Music was always part of Alun's life. When I was a kid I used to love playing his records and I'm sure his taste in music greatly influenced mine. It was such a blow when he took all his records with him after getting married and moved out! 

Whenever I think of Alun, music is usually part of the picture, not just with the bands, rehearsing in our front room or a neighbour's garage, but also just quietly sitting at home with a guitar in hand, picking out a few tunes or bass lines   If he wasn't doing that he was tinkering with the old Bedford van or ambulance that the group used to get to bookings.

Al's first band was the Valleymen  and this is what he wrote about them in a FB post;

'Chris Williams was the founder member (of the Valleymen) playing lead guitar. He bought a guitar from Maurice White's in Newport and was playing within a few weeks, he then asked the rest of us if we wanted to be in his band. He gave up music when he joined the Evanagelist church. We carried on and became The Third Degree. I joined The Shapes Of Things in 1966 which became The Midnight City Soul Band.'

Other bands were to follow and he loved playing in all sorts of venues all over South Wales and further afield. He had a telephone put in our house in the 70's so that bookings for the band could be taken, and I thought I was very important when I was put in charge of taking callers' details when he wasn't home. When I was given a typewriter one Xmas he also started paying me 1/- for each letter that I typed up for the group. Later he would occasionally ask me to listen to records they wanted to learn and write out the lyrics, I don't remember getting paid for that but it was very cool having a brother in a group so was happy to oblige. 

Al had such detailed memories of playing at different venues and whenever places were mentioned in conversation, he usually had a tale to tell of something funny that had happened when the band was playing there. He was also a mine of information about the music world and I will miss his stories and chats about different bands and musicians.

Al also liked going to see other bands performing and it was only at the beginning of April he said he wished he could go to see a band, and I said that as soon as everything was back to normal we'd go again never thinking for a minute that it wouldn't happen. 

Love you lots Al.

We are broken hearted that we've lost you but you have left us with a lot of memories which, in time, will make us smile again.