NAME FIELD NOTABLE WORKS DESCRIPTION
Rees, Angharad Actress Hands of the Ripper (1971) Rees is excellent as Anna, enigmatic daughter of Jack the Ripper. Hammer's last great film and one of their goriest. Watch out for the hat-pin in the eye scene
Rees, Emlyn Writer Undertow (1999) Journalist on the trail of a serial killer whose signature is to chop off his victims' hands
Rees, Goronwy Writer A Chapter of Accidents (1972) Rees's fascinating autobiographical account of his relationship with English traitor Guy Burgess. Was Rees the infamous fifth man? Intriguing
Rees-Jones, Trevor Bodyguard The Bodyguard's Story: Diana, the Crash and the Sole Survivor (2000) Positively Ballardian account of 'that crash'. The neurotic princess, the millionaire lover and carnage in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel
Reynolds, Alastair Writer Revelation Space (2000) Barry's finest science-fiction writer comes up trumps with this dark space opera
Reynolds, Alastair   Chasm City (2001) Won the BSFA Award for Best Novel of 2001. If James Ellroy were to write a sci-fi novel it would read something like this
Reynolds, Alastair   Redemption Ark (2002) Has the same noirish element as its predecessors. More hard SF outer space thrills
Reynolds, Alastair
  Absolution Gap (2003) Oh s**t - the Inhibitors are back! Whether you're mortal or post-mortal, it's time to start worrying
Rhys, Gruff Music Candylion (2007) A brilliant album that celebrates cultural cross-pollination and hybridity. Skylon! is some kind of Welsh post-modern masterpiece
Rhys, Jean Writer Voyage in the Dark (1934) Anna Morgan is a typical 'Jean Rhys woman' - isolated and sexually vunerable. A descent into prostitution and a bungled abortion await her
Rhys, Jean   Good Morning, Midnight (1939) Brilliantly seedy evocation of pre-WW2 Paris. Sasha the drunken menopausal heroine reflects upon her life and loves
Richards, Ceri Artist Piano Paintings Music's relationship to art always fascinated Richards. His unique series of Piano paintings has helped overcome a dilletante reputation
Richards, Julian Film Director Darklands (1997) The first truly indigenous Welsh horror flick. Low-budget, culty trip through Wicker Man territory. Port Talbot has never looked more sinister
Richards, Julian
  The Last Horror Movie (2003) Serial killer Max Parry records his victims' grisly deaths over horror rentals. Whoever then rents out the video becomes his next victim. Great conceit - great snuff documentary horror
Rielly, James Artist Problems (1997) Rielly - one of the Sensation artists - paints unsettling pictures in which our notions of childhood innocence are subverted by animalistic detailing.
Risoli, Mario Writer When Pele Broke our Hearts: Wales and the 1958 World Cup (1998) Beautifully written account of Wales' only World Cup qualification. You'll want to shoot an FAW selector after reading it
Rivers, Tony/Jones, Dave Football hooligans Soul Crew (2002) Two Cardiff City fans provide a unique insight into life inside the Soul Crew. Cardiff's Stone Island and Burberry clad football hooligans are amongst Europe's most notorious
Roberts, Eigra Lewis Writer Llofruddiaeth Y Rhostir (Moors Murder) This play was never staged after running into legal difficulties over its characterization of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Any theatre companies out there with the balls to put it on?
