Max Boyce, is a Welsh comedian, singer and entertainer. He rose to fame in the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in a South Wales mining community. Boyce’s We All Had Doctors’ Papers (1975) remains the only comedy album to have topped the UK Albums Chart and he has sold more than two million albums in a career spanning four decades.
The first recording of Boyce’s songs was made at the Valley Folk Club in Pontardawe in 1971 by Cambrian Records, which subsequently released an LP called Max Boyce in Session. This album included several tracks that were to later become his signature tunes, including “Hymns and Arias”, “Duw it’s Hard” and “Slow – Men at Work”. The record sleeve of this album includes the following prediction: It may well be that future years will find “Hymns and Arias” rolling a thunderous chorus across the terraced rugby grounds.
In the same year, he also recorded Caneuon Amrywiol (“Miscellaneous Songs”), a collection of Welsh folk songs under the same label. Nevertheless, Boyce remained virtually unknown beyond the music clubs of the South Wales valleys for the time being, where he continued to perform.This all changed towards the end of 1973. Boyce had competed, unsuccessfully, on the television talent show Opportunity Knocks, shortly before record label EMI heard his first album, Max Boyce in Session, and came to see him in concert. EMI offered Boyce a two-album contract, and arrangements were made to make a live recording of his upcoming concert at Treorchy Rugby Club. This performance, which took place in November 1973, was given in front of an audience who received their tickets free of charge, after these failed to sell for 50p. His performance was warmly received by the crowd, as can be heard in the final recording. The resulting album, Live at Treorchy, brought Boyce into the public eye, and it soon went gold.
His next album, We All Had Doctors’ Papers, was also live, recorded at Pontarddulais Rgby Club. This was released in late 1975 and, unexpectedly, it reached the No. 1 position on the UK Albums Chart in November. This recording has the distinction of being the only comedy album to ever top the UK Albums Chart. Boyce released several albums over the next few years, receiving further gold discs for The Incredible Plan in 1976, and I Know ‘Cos I Was There in 1978.
This early pinnacle in Boyce’s career coincided with the dominance of the Welsh rugby team in the Five Nations Championship during the 1970s. His songs and poems were real-time reflections on this unfolding history, often invoking the names of Welsh rugby greats such as Barry John, Gareth Edwards and Dai Morris. Songs such as “Hymns and Arias” soon became popular with rugby crowds, a fact which has played a significant part in his ongoing popularity. When Swansea City were promoted to the EPL in 2011, Boyce was asked to perform for their first game and produced a special version of “Hymns and Arias” for the occasion.
