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Neil Collins is a writer born and bred in Cardiff. A former journalist for WalesOnline, he has also been featured in newspapers in Bristol, Newcastle, and Liverpool as well as websites including Louder Than War, Nation Cymru, This is Anfield, The Liverpool Way, Buzz, Wales Arts Review, Alternative Wales, Chortle, and the British Comedy Guide. He is the author of Make Us Dream and Red Mist.
""A new book has launched today, 25 years since the peak of 'Cool Cymru', providing an in-depth exploration of one of the most fertile and exciting periods in the Welsh music scene.""-- ""Nation.Cymru"" ""A fascinating book that documents a magical time. This is one for those that were there, wearing the t-shirts, in the gigs, singing along, and an important record of why this period was so exciting for music coming from Wales.""-- ""Huw Stephens, BBC Radio Wales / BBC Radio 6 Music"" ""A sonic A470. Joining the dots in this pulsating cynefin. Meticulously researched and artfully executed. Reminds us where the beat came from. We forget what a dizzying plethora of voices we have in this tiny massive country at our peril. A Cymru Lipstick Traces.""-- ""Patrick Jones, writer"" ""I was sceptical International Velvet would be a light read about the usual suspects riding on the Cool Cymru south Wales coach to London. I was wrong. This is a comprehensive deep dive into Welsh music, the unsung heroes, the history and politics of the time. This really is an excellent book.""-- ""Helen Love"" ""If you grew up in Wales in the '70s, rocked Bogiez nightclub in the '80s, fell apart in the '90s, then got back together in the noughties, then Neil Collins' International Velvet will take you on a wonderful romantic trip through your musical past. A fab read!""-- ""Jay Pepper, Tigertailz"" ""Neil perfectly captures an important time in the history of Welsh music. Written with intelligence, clarity and great insight, it cast me back to those exciting, heady times.""-- ""Andrea Adams, Melys"" ""Neil Collins has nailed it. This is the history of a revolution that went right.""-- ""Huw Williams, The Pooh Sticks / Swansea Sound"" ""International Velvet looks beyond the Cool Cymru clichés and puts the music, excesses, successes and failures in context.""-- ""Paul Jones, Y Cyrff / Catatonia"" ""To re-engage with the 1990s Welsh music scene via Neil Collins' excellent International Velvet book has been a joy. It was such a formative time of my life and career due to having the privilege of recording with many incredible artists. 'However, it was the friendships, the sense of camaraderie, the late night discussions in Clwb Ifor Bach, or wandering home to Canton after experiencing another great new artist inspired by the Welsh musicians around them that brings back the most inspiring memories of that era.""-- ""Greg Haver, producer and musician""
