Melys

Melys are an indie band from Betwys-Y-Coed in Wales. Formed in 1996, they sing in both English and Welsh, and became virtually synonymous with Peel's programme in its later years: John not only revered their sound but he and his family became close friends with the group (they labelled him "a cool dude" and "god of music" ). Andrea Parker (vocals) and Paul Adams (guitar and keyboards) were both the band's founders and the mainstay of its fluent, melodic character (the band's name means 'sweet' in Welsh). Their first releases were on the Ankst label, but Pinnacle signed them for their first LP, Rumours And Curses: when Pinnacle went bust in 1998 they were left without a deal, and set up Sylem (the band's name spelt backwards) in 1999.

Their 2005 LP Life's Too Short was dedicated to John ("through whom we met some great people who are now great friends. It was an honour."): following this, the band went on hiatus, during which Andrea and Paul raised their three children and ran a Welsh food restaurant. In 2009, Melys re-emerged to play a gig for John Peel Day in Bangor. 

"'John was a very special person, close to our hearts and was a brilliant champion of new music and a fantastic man. We loved spending time with him and his family and consider ourselves honoured to have known him so well.' (Paul Adams)"

Festive Fifty Entries

 * 1998 Festive Fifty: 'Lemming, Chameleon Of Feelings' #24
 * 2001 Festive Fifty: 'I Don't Believe In You' #35
 * 2001 Festive Fifty: 'Chinese Whispers' #01
 * 2002 Festive Fifty: 'So Good' #43
 * 2004 Festive Fifty: 'Eyeliner' #34

Live

 * 24 October 2000: live from Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, for Radio 1 live. The BBC's Keeping It Peel site lists this as their 4th session.
 * 1) Tiny Bombs
 * 2) Dwi'N Gweld Yr Haul
 * 3) Lullaby
 * 4) Baby Tornado
 * 5) You Should Have Been There
 * 6) Sumi Masen
 * 7) Un Darllenwr Lwcus
 * 8) Disco Pig
 * 09 January 2001: live at Vera for Eurosonic 2001, Groningen (review)
 * 1) Tiny Bombs
 * 2) Lullaby
 * 3) Un Darllenwr Lwcus
 * 4) Baby Tornado
 * 5) Disco Pig

Sessions

 * Nine sessions, none of which have been released commercially. The BBC's It Peel site claims they recorded eleven (presumably the ones listed here plus the two live concerts), but only list eight, with the live Cardiff set treated as the 4th session and the 6th and 9th here ignored altogether.

1. Recorded: 1997-04-08. First broadcast: 23 April 1997. Repeated: 02 July 1997 2. Live from Maida Vale. First broadcast: 23 June 1998. No repeats. Featuring London Welsh Male Voice Choir, cond. Andy Rogers (choir only in song 4). 3. Recorded: 1999-12-19. First broadcast: 17 February 2000. No repeats. 4. Live from Maida Vale. First broadcast: 16 May 2001. No repeats. 5. Live from Peel Acres. First broadcast: 20 December 2001. No repeats. 6. Recorded: 2001-11-29 (rpt. of acoustic set TX live on The Session in Wales). First broadcast: 10 January 2002. No further repeats. 7. Live from Peel Acres. First broadcast: 29 August 2002 (Peel's Birthday Special Show). No repeats. JP was expecting to play a repeat and the band turned up to surprise him with a live session. 8. Recorded: 2004-06-09. First broadcast: 20 July 2004. No repeats. 9. Live from Maida Vale. First broadcast: 16 December 2004. No repeats.
 * Cysur (Comfort) / Diwiefr / FM Eyes / Acid Queen
 * Ambulance Chaser / Dirty Whore / Hedfan / You'll Never Walk Alone / Matroishka
 * Lullaby / Sumi Masen / Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye / Puppet / Elenya
 * Chinese Whispers / I Don't Believe In You / Waiting To Fall / Un Darllwenwr Lwcus / Buwch Sanctaidd
 * Chinese Whispers / Silent Night
 * Watercolour / Buwch Sanctaidd / Chinese Whispers
 * I Don't Believe In You (So Good) / Waiting To Fall / Un Darllwenwr Lwcus / Baby Burn / Happy Birthday (& Chinese Whispers, not TX)
 * Treading Water / Casino El Camino / Once Around Again / Girls On Film
 * You Wannit Deep / Treading Water / Chinese Whispers

