Max Boyce
Maxwell Boyce , MBE (born September 27, 1943 in Glynneath ) is a Welsh comedian , singer and former miner who achieved national fame in Great Britain in the mid-1970s .
Childhood and youth
Within days of his birth, his father died in an explosion in the coal mine where he worked. At the age of 15 Boyce moved in with his grandfather. Like his father before him, he spent his late teens in the mine before taking a factory job in his early 20s.
He graduated as a mining engineer in the early 1970s. during this time he began writing songs about the mining community in south Wales . He began performing in folk clubs around 1972, where he always started with a funny element, sprinkling here and there a few anecdotes about miner's life and especially the national sport of rugby union .
Musical career
Max had participated in the television talent show Opportunity Knocks to no avail . Shortly thereafter, he recorded his first album Live at Treorchy on November 3, 1973 with EMI at the Treorchy Rugby Club .
The songs on the album, especially Hymns and Arias , quickly became hugely popular with rugby fans, and for many years the entertainer performed regularly on stages, on television and on the radio. He also recorded other hit albums. His next album, We All Had Doctors' Papers , was released in 1975 and hit # 1 on the UK album charts. The peculiarity of this recording is that it is the only comedy album that has ever made it onto the UK album chart.
An early high in his career coincided with the dominance of the Welsh national rugby team in the Five Nations Championship during the 1970s. The songs and poems of the period were reflections of real life and unfolding history.
Boyce's career suffered a low point in the 1990s, but recovered again in 1999, when he the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup 1999 in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff took over.
Boyce was awarded the MBE in 1999.
"Harry Secombe is one of the most famous of comedians from Wales. His reputation however rests with his singing and Neddy Seegrovery. Sir Geraint Evans possessed considerable talent for comedy and made us laugh in the roles of Falstaff and Leporello, but his career depended every move on his voice. Until Max Boyce, I can think of no-one who has become famous outside Wales for his Welshness. "
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
|||
| 1975 | Live Is Treorchy |
UK21st  (38 weeks)UK |
First release: 1975
Re-release: 1995 on CD |
| We All Had Doctor's Papers |
UK1 (17 weeks)UK |
First published: 1975
|
|
| 1976 | The Incredible Plan |
UK9 (11 weeks)UK |
First published: 1976
|
| 1978 | The Roads And The Miles |
UK50  (3 weeks)UK |
First published: 1978
|
| I Know Cos I Was There |
UK6th (14 weeks)UK |
First published: 1978
|
|
| 1979 | Now That I Was Biased |
UK27 (13 weeks)UK |
First published: 1979
|
| Poems and Pints Vol 1 | - |
First published: 1979
|
|
| 1980 | Me and Billy Williams |
UK37 (8 weeks)UK |
First published: 1980
|
| Farewell to the North Enclosure | - |
First published: 1980
|
|
| 1981 | It's good to see you | - |
First publication: 1981
|
| 1987 | troubadour | - |
First published: 1987
|
| 2000 | Max Boyce | - |
First published: 2000
compilation |
Fonts
- I Was There! (1979)
- Max Boyce in the Mad Pursuit of Applause (1984)
swell
- ↑ a b "Max Boyce Biography" at bbc.co.uk
- ↑ "Max - A biography, Part One", on MaxBoyce.co.uk ( Memento of the original from May 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Number 1 Albums - 1970s
- ↑ "Max - A biography, Part Two", on MaxBoyce.co.uk ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ "Max - A biography, Part Five", at MaxBoyce.co.uk ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Chart sources: UK
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Boyce, Max |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Boyce, Maxwell (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Welsh comedian, songwriter, former miner |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 27, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Glynneath |