Public Service Broadcasting - Friday, October 13 at the Great Hall, Cardiff

A FEW months after launching their third album Every Valley at the Ebbw Vale Institute, Public Service Broadcasting returned to south Wales to kick off their UK tour to a sold-out Great Hall in Cardiff.

Recorded in the Blaenau Gwent town, it centres on the history of coal mining, notably its rise and subsequent demise in south Wales.

With the subject matter so intrinsically linked to the surrounding area, the videos that support the music did not just illuminate the room but stirred an array of emotions from the audience.

There were boos for the images of the police during All Out, which covers the strikes during the 80s while elongated cheers for exploration of the political awakening of Welsh women in They Gave Me A Lamp.

The best was saved for last.

The evening was fittingly rounded off by the Beaufort Male Voice Choir, who make an appearance on the album for the poignant closing track Take Me Home.

Leaving the stage to rapturous applause, the crowd implored the choir to carry on but instead, it was the audience who burst into song by belting out Land Of My Fathers amid shouts of “Wales Wales Wales”.

Diverse, thought-provoking and entertaining, the south London trio are welcome to revisit south Wales whenever they wish.

Steven Prince