Hogia Llandegai

Hogia Llandegai (literally “The Boys from Llandegai”, a village outside Bangor in Gwynedd, Northern Wales, home of slate-owner Lord Penrhyn’s ‘Castle’), were among the pioneers of Welsh popular singing. They began life as a Skiffle Party in the 1950s, touring Wales with their Welsh versions of country ballads and skiffle songs, complete with tea-chest, washboard and harmonica. Nev, Ron and Now, later joined by Roy, broke away from the original party as Hogia Llandegai, and began recording their own brand of entertaining country songs in the 1960s, and continued recording well into the '90s. Their basic secret of success was their stage show, a zany mix of slapstick sketches and singalong numbers, interspersed by the occasional ballad. Nev (Neville Hughes) has chronicled their colourful story in a book.