Roberts, Lynette Writer Gods with Stainless Ears: a Heroic Poem (1951) Roberts's cinematic Modernist masterpiece is finally getting some of the attention it deserves. Published by TS Eliot at Faber
Roberts, Rachel Actress Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) Kitchen Sink cool. Roberts' unconventional beauty made her ideal for the new realism in British cinema. She won a BFA Best Actress award for her portrayal of a bored housewife made pregnant by a rebellious factory worker
Roberts, Rachel   This Sporting Life (1963) Opposite Richard Harris, Roberts gave a fine performance as a sexually compliant but emotionally numb landlady. She received an Academy Award Nomination for her efforts
Roberts, Rachel   O Lucky Man (1973) Though brought up in a strict Baptist family Roberts excelled in 'fallen women' roles. Here Lindsey Anderson casts her as a lascivious businesswoman. Post-marriage-to-Rex Harrison film
Roberts, Rachel   Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) As gothic Mrs Appleyard Roberts is an alarming embodiment of fossilized virginity. Last great cinematic role before her death from a barbiturate overdose in 1980
Roberts, Rachel   No Bells on Sunday: The Journals of Rachel Roberts (1984) Posthumously published diaries interspersed with personal testaments chart Roberts' decline into alcoholism and drug addiction
Roberts, Wiliam Owen Writer Pestilence (1991) A leper has sex with a goat! A priest attacks his own penis with a sickle! Earthy picaresque romp through medieval Europe
robson, lloyd Writer cardiff cut (2001) Robson cuts through the Cardiff nightscape like a tooted-up James Joyce. An exuberant prose-poem in the vernacular like
robson, lloyd   bbboing! & associated weirdness (2003) If Welsh poetry has any kind of a future it lies with robson. A Burroughsian taster of his oeuvre
Ronson, Jon Writer Them: Adventures With Extremists (2001) Hilarious and disturbing examination of conspiracy theorists. More paranoia per page than your average Kafka novel
Ronson, Jon   The Men Who Stare at Goats (2004) More weirdness - this time Ronson casts a wry look upon new age influences in the American military. A bit worrying really
Rowlands, Rheinallt H Music Bukowski (1996) The Welsh Jacques Brel. Doomy vocals and a jaunty brass section are always a winning combination
Rubens, Bernice Writer I Sent a Letter to My Love (1975) A spinster whose life has been blighted by her ugliness falls in love with her pen-pal. Set in Porthcawl
Rubens, Bernice   Yesterday in the Back Lane (1995) Somewhat neglected 'Cardiff book' in which a teenage girl accidentally kills the man who tries to rape her. Her subsequent guilt manifests itself in uncontrollable nose bleeds
Sangster, Jimmy Screenwriter Paranoiac (1963) The Hammer stalwart did his best work in the early Sixties. Along with Maniac, Nightmare and Hysteria this film was a cash-in on the success of Hitchcock's Psycho
Scritti Politti Band Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985) Green Gartside drunk on Jacques Derrida, deconstructionism and Aretha Franklin. Proof that not all 80s music was shit
Selby, Dennis Writer Sanctity: or There's No Such Thing as a Naked Sailor (1969) "A savage, funny, literary and outrageously explicit novel, Sanctity takes the reader on an underground trip through the world of drugs, transvestism and truth-seeking." Cult gay novel from Cardiff-born writer Selby
Shapland, Anthony Artist Suddenly After A Long Silence (2007) Shapland uses documentary film to capture those eerie moments when things just happen. Strangely elegiac
Sinclair, Iain Writer Lights Out for the Territory (1997) Sinclair seeks out the hidden signs of the city like a smack addict in search of his next hit. Nine unforgettable trips through London's historical present. A truly great book
Sinclair, Iain   Landor's Tower (2001) Sinclair gives his native South Wales the psychogeographic treatment. The Vaughan brothers, David Jones and Jeremy Thorpe amongst others are interwoven into his fevered plot
Sinnott, Kevin Artist The Outsider Sensual and expressionistic in style but distinctly cinematic in composition
60ft Dolls Band The Big 3 (1997) Cheeky proletarian rock. Worth buying for their tranny hymn Happy Shopper and Pig Valentine - voted single of the year in the New York Times
