Venue Closure - The Vic, Menai Bridge

For forty-three years, The Victoria Hotel in Menai Bridge—affectionately known as The Vic—stood as a reliable cornerstone of our diverse music scene, finally closing its doors under independent ownership on November 21, 2021. Managed by sisters Anne Smeaton, Kate Elias, and Nicky Campbell, the venue was celebrated not just as a local pub, but as a prestigious stop for touring musicians in the jazz, folk, blues, and independent rock genres. It gained a reputation as a "musician’s venue," where world-class players were drawn to the intimate atmosphere of the function room and the genuine hospitality of the family who ran it.

The venue’s musical legacy was vast and varied. It served as a primary hub for the North Wales Jazz society, hosting acclaimed acts like the Tom Thorp Quartet, tenor saxophonist Dean Masser, and local jazz luminary Neil Yates. Its acoustic and roots programming was equally legendary, featuring performances by folk icons such as John Renbourn & Wizz Jones, the award-winning Canadian artist Stephen Fearing, and the high-energy blues duo Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson. On the louder side of the spectrum, The Vic embraced the underground, providing a stage for Bangor-based krautrock pioneers Ectogram, the heavy distortions of The Bent Moustache, and local talent like Jack Sharp.

The sale of the hotel to the national chain Greene King in 2021 marked the end of an era for the town's independent spirit. While the building underwent a multi-million-pound refurbishment and reopened in 2023 as part of the Chef & Brewer Collection, it is the pre-2021 version of The Vic that remains etched in the memory of the community. It was a place where international talent and local fans shared the same floor, and where the "wall of sound" from a touring band often competed with the stunning, quiet views of the Menai Strait just outside the windows.

Here's a video of Welsh Rebel Outpost - a band featuring members of Anhrefn and 4Q playing The Ruts' 'Staring At The Rude Boys' with punk poet Attila The Stockbroker. At The Vic in 2016.

Gaz Tops swims across Wales

Gareth Jones, the presenter widely known as Gaz Top, celebrated his 60th birthday by becoming the first person to swim the entire length of Wales from south to north. This monumental 60km challenge, which took three weeks to complete, was documented for the S4C series Gareth Jones: Nofio Adre. 

Starting on August 17th, the journey began in the Bristol Channel off the coast of Porthcawl, where he was dropped 1km out and had to body-surf back to shore through two-meter waves. Throughout the trek, Jones navigated a diverse range of waterways, including the rivers Teifi and Conwy, and major reservoirs like those in the Elan Valley and Llyn Brenig. His swim across the lakes of Wales was particularly comprehensive, featuring Llyn Padarn, Llyn Mwyngil, Llyn Gwynant, Llyn Mymbyr, Llyn Eigiau, and Llyn Trawsfynydd. 

A highlight of the expedition was his crossing of Llyn Tegid, the largest natural lake in Wales, which held deep personal significance because his father had nearly drowned there decades earlier. He also reached the literal peak of his journey by swimming in Llyn Llyffant, Wales's highest lake. The swim concluded at the Liverpool Arms on Conwy harbour, where he finished the final leg by swimming down the River Conwy.

To support this feat, nutrition and sports science experts from Bangor University monitored his physiological health, advising him to consume a massive 5,000 calories per day to fuel his efforts and combat the energy-sapping effects of cold water. Despite facing significant physical hurdles, including a severe bout of stomach cramps and food poisoning on the second and third days near Llanelli, Jones completed the distance to highlight the natural beauty and environmental challenges of the Welsh landscape.

This video provides a first-hand look at Gareth's preparation and the extreme water temperatures he faced during his cross-Wales swim.

GIG REVIEW – Burning Flag, All Consumed, Maines @ The Live Rooms, Chester

When you’ve been sitting at the proverbial Gig Bus Stop waiting for over a year, waiting impatiently to be taken on a tragical blistery tour, suddenly two turn up… Second outing to witness the phenomenon of live [original] music in as many days…

Tonight they’re in the flesh, alive and spitting and threatening to finish off my one good ear for good… Bring it on…

Long time link2wales reviewer Mark Watson-Jones is today celebrating the fact he has inexplicably made it to 50 years. Considering he keeps his liver in a jar of Absinthe, making it this far is none short of a miracle. Although still serving time for being an emissary of syn Mark’s band took the night off and allowed three great bands to don their guitars and wish him many happy returns.

