The Bard of Ely - Full Send Zine

Steve Andrews is an author, singer-songwriter, poet, freelance writer, public speaker and naturalist. He was born in Cardiff in 1953. Today he is listed on two websites as a “Famous Cardiffian.” He is also known as the Bard of Ely, title he was given by Big issue Cymru magazine in 1998, when he was a columnist for the publication and lived on the Ely housing estate. According to Wikipedia, along with Shakin’ Stevens he is listed as a “Notable person” from Ely.

He is the author of five books published by Moon Books: Herbs Of The Northern Shaman, Herbs Of The Sun, Moon And Planets, Herbs Of The Southern Shaman, Earth Spirit: Saving Mother Ocean and The Magic of Butterflies and Moths. Let’s have a chat should we?

How are you Steve?

I am busy as usual and doing fine, thank you!

That’s quite a beard for a bard, why green?

I dyed it green because in 2003 I was a performer and MC for the first Green Man Festival. I think it accurately reflects me, because I am a naturalist and environmentalist.

Pineapple grower, naturalist, activist, singer, songwriter, author, columnist, is there anything you cannot do?

It would be easy for me to list things I haven’t done and think I cannot do but instead I will say that I have learned of the impact self-limiting beliefs have on us. It is easy to hold onto such beliefs and stop ourselves from having a go at something new, or perhaps at something we once didn’t do well at but could succeed with now.

What was writing for the Big Issue in the 90’s like? It’s changed, hasn’t it?

Writing for Big Issue was easy enough. I was contributing social interest stories and there were and are plenty of them in my life. I am sure the magazine has changed since I was a columnist back in 1998 but the basics are the same and it still helps homeless people.

How did you end up living on the Ely Estate and who appointed you ‘bard’?

How I ended up in Ely could be a long story but to keep it short this is what happened. I was on the council waiting list, had become a single-parent father, and was living in a rented property that was for sale, so when the opportunity arose of becoming a tenant of a council house in Ely I took it. Big Issue Cymru first called me “The Bard of Ely.” The magazine used to use the title when referring to me, and it was a reality. I was a singer-songwriter, poet and performer and I was living in Ely.

Is being as notable as Shakin’ Stevens (Coming from Cardiff) a burden you try to shake off or are you happy basking in that shared limelight?

I am very happy with having my name listed along with Shakin’ Stevens in the Wikipedia entry about “Notable people from Ely.” The only problem is that I encounter a lot of people today who don’t know who he is. I try singing a bit of “Green Door ” but still they don’t know. Fame is on a gradient scale. I have learned that it is no use assuming that some musician, singer or band that I think is really famous, will be known to someone I am talking to. E.g. I get the same problem when talking about Hawkwind. So I will try “They had a big hit with “Silver Machine.” Still a blank look even after I sing a bit of it. But if I say: “They once had Lemmy as part of the band,” that is more likely to work.

You’re a ‘well-travelled’ man, and home is now in Portugal (?). But where does your heart lie?

The answer is Wales, Tenerife and Portugal. I really understand the Neil Diamond song “I Am, I Said,” in which he talks about being “lost between two shores.” There is a Welsh word “hiraeth” that means a kind of yearning for the homeland. I had to move away from Wales to really understand it. Having said all that, I have my residency in Portugal.

You actively campaign and write about cleaning up the oceans, what’s taken everyone so long for people to see the importance of this?

A big part of the problem is the amount of plastic we use in our daily lives. There are so many sources of plastic pollution that many people do not even realise are plastic. E.g. cigarette butts, many types of tea-bag, and the tiny particles being worn away from vehicle tyres every day all around the world. Plastic was made to last and last it does, and that is the problem. Plastic has crept into the manufacturing of so many items once made from other materials. Today there are a mind-boggling number of clothes being worn and on sale made from synthetic or artificial fibres, which means plastic. There are mountains of discarded clothes of this type in a desert in Chile. And as for removing plastic from the sea and from the environment at large no one has any workable solution. We cannot even see a lot of the micro and nano-plastic out there. So we need to stop the problem getting any worse. It should be a priority. I keep saying that reduction is an important word. We need to reduce the amount of plastic being made, used and thrown away, and when thrown away done so responsibly.

Do you wear ‘recycled’ plastic clothes or do you think this is just a profiteering gimmick?

I don’t but I do have clothes made from plastic, just like so many other people. I was talking about how plastic was made to last, and I have a colourful Fair Isle tank-top I bought in a boutique in 1969.