Sleigh, Sylvia Artist The Turkish Harem (1973) Llandudno-born artist who specializes in male nudes and brilliantly satirises the 'male gaze' in art history. Her works are composed like Renaissance masterpieces but look like illustrations from swingers magazines
Spedding, Sally Writer Cloven (2002) Spooky goings on in a Northamptonshire village relate back to the life of a Welsh crippled mute girl
Sproud, Billy Music Rock Mr Piper (1958) The 'Welsh Bill Haley' and rock'n'roll pioneer was from Splott in Cardiff
Stanley, Henry Morton Writer How I Found Livingstone (1872) "Dr Livingstone I presume?" Rip-roaring account of how, on an assignment for the New York Herald, Stanley tracked down the lost missionary in Ujiji
Steadman, Ralph Artist Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail (1972) Steadman gives visual expression to Hunter S Thompson's gonzo adventures in the world of American presidential politics
Steadman, Ralph   Paranoids (1986) Steadman's most unrestrained piece of iconoclasm. Recognisable stars are endowed with features that melt, distort and uglify. Nice
Steele, Jeffrey Artist Christ Carrying the Cross (1953) This early Stanley Spencer-inspired work depicts Christ carrying a cross through Constellation Street, Adamsdown, Cardiff. Steele was from Roath
Steele, Jeffrey   Baroque Experiment (1965) This work was shown at The Responsive Eye exhibition at MOMA in New York in 1965. Steele was an Op-Art pioneer
Stereophonics Band Word Gets Around (1997) Their debut album has an edginess that they've subsequently lost. Local Boy in the Photograph is a life-in-a-small town classic
Stevens, Meic Music Disgwyl Rhywbeth Gwell I Ddod (2002) Excellent retrospective of Stevens' work released by Sain
Strange, Steve Music Blitzed! The Autobiography of Steve Strange (2002) It's all here - a sexual encounter with Jean-Jacques Burnel; raffling Simon Le Bon's shirt for the miners' strike; and a conviction for nicking a Teletubby. Actually, quite an amusing insight into Eighties club culture
Strathloch, Nicolas Vampire The Unexplained (2001) Welsh-American vampire living in LA who actually drinks human blood. Recently featured in this bizarre documentary
Sullivan, David Film Producer Come Play With Me (1977) Wales' answer to Larry Flynt. Love him or loath him The Sport supremo has been challenging censorship laws in Britain for decades. This sex romp stars his former lover Mary Millington
Summers, John
Writer The Disaster (1970) (Hardback title: The Edge of Violence) Fictionalized account of the Aberfan disaster, its aftermath, and the rise of the Free Wales Army. Raised above the New English Library's usual exploitation values by the angry conviction of the author. An excellent cult book
Summers, John   Dylan (1971) The story of Dylan Morgan, a struggling novelist. An amalgam of Thomas, Hemingway, Fitzgerald and other doomed artists who become society's sacrificial lambs
Summers, John   The Rag Parade (1972) Blurbed: 'A student generation obsessed by sex, ambition and violence' this is a great trashy read. His last book for the New English Library. Dedicated to Paul Foot and Saunders Lewis
Summers, John   Raging Summer (1972) Set in a Welsh mining community during the Depression. A host of quirky characters vividly drawn in Summers' sparkling, racy prose. Why isn't this man's work better known in Wales?
Supercute Musical Artist Songs Your Mother Never Taught You (2000) A John William Davies compilation that includes Welsh Bands Suck, Notting Hill and Jamie Theakston. Like Helen Love, the former Teen Anthem enfant terrible likes to indulge in a bit of minor-celebrity bashing. Smashing lo-fi techno pop
Super Furry Animals Band Fuzzy Logic (1996) Situationist comedy has always been SFA's strong point. Their pranksterism and media savvy is matched on their debut album by a great set of pop tunes
Super Furry Animals   The Man Don't Give A Fuck (1996) Another melodic piece of subversion sees SFA managing to get the word 'fuck' onto vinyl an eyebrow-raising number of times
Super Furry Animals   Phantom Power (2003) "I'm a minger, you're a minger too." Another top quality album destined to sail over the heads of the masses
