Last updated: 18 November 2008
Born into a musical family, Mal Pope has become a well-respected singer-songwriter.
Fittingly, the church became a formative musical influence for Mal. On Sundays in the Gospel Hall in Manselton, Swansea, musical instruments were not allowed to be played on Sunday mornings. Instead, everyone sang, not in unison but in harmony. In seemed quite natural for a lad brought up in that environment to pick a note and join in.
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´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Wales, The Dragon's Breath
Inspired by his eldest brother David, who owned an acoustic guitar and a record collection featuring Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel and Donovan, Mal began learning to play and write songs in the late 1960s. He was encouraged to write and perform his music at school, and was eventually persuaded to send a tape to John Peel at Radio 1.
A fortnight later he received an invite to record a session for Peel's show in London. Mal was just 12 years old. The session was a success, and as a result Mal signed to Elton John's newly formed Rocket label.
For the next six years Mal spent most of his school holidays going to London to record. At the first session a telegram was waiting from Elton wishing Mal all the best. Elton at the time was touring the USA but after 48 cities coast to coast he drove straight from the airport to meet Mal and his father at the Rocket offices.
Mal's early sessions were produced by David Costa and a debut single, I Don't Know How To Say Goodbye, reached the lower reaches of the charts. It was followed by singles When You're Away and If I Wasn't There.
Mal parted company with Rocket after signing to Harvey Goldsmith's new management company AMP. By this time he was studying land economy at Christ's College Cambridge. After leaving university Mal moved to London and started writing songs with Andy Piercy, the lead singer of another AMP band, After The Fire. They wrote and recorded an album, though it never saw light of day.
Disillusioned, Mal found a job at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Wales as a researcher, and later became a producer and worked in television. He signed a new record deal with legendary 1960s producer and manager Larry Page, and over the next five years reached the final of the British Song for Europe, produced Aled Jones, and sang title tracks to the cartoons Fireman Sam and Superted. During this time he also set up a studio, The King's Palace, with Bonnie Tyler's guitarist Peter King.
An Easter special for HTV resulted in a CD, Love Will Find A Way, being released on Mal's own record label MPH records. The show led to a series, The Mal Pope Show, which featured guests including John Cale, Paul Young, Cliff Richard and The Bee Gees.
The HTV show won numerous awards and brought Mal together with fellow Welsh singer-songwriter Martyn Joseph. Friends for some years, they began collaborating, on their respective solo works and on a collaboration with the working title Joseph And The Pope.
A musical, Copper Kingdom, commissioned to celebrate Swansea hosting the 1995 Year of Literature and Writing Festival led to an album of the same name being released with the single Cover Me being playlisted on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 2.
A three-month European tour supporting Art Garfunkel in 1997 saw Mal building up a loyal fan base over three months, writing and performing new songs almost daily and making invaluable contacts.