Hello I'm Krusty Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1978 and the presenter was Roy Plumley. Our castaway this week is a great figure in the world of rugby football. It's Barry John.

Barry, where about some Wales were you born?

Well, I was born in a village called Kevinay Thine, which is between Kamarthen and Swanziriel on the May,

near 48 there.

I think we were only about 800 people in the village and it's still the same maybe a little bit more now.

It's a tiny little hamlet thing.

Yes, connected with the mining industry there.

There were two or three pits around and obviously in the valley itself, you know, it was

loaded with pits and very much a mining industry.

Your father was down the pit.

Yes, he retired, what is it, 18 months ago I think, has it and all his life.

Was Welsh your first language? Yeah, Shada a ginta yes that means yes it was Welsh first and I think

Maybe I'm not quite sure you know when you're born and bred in an environment like that where

obviously the language of the house is Welsh and yet again you mix with other children who speak

English so they come together and basically this is the same with my

children at home. Was Rugger a way of life in the family? Yes I think life revolved

around the fact that well sport as much as anything not so much

rugby I think you were a big family are a big family yes I'm one of six yeah

did you sing in the choir? No. No I didn't. It's been a very embarrassing since because when you go away

with rugby teams as we did over the years and particularly as you're Welsh people tend to think that you're a singer

...