated whether Labour were merely positioning themselves to benefit from the popularity of the arts, rather than supporting it, and some have instead referred to how Conservative Party politicians instead were the first to refer to the notion of 'Cool Britannia'.
Welsh identity
Author Iain Ellis attributes some of the attitude behind Cool Cymru figures to the perception that Wales had, for much of the 1960s and 1970s, been 'perennial underachievers' of the Union, stuck with "old-fashioned crooners" like Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones while England was represented across the globe by Beatlemania, The Rolling Stones, and The Who.
Ellis describes how "Scotland and Northern Ireland awoke to the call of punk, post-punk, and indie rock", from international names like Primal Scream, Average White Band, the Bay City Rollers in Scotland; and The Undertones and Van Morrison in Northern Ireland.
He further states that Wales had, compared to the rest of the United Kingdom, "a largely barren rock history". This perceived inadequacy, Ellis argues, spurred the rebellious and unconventional direction of pioneers like Cerys Matthews and Richey Edwards.
Wider political developments had taken to the fore in the 1990s, such as S4C taking a widened remit in the Broadcasting Act 1990, commercial sponsorship of the National Eisteddfod of Wales reaching over £1 million for the first time ever, the construction of the Millennium Stadium, the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay, the establishment of Newport Riverfront Arts Centre, and the wider political and architectural construction which followed the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum. First Minister Rhodri Morgan was also a keen advocate for the Welsh arts.
Wider culture
Wales in the 1990s was enjoying a particular period of international prominence. Its reputation was heightened by the performances of sporting individuals such as Joe Calzaghe, Ryan Giggs, and Scott Gibbs, as well as the notorious headlines generated by figures like Howard Marks.
Actors of prominence included Ioan Gruffudd, who appeared in Solomon & Gaenor (nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 72nd Academy Awards), as well as Rhys Ifans and Anthony Hopkins who both appeared in the Chekhov tale August, and Llangefni born Huw Garmon who starred in the Oscar nominated Welsh language film Hedd Wyn.
1997 saw the release of House of America (about a dysfunctional family in a Welsh mining town), and that same year Newport-born director Julian Richards released Darklands (the "first home grown Welsh horror film").