Symons, Arthur Poet Confessions: A study in Pathology (1930) Milford Haven-born decadent poet and friend of Oscar Wilde best known for his drug poem Haschisch. In 1908 he suffered a mental collapse and spent 2 years in a mad house. This work is an attempt to explain his temporary insanity
Tate, Peter Writer Moon on an Iron Meadow (1974) Tate's concern with biological warfare suddenly looks very contemporary. Infected rabbits, Hiroshima victims and the Ku Klux Klan descend on Illinois
Tate, Peter   Seagulls Under Glass (1975) Neglected collection of Tate's finely crafted sci-fi short stories
Templeton, Alec Pianist Bach Goes to Town (1995) Posthumous collection of the blind pianist's jazz skits on classical pieces. Also includes Shortest Wagnerian Opera. One of Cardiff's most famous sons he became a big star in the States
Thomas, Dylan Poet Doctor and the Devils (1953) Let's not forget Wales' greatest cultural albatross also wrote some dubious screenplays including this tale of grave robbers Burke and Hare
Thomas, Ed Playwright Flowers of the Dead Red Sea (1992) Excellent play in which two characters have to deal with random objects falling from the sky. Intelligent and very funny
Thomas, Gwyn Writer The Sky of our Lives (1972) Reprint of three early novellas: Oscar, The Dark Philosophers and that wonderful gothic incest story Simeon
Thomas, Ifor Writer The Stuff of Love (1993) Very cool collection of short stories published by the now defunct Red Sharks Press
Thomas, John Oram Writer The Copenhagen Affair (1966) (as John Oram) One of a series of literary cash-ins on the Man from UNCLE television show
Thomas, John Oram   The Stone Cold Dead in the Market Affair (1966) (as John Oram) Agent Illya Kuryakin takes in the delights of Newport and North Wales in another UNCLE spin-off
Thomas, Ned Writer The Welsh Extremist (1973) Thomas' 'little red book' is a convincing exercise in revolutionary chic. Read it and feel like a Welsh Che Guevara
Thomas, Norman Writer Ask at the Unicorn (1962) Morgan Johns returns to Wales from San Francisco in search of Grando, a story-teller, remembered from childhood
Thomas, Norman   The Thousand Petalled Daisy (2003) Thomas left the West to pursue a spiritual life in India. Written in his seventies this is a rites of passage work incorporating Hindi philosophy
Thomas, RS Poet No Truce with the Furies (1995) Miserable old get. The Joy Division of Welsh poetry. Imagine if they'd offered him the job of Poet Laureate! Genius
Thorlby, Rachel Artist Darren (2002) A hoodie stands hands in pockets. On closer inspection he has the head of a dog. Anthropomorphic art or the animalizing of humanity? Either way it's good stuff
Tia Porn Actress Cym Special (2000) Pre-hardcore vehicle for Welsh glamour model Tia, filmed in and around Barry. Landmark video in every respect
Toms, Bernard Writer The Strange Affair (1966) This gritty tale of police corruption was turned into a film starring Michael York and Susan George. Collectible piece of Sixties ephemera
Trezise, Rachel Writer In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl (2000) The adult world made grotesque. Domestic disharmony seen through the defamiliarizing eyes of a Rhondda girl
Trezise, Rachel   Fresh Apples (2006) Collection of short stories mostly set in the Valleys that won the inaugral Dylan Thomas literary prize
Trezise, Rachel   Dial M for Merthyr (2007) Trezise documents life on the road with local band Midasuno. Rock'n'roll mythology is comically juxtaposed with the more mundane realities of Valleys life
Tripp, John Writer The Inheritance File (1973) An excellent collection of poems about other writers including amongst others: Celine, Scott Fitzgerald, Brendan Behan and Charles Bukowski
Vallor, Simon Hacker 'mass-mailer' (2001) Vallor's cyber-vandalism earned him a two year jail sentence. His email virus infected 27,000 terminals in 42 countries
Vaughan, Herbert M Writer Meleager (1916) Early sci-fi story set on the tiny planet of Meleager where the women have no political rights
Vaughan, Herbert M   Nephelococcygia, or Letters From Paradise (1929) A man dies and is literally escorted to poet heaven by Wordsworth. In this utopian cloud-cuckoo land there is no ugliness or women. But how much spiritual beauty can he take? Bonkers but entertaining metaphysical fantasy
Victimize Band Baby Buyer/Hi Rising Failure (1979) Anarchy in Ynysybwl. Very collectible single from South Wales' finest Punk outfit. One band member would later join The Damned