Ocean Aid sounds like an important event to have, where would it take place? Would Kevin Costner or James Cameron be involved?

I don’t care where it takes place, I care about seeing it happen. I said this to Italian radio host and author Filippo Solibello back in 2018. He interviewed me then, and in his book SPAM Stop Plastica A Mare, he included a 4-page chapter about my song “Where Does All The Plastic Go?” as well as my idea for a marine conservation concert. Filippo asked if I minded if such a concert happened in Italy. I said that it doesn’t matter where it takes place because it is an international problem. Having attended the World Ocean Summit in Lisbon twice, and having been to Rock in Rio Lisbon festivals, I have thought that Portugal would be ideal for a marine conservation concert though. Lisbon is famous on the world stage for holding such events, both conferences about saving the seas, and rock concerts headlined by top performers. You ask about Kevin Costner and James Cameron, and I would love them to be involved. This is what I am looking for, some very high profile celebrity to get behind my idea. Getting in touch with such people isn’t easy though. I have been talking about how I would like the Captain Paul Watson Foundation to benefit from funds that could be raised by the type of concert I can envisage. I also keep pointing out that there are very big names who support Captain Paul. Bryan Adams is an ambassador for the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, and Coldplay state their support for him on their website.

What was it like to appear on Britain’s Got Talent?

It was exciting and disappointing. There was a lot more to it than most people would think. I had to attend two auditions before the TV show. One was in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales and the second much bigger one was in Birmingham. I had someone from BGT corresponding with me by email and phone calls. She raised my hopes by telling me BGT wanted me to do “Stand By Me,” and that the audience would be briefed to let them know they could join me on stage. I thought they were making it easy for me. One of my auditioners also said she could “See Ant and Dec getting involved in this.” On the very long day in which I did appear before the judges for the TV broadcast, the stage crew knew what I was going to do. I was even advised to “Invite the audience up row by row.” Simon Cowell, however, appeared shocked and quickly ended my performance telling those who had joined me on stage that they could all go back to their seats. I was sad. I could see Amanda Holden was enjoying my performance and was waving her arms in time to the music. I had a lot of women up on stage with me but Simon killed it by hitting his buzzer, David Walliams followed him, so did Alesha and she even reached over and hit Amanda’s too. It was all over. Was it a set up? Was Simon playing the “bad guy?” Who knows? I got a lot of great publicity from it but it was nevertheless disappointing.

How was MCing on The Avalon Stage? Who did you introduce?

I really can’t remember many of the acts I introduced. I have this memory problem with all festivals I have been to and there are many, so I wish I had kept a diary. But I can remember the names of two bands: Seize The Day and Tarantism in 2002. I can also remember being really disappointed in 2003 because REM were headlining one of the main stages and I am a really big fan. I had worked out that I could finish my work and get over to see them. This never happened because the changeover between the last two bands on the Avalon Stage took an incredibly long time. I had to wait until I got the thumbs up to introduce the last band, and then my shift was over. I can’t recall what the name of that last act was but I can remember being backstage and stressing over how long it was taking for the stage crew to be moving gear on and off the stage. By the time everything was sorted out and I had made my introduction it was impossible to get across the massive Glastonbury Festival site in time to see REM finish their set. But a good memory I have is getting the chance to talk to singer-songwriter and guitarist Nigel Mazlyn Jones. It was strange because I had chatted to him at the Heresy Folk Club in Cardiff back in 1971, and he remembered me. The same thing happened with Arthur Brown. I had seen him play the Students’ Union 1970 or ‘71 and found myself having the opportunity of talking to him at the Glastonbury Festival.

How’s the collaboration with Jayce Lewis going? When can we expect the fruits of your labours?

Jayce Lewis produced all the 10 songs on my album Songs of the Now and Then. It is on bandcamp, Spotify and Reverb Nation. He also produced “A Real Love and Communication,” my song for peace, and “Climb Through A Rainbow,” my song for children of all ages, and that I composed in Nestlings Nursery in Cardiff when Misty Ardouin the owner had invited me along to play some songs for the little kids. This year, Jayce finished the production of my latest release which is “King Arthur’s Coming,” and which features spoken word and a chanting of the Druid’s Oath by Senior Druid, environmental activist, and Independent political candidate King Arthur Uther Pendragon. Arthur stood in the recent General Election, and in Salisbury you could Vote for King Arthur. He is famous for his Stonehenge campaigns and extensive coverage in the media. I am a Quest Knight and Bard of his Druid Order, the Loyal Arthurian Warband, as is Jayce now. John Lydon and Ozzy Osbourne have also been knighted by King Arthur.

