#23: A New South Wales by The Alarm
Mike Peters is a fiercely proud Welshman, so you can only imagine how he and his fellow compatriots felt when the Evil Thatcher Monster wreaked havoc across this fair nation by closing the coal mines and with it destroying communities and condemning generations to poverty, unemployment and little in the way of hope for the future. Many of these once thriving mining towns and villages have yet to recover, the devastation still evident.
A New South Wales is Peters voicing his despair in song, though he seemed to hold a glimmer of hope for the future. So amongst the sadness and pessimism:
A man walks home alone
Past a church full of mourning souls
Throughout his lifetime he has fought
He has given his life
In tears the congregation sing
Cwm Rhondda Oh my Lord
there's some optimism that this might unite the nation and Wales could be great again:
Great, great change in the fair country
The future lies with the sons and daughters
South will meet with North
The language and emotion is strong, Peters denouncing the "rape" of his country, the anger of those communities affected and the bleak and uncertain outlook faced by future generations. It's not your typical Alarm track - there are no guitars or drums - but it's as powerful as anything they ever did.
A New South Wales was released in 1989 and featured the Morriston Orpheus Male Voice Choir. It was recorded live in Cardiff for the BBC and produced by Tony Visconti.
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