Vittorini, Sebastian Performance Artist Wasp Boy/Bastard Son of Tommy Cooper The most anarchic comedy performer in Wales. Watch him hang weights from his nipples, hammer nails through his tongue and do the dancing penis routine
Waldo, Dave Writer Beat the Drum Slowly (1961) Waldo (real name, David Waldo Clarke) from Swansea wrote many fine westerns. Also check out The Man from Thunder River
Walter, Ernest Film Editor 10 Rillington Place (1971) Also worked on The Haunting and Eye of the Devil as well as doing visual coordination for Superman
Ward, Albert and Les Music Welsh Rarebit (1950s) Musical novelty act who used bicycle pumps, washboards etc - in other words they invented skiffle. Appeared on this radio show and also worked with Tony Hancock and even Judy Garland
Waters, Sarah Writer Affinity (2000) Delicious slice of lesbian gothic set around a Victorian women's prison. Part ghost story it brings to life a murky world of seances and spiritualism
Watkins, Ivor Writer Demon (1983) "From the reeking shadows of a nightmare past it stirred to haunt mankind again." Ancient demon on the loose in Welsh mountains. Yikes
Wendykurk Band Freckles EP (2002) Music to frighten your loved ones to. Scariest thing to come out of North Wales since Mathew Hardman. They hate everybody and everything. Commendable
Wendykurk   Soft Meat (2003) Lock up your dolls, Wendykurk's debut album is a misanthropic feast of pagan gog exotica. It doesn't get much better than this
Wepunex featuring Nobsta Nutts/ Lews Tewnz Music South Wales No Frills (2002) Superb slab of West Walian lowlife hip-hop. Messrs Nutts and Tewnz rap like a pair of bonged-up Tourettes. Sounds like it was recorded in a squat
Wilde, Jimmy Boxer Fighting was my Business (1936) Epic autobiography from the tiny Ghost with the Hammer in his Hand. One of the greatest fighters of all time
Wilkins, Robert Psychoanalyst The Fireside Book of Death (1990) Necrophilia, vampirism, and the embalming of Princess Grace of Monaco are all covered. This book is packed full of bizarre death-related anecdotes all copiously illustrated with grisly images
Williams, Alan Writer Snake Water (1965) Welsh architect in mourning finds adventure in a sleazy South American locale and gets caught up in a search for diamonds. Cracking adventure story
Williams, Alan   The Beria Papers (1973) The lost diary of sadistic Soviet head of police Lavrenti Beria turns up - is it real or a fake? Williams' spy and adventure stories are sadly undervalued
Williams, Bedwyr Artist Tyranny of the Meek (2004) Williams creates a miniature universe where a model train culture takes over a snooker culture. Either an amusing metaphor for colonization or the artist tapping into some weird childhood angst
Williams, Bedwyr   Dinghy King (2004) Williams photographed in Cumbria and New York dressed up as a human dinghy - what else? The artist represented Wales at the 2005 Venice Biennale
Williams, (Evan) Owen Architect Boots Factory, Beeston (1930-32) Seminal building in which Williams (The King of Concrete) introduced revolutionary reinforced concrete buttressing. This was a man who designed concrete ships during two world wars!
Williams, (Evan) Owen   The Express Building, Fleet Street (1931-32) Elegant, functional structure clad in vitrolite. London's first glass box and a modernist masterpiece
Williams, Emlyn Writer Night Must Fall (1935) Theatrical portrait of Danny, a sexually manipulative serial killer who carries a decapitated head around in a hat box. Nasty piece of work
Williams, Emlyn   Beyond Belief (1967) Notable for being the first British 'true-crime' book to achieve widespread critical and commercial success. A superb but harrowing account of the Moors Murders
Williams, Guy R Writer The Blue Mountain (1957) (as Henry Woolland) Artist leaves Welsh mountain home to seek his fortune in England. Heavily ironic (semi-autobiographical) comic novel that pokes fun at Welsh rural manners and supposed English urban sophistication
Williams, Guy R   Doctor Tonrondo (1958) (as Owen Guinness) Williams, from Mold, cleverly subverts the border romance in this witty bildungsroman. The great lost classic of C20th Welsh fiction. Doctor Tonrondo deserves a reprint!!!!!!!!!!!