They say everyone has a book inside them, you’ve now written three and counting….have you got the bug?

Definitely. I am currently working on an epic memoir about my music career, including experiences and influences. It was inspired by Helen O’Hara (ex Dexys). I had read Helen’s What’s She Like A Memoir, and tweeted to her on X that it had inspired me to write my own. She tweeted back “Go for it, Steve!” So, that is what I am doing.

What’s the fascination with butterflies and moths, they seem such transitory specimens?

I discovered butterflies and moths and their amazing life-cycles when I was a boy. I used to keep caterpillars and I learned how important it was to feed them the right leaves. I also learned patience because many species pupate in their first year and emerge the following year in spring or early summer. Some types are “transitory” and others have long lives. Many moths cannot feed so they only live a week or 10 days, but many butterflies hibernate from late autumn through until the spring. There are moths that hibernate too and they have long lives. I write about my fascination with these insects in my book The Magic of Butterflies and Moths.

What did you discover from your work on The Pyramids of Güímar? Any extra-terrestrial activity to report on? (The Egyptian pyramids were never built by man, right?)

I discovered that there were a lot more of these constructions on the island than I had at first thought. The pyramids in Güímar get all the attention because of the link with the late Thor Heyerdahl and because they are housed in the Ethnographic Park that was bought by shipping magnate Fred Olsen. Heyerdahl had said he thought they were authentic and like stepped pyramids he had seen on his world travels. He was so excited about them that he moved to Güímar and spent the last decade of his life there. However, there are other pyramids on farmland in other parts of the island that are not so widely known about. I was never convinced with the official academic explanation that says the constructions were made by Spanish farmers clearing their land of rocks. Heyerdahl suggested that the pyramids were made by the Guanches, who were the people who lived on Tenerife and the other Canary Islands before the Spanish invasion and conquest. Before I moved to Tenerife I didn’t know anything about the pyramids there or about the Guanches. Many tourists who come to the island don’t. I got very involved in researching the constructions and finding out what I could about the Guanches. I ended up starring in the documentary film made by Raphael Biss and entitled Savages In Foreign Lands. I don’t know of any “extra-terrestrial” connection for the pyramids but I do know that Tenerife had had UFO sightings and there were “Sky-watching” places there. I have had sightings myself back in the 1970s in the UK but not in Tenerife. I used to be very involved in ufology but have lost interest in it. There are many mysteries in life we do not get answers for. I have come to think that dealing with the problems of this planet is more pressing than finding out if there are aliens and where they come from.

How would you encourage readers to become ‘nature boys’?

I would say go and find out what species live in your area. There are plants and animals all over the planet and if we learn about the local ones it is a great starting point. When I was a boy I found out a lot from books my parents kindly bought for me but today it is much easier with the Internet. I say local species because these are the ones we can learn about the easiest and can possibly help. E.g. If you want to help butterflies and you have access to a garden then you can help the insects by growing the right plants for the caterpillars of the species that can be found where you live. If you want to help the amphibians, and they really need our help worldwide, then having a garden pool is a great way of doing so. Also there may well be local conservation groups you can join. I am in the EcoGrupo Trevo group where I live in Portugal.

What’s next in the pipeline?

Coming next August 1, is my single “We Can Sing Together.” It is a collaboration between Stephen Friedland, aka Brute Force, who is most famous for his song “King of Fuh” that George Harrison and John Lennon wanted on the Apple label back in 1969. Sadly, EMI, the BBC and Capitol didn’t think the song was suitable for the ears of the public and it was pulled from distribution and further pressing after the initial short run. Their objection was to lines like “All hail the Fuh King.” How times have changed when we consider lyrics in songs today. Stephen sent me some lyrics he had written and asked me if I could come up with the music. I sat down with my guitar and the tune and chords came to me right away. Since then I have recorded the song at Verdelho Studio here in Portugal, with Ricardo Verdelho as my producer. Ricardo is a music teacher too and thought he could get a choir of school children to back me on the song. Of course, he had to ask their parents but it all came together well and we filmed for a music video with children and some of the parents singing along behind me. We are on the stage of the Boa Agua amphitheatre in a park in Quinta do Conde. Stephen tells me he is going to record his own version of the song too.

Are you planning to tour?

No current plans for touring, though I can continue touring the world via the Internet.

Steve Andrews is an author, singer-songwriter, poet, freelance writer, public speaker and naturalist. He's also been on Britain's Got Talent! We simply had to chat to him...