Other Shows Played

 * 30 November 1996: ‘Noeth (12 inch – Fragile EP )’ (Ankst)
 * 08 December 1996: ‘Adeiladu Fi (CD single – Fragile )’ (Ankst)
 * 19 March 1997: ‘Cuckoo (CD Single)’ (Ankst)
 * Peel Mid to Late 1997: 'Acid Queen (Peel Session)' 02 July 1997
 * 24 March 1998: 'Diwifr (7")' (Arctic)
 * 27 May 1998: 'When You Put Leonard Cohen On (LP-Rumours And Curses)' (Arctic)
 * 26 May 1999: 'Baby Tornado (7")' (Sylem)
 * 08 June 1999: 'Baby Tornado (7")' (Sylem)
 * 07 July 1999: 'Baby Tornado (7")' (Sylem)
 * 18 November 1999: 'Disco Pig (CDS-Slagging Off Tourists E.P.)' (Sylem)
 * 02 December 1999: 'Disco Pig (CDS-Slagging Off Tourists EP)' (Sylem)
 * 03 January 2000 (BFBS): 'Disco Pig (CDS-Slagging Off Tourists)' (Sylem)
 * 06 January 2000: 'Porn My Self (EP-Slaggin Off Tourists)' (Sylem)
 * 31 May 2000: 'Waiting To Fall (LP - Kamikaze)' (Sylem)
 * 18 October 2000: 'Un Darllenwr Lwcus (CDS)' (Sylem)
 * 10 January 2001: 'All Played Out (CDS- Un Darllenwr Lwcus)' (Sylem)
 * 20 March 2001: 'I Don't Believe In You' (Sylem)
 * 05 April 2001: 'I Don't Believe In You' (Sylem)
 * 18 October 2001 (Radio Eins): 'Chinese Whispers (CDS)' (Sylem)
 * 03 December 2001: 'Un Darllenwr Lwcus (CDS)' (Sylem)
 * 08 January 2002: 'Mae'n Amser I Newid' (Sylem)
 * 15 January 2002 / 16 May 2002: 'Chinese Whispers (CDS)' (Sylem)
 * 06 February 2002: 'Disco Pig' (Transformed Dreams)
 * 07 November 2002: 'So Good (CDr)' (Sylem)
 * 19 November 2002: 'We Had Our Chances (EP-So Good)' (Sylem)
 * 26 November 2002: 'So Good (EP-So Good)' (Sylem)
 * 07 January 2003: 'My Downer Pill (LP-Casting Pearls)' (Sylem)
 * 30 January 2003: 'Puppets (LP-Radio Cymru Playlist Vol. 1)' (Ankst)
 * 06 February 2003: 'Plasticine (LP-Casting Pearls)' (Sylem)
 * 13 February 2003: 'Achub Fi (LP-Casting Pearls)' (Sylem)
 * 18 February 2003: 'So Good (LP-Casting Pearls)' (Sylem)
 * 26 February 2003: 'Take Me Out (LP-Casting Pearls)' (Sylem)
 * 05 March 2003: 'Adrift (LP-Casting Pearls)' (Sylem)
 * 08 January 2004: 'Eyeliner (CDr demo)' (white label)
 * 21 April 2004: 'Eyeliner (CDS)' (Sylem)
 * 06 May 2004: 'I Can't Stop This (Even If I Wanted To) (CDS-Eyeliner)' (Sylem)