Williams, Gwyn A Historian Madoc, the Making of a Myth (1979) Covers not just the legend of Madoc's discovery of America, but the bizarre hunt for Welsh speaking Indians. Reads like an adventure story
Williams, Hywel Photographer Touchstone (1990) Homo-erotic collection of male nude studies
Williams, Islwyn Writer Dangerous Waters (1952) An advanced race of green people living under the sea in Neptunia plan to invade Britain via Pembrokeshire. All-but-forgotten 'lost world' fantasy
Williams, Islwyn   Newbury in Orm (1952) A follow-up to the above featuring squadron-leader Newbury. Published by Gryphon
Williams, John Writer Into the Badlands (1991) Important in introducing UK audiences to Leonard, Ellroy, Burke, Paretsky, Crumley etc. Also a cracking piece of travel writing
Williams, John   Bloody Valentine, A Killing in Cardiff (1995) Williams re-lives the murder of Cardiff prostitute Lynette White and examines the subsequent wrongful arrest of five local men. A careful unpicking of the sub-culture of Tiger Bay
Williams, John   Five Pubs, Two Bars and a Nightclub (1999) Williams moves seamlessly from true-crime writing to fiction in this fine collection of short stories set in Butetown
Williams, John   Cardiff Dead (2000) The beat of the Docks streets, petty crime and ska are conflated in Williams' first fully formed Cardiff novel. A book about identity - personal, cultural and geographical
Williams, John   The Prince of Wales (2003) Williams completes his Butetown-trilogy. Lowlife hustling set against the backdrop of a city in rapid metamorphosis
Williams, John   Temperance Town (2004) Williams's latest Cardiff offering consists of some short stories and a noir novella about a fucked-up copper. Value for money, as ever
Williams, Margaret Lindsay Artist The Devil's Daughter (1917) Essentially a conservative RA artist, Williams painted this weird allegorical piece as a condemnation of materialism
Williams, Raymond Writer Culture and Society 1780-1950 (1958) A masterpiece of Marxist literary theory. Williams examines literature within its wider economic and social framework. Had Williams been French he'd now be as revered as John Paul Sartre
Williams, Rhys Actor The Spiral Staircase (1945) Fine supporting role from character actor Williams as Mr Oates the pervy stalking groundsman. Scary thriller directed by Robert Siodmak
Williams, Rhys   The Crooked Way (1949) As Lieutenant Joe Williams in this classy film noir Williams put in his finest cinematic performance
Williams, Roger Playwright Gulp (1997) Drama of love and loss set amidst Cardiff's vibrant gay community. There's a Bonnie Tyler impersonator involved too. Camp theatrical hit
Williams-Ellis, Clough Architect Portmeirion (1925-75) Exhibition architecture at its most fantastic. The perfect backdrop for cult TV show The Prisoner
Wooff, Erica Writer Mud Puppy (2002) Newport lesbian co-discovers a giant salamander (dragon) in the mud of the river Usk. Magical Realism Gwent-style
Wright, Frank Lloyd Architect Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin (1911) As the name suggests Wright never forgot his Welsh roots. This prairie house HQ is a perfect example of his organic architecture
Wright, Frank Lloyd   Imperial Hotel, Tokyo (1915-22) Although it managed to withstand the Tokyo earthquake of 1923, Wright's lost masterpiece was demolished in 1967
Young Marble Giants Band Colossal Youth (1980) Seminal post-punk album and one of Kurt Cobain's favourite records. Credit in the Straight World was also covered by Hole on Live Through This
Zeta-Jones, Catherine Actress Traffic (2000) Preggers she may have been but Zeta-Jones did a fine job as a drug baron's Mrs in Soderbergh's ultra cool docu-drama. All done in a Transatlantic Swansea accent too

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