Mal Pope

Mal (Maldwyn) Pope (born 18 May 1960), is a Welsh musician and composer, who is especially notable for his contribution to music theatre portraying Welsh national identities and themes. He resides at the village of Mumbles, Swansea.

Early life and career

Pope was born to devoutly religious parents, both teachers and members of the Open (Plymouth) Brethren in the Brynhyfryd area of Swansea. In childhood he is said to have demonstrated unusual talent as a singer and songwriter.

In the early 1970s, a tape of Pope's songs was sent by his brother to BBC Radio 1 presenter John Peel, who invited Pope to perform at the BBC. The session resulted in a recording contract with Elton John's recording company Rocket Records. He performed while also studying at Christ's College, Cambridge, from which he graduated in 1981. On leaving Cambridge, Pope resided in London, under the management of rock promoter Harvey Goldsmith.

In 1982, Pope returned to Wales, working for BBC Radio Wales in Cardiff. Combining the activities of singer, songwriter and broadcaster, he was managed by Larry Page, wrote songs for Cliff Richard and The Hollies, duetted with Bonnie Tyler and Aled Jones, and toured with Art Garfunkel and Belinda Carlisle.

Radio and television

Pope presented a Radio 4 series on black gospel music called Gospel Train. His HTV series Heaven's Sound on the same subject, won an award at the New York Film and Television Awards in 2001.

In the 1990s, a late-night music chat show for HTV, The Mal Pope Show, won a number of Welsh BAFTA Awards. The show featured interviews with personalities John Cale, The Bee Gees, George Melly, David Gray, Lloyd Cole, Evelyn Glennie and Neil Kinnock. He sang the theme songs of the Welsh children's television shows Fireman Sam (1987) and Joshua Jones (1991).

He is married to Hilary Pope, a teacher at a local school, Grange Primary School.

Choral and music-theatre career

He was the President of the Welsh male voice choir Gwalia Singers between 2005 and 2010. He and his daughter, Miss Daisy Blue, performed at the choir's 40th anniversary concert in 2006, together with The Storys and the Vivace Singers.

His 2005 musical Amazing Grace, based on the 1904 Welsh Revival, and directed by Laurence Olivier Award winner Michael Bogdanov, received acclaim in performances at the Swansea Grand Theatre, the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre, at the Sherman Theatre, and at Theatr Clwyd in Mold. In 2006, it was performed to standing ovations at the Wales Millennium Centre, the first original Welsh musical to be presented there.^[1]

In 2007, Pope's next musical, Contender, about the career of heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Farr, successfully exploited an even more popular Welsh national legend. In a highlight scene set during 1937, the title character sings the Welsh national anthem "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" before his third-round knockout of the Nazi German opponent Walter Neusel,^[2] for whom "Deutschland über alles" has been played. Contender premiered at the United Nations building in New York,^[3] followed by seasons at Swansea's Grand Theatre and the Aberystwyth Arts Centre. A theme of the musical is that Farr's controversial loss to Joe Louis,^[4] and disproportionate lack of success in the United States, may have resulted wholly from his refusal to co-operate with fight-fixing American mobsters and bookmakers.

A new musical, Cappuccino Girls, opened in February 2009, treats contemporary themes and relationships.

Pope was the main vocalist, along with Julie Costello, for several religious albums composed by the musician, Phil Baggaley, and his co-writer Ian Blythe. Released in 1996, the debut album City of Gold won several awards and sparked international critical acclaim, followed by a number of concerts throughout England. The success of this led Pope to become involved in several other albums and concerts including Shipwrecks and Islands, Road to the City, Strands of Gold and, most recently, The Time Project.

References

1. ^ Theatre in Wales review
2. ^ As named in Pope's Contender synopsis
3. ^ Boxing musical given UN audience BBC News, Wales, 26 Feb 2007
4. ^ A radio commentary on the fight's end is included in Pope's soundtrack of The Main Event highlighting audience belief that Farr was a clear winner.

External links

• Mal Pope website
• Pope's recording company, MPH Records
• Amazing Grace The Musical - by Mal Pope
• Contender the Musical—the story of Tommy Farr"
• Cappuccino Girls—a new musical by Mal Pope
• Mal Pope biography from BBC Wales
• Maldwyn Pope at the Internet Movie Database
• Gold Records
• The Time Project - Music and Spoken Word project in Support of Helen and Douglas House featuring Mal

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Name	Pope, Mal
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Date of birth	18 May 1960
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