News about Cerys Matthews

Jake Thackray was unique; he was a Yorkshire-born chansonnier who sang songs of outcasts, boozers, lonely widows, retired brigadiers and spurned country girls. His beautiful and often hilarious songs have not only been admired by Jarvis Cocker and Morrissey but also by Alex Turner, of Arctic Monkeys fame; Thea Gilmore, Cerys Matthews and Jasper Carrott. Born into a Catholic household in Leeds in 1938, Thackray attended a boarding school in North Wales and was awarded an English degree from Durham University. He then spent three years teaching in France and Algeria. There he discovered the work of Georges Brassens, a celebrated French chansonnier. This tradition dates back to the medieval jongleurs, producing songs that were sometimes bawdy, other times tender or nostalgic, and always irreverent. On his return to England, Thackray taught in Leeds, where he became a fine guitarist, using his skills to calm unruly pupils.

EXCLUSIVE: The offending clip about the BBC DJ (left) features an actor as the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas saying: 'Lots of lovely lush lilting alliteration and similes that go up and down quicker than Cerys Matthews' knickers in a Met Bar (right) lavatory.' It comes from a 2001 game show about language, Say The Word, and was recently uploaded to BBC Sounds after being broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. It purports to be Thomas speaking about a forthcoming literary project. The BBC was unaware of it until alerted by The Mail on Sunday on Friday.

Around 2,000 people were questioned, with The Hatters receiving 12 percent of the votes followed closely by Liverpool and Manchester United. Cerys Matthews, a Welsh musician, and ITV host Nick Owen are among the famous Luton fans. According to The Sun's poll, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, and West Ham United supporters were among the least sexy, as well as Sheffield supporters.