4 Yn Y Bar

This Welsh folk group includes Iwan Roberts (b. 24 October 1953, Carmarthen, Dyfed, South Wales; mandolin, mandola), Tudur Huws Jones (b. 29 October 1955, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales; banjo, mandolin, whistle, bouzouki), Tudur Morgan (b. 8 May 1958, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales; guitar, bass, vocals), and Huw Roberts (b. 1 September 1957, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales; fiddle, vocals). Fiercely nationalistic, they make a point of using only Welsh traditional and contemporary songs and tunes in their repertoire. They first performed in 1983, and followed up with the release of Byth Adra (We’re Never At Home), on Sain Records. Byth Adra features ‘Nos Galan’, a traditional Welsh tune which the Americans ‘borrowed’ and turned into ‘Deck The Halls’. The independent Christmas release, Seren Nadolig, was followed by a tour of Scotland, in April 1986, and the group’s second Sain release, Newid Cynefin, in October of the same year. In 1987, on St David’s Day, the group appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and their second independent production Ffiwsio, saw them experimenting with bluegrass and reggae.

In 1988, Morgan produced the first solo release by Plethyn’s Linda Healy, with all of the members of 4 Yn Y Bar playing on some of the tracks. In 1989, the group was invited to play at the Orkney Islands Folk Festival, in May, and in November the same year the group recorded their first television special. Since then, 4 Yn Y Bar have given up live performances, but Tudur Morgan released Branwen in November 1991, an album based on an Irish, Welsh mythological character, and containing mostly original material. 4 Yn Y Bar also released a new album, Stryd America, (America Street), on St. David’s Day (1 March) 1992.