Maines as ever, (once you’ve coaxed them into appearing) never fail to deliver, and this is the first opportunity to experience their wall of bliss in almost two years. Pulling from their two EPs with songs [well; compositions] like, My Cull Cain, the excellent Malkovich, finishing with Whales, it’s the intricacy of those compositions that leave your mouth agape and your mind mesmerised. The ebb and flow of their sound can be a trickle and it can be a tidal wave. I grabbed a Maines mug too…

All Consumed are a godless bunch from Preston, but don’t hold that against them (their location). More core than grind, their set was toe-tappingly, head-bangingly, back-stabbingly to the point. All Consumed will iterate that there is no world order and their suicidal tendencies will have you clamouring to join this shapeless existence. They blasted through ten, maybe eleven punches to the head in no time at all, and the diverse line-up made for an excellent evening of noise pollution.

The Rage is a contagion that spored in Halifax and has spread through the punk fraternity in the form of Burning Flag. Their eagerly awaited third album in its vinyl form has been subject to the usual delays of world pandemics, Tory Brexits, Suez Canal boating disasters and (worst of all) Record Store Day.

‘Matador’ (and tonight’s gig) brings with it the debut of Holly on screaming vocal duty. She / we have waited eighteen months for this, since her onscreen live appearance when bands took to streaming their material live on Facebook (it was almost a glimpse into a sterile could-be world where we watched our favourite noise merchants from the boring safety of our homes). Like the new album, Burning Flag opened with Thrown Out and bar a couple of tracks ‘Matador’ was unleashed upon our very souls. Toxic by design, they know what they’re doing [play no nonsense punk rock] and they certainly know how to do it… Check their gig schedule, they’re coming in thick n fast…

Burning Flag bandcamp.

[pics 2, 3 and 4 by lorraine peaker]

Various Artists - Keeping it Rhyl

When Keeping It Rhyl – Punk-Plan appeared in the summer of 2021, it looked at first glance like a straightforward local compilation — another DIY record gathering North Wales bands under the Link2Wales banner. But behind the vinyl sleeve lay something far more ambitious: a speculative vision of Rhyl’s cultural future, built from sound, imagination, and community grit.

The compilation was conceived and produced by Jimmy Loizeau and Matt Ward of Goldsmiths, University of London, in collaboration with myself (Neil Crud). Together we built the album as part of a larger speculative design project after I asked: what if Rhyl, a struggling seaside town, built the world’s longest pier — one that housed a University of Music and Media?

From that question grew an imaginary urban plan — “The Punk-Plan” — and the record that gave it shape. Keeping It Rhyl became not just a collection of songs, but a “material manifestation of a possible future”, as one academic description put it. The album captures the sound of a community that’s endured decades of cultural ebb and flow — a sonic map of resilience.

Released digitally and on vinyl through Link2Wales on 14 June 2021, Keeping It Rhyl – Punk-Plan features 12 tracks (13 digitally) from artists connected to Rhyl and the wider North Wales underground. The tracks were “generously donated” by musicians who have long been part of the area’s independent scene — one that Link2Wales has chronicled and championed since 1999.

One news article reads:
Unlike many conceptual art projects, Keeping It Rhyl was released into the wild with the same energy as a punk record — available on Bandcamp, promoted across DIY channels, and embraced by the scene it came from. Reviews have been limited but appreciative. The Link2Wales site itself described it as a “collaborative compilation” uniting music and imagination, while a Reddit post in r/punk introduced it simply and proudly: “Link2Wales Records is proud to be part of the collaborative compilation album Keeping It Rhyl.”

For those who know the town, or who’ve ever felt the tug of a small scene refusing to fade, Keeping It Rhyl – Punk-Plan is more than a compilation. It’s a declaration: that even at the edge of the map, the beat goes on.

KEEPING IT RHYL Punk-Plan

Corona Logic albums

CORONA LOGIC: A LOCKDOWN TRIBUTE TO SUPER FURRY ANIMALS IN AID OF LLAMAU!

These albums were recorded entirely in lockdown by Welsh or Welsh based musicians at home using whatever means were available to them, creating a rich tapestry of sound paying tribute to the genius music of Super Furry Animals.

It’s completely free to stream and download, but we strongly encourage you, if you have the means, to donate to Llamau:

“Our mission is to eradicate homelessness for young people and vulnerable women. For thousands of the most vulnerable people in Wales, homelessness is a frightening reality. End homelessness and change futures”

Please donate here referencing ’SFA’:
www.llamau.org.uk

Pete Fowler, the Super Furries legendary sleeve artist has also created beautiful bespoke artwork for the project combining many elements of his iconic sleeve designs.

We hope you enjoy the music and please do donate if you can!
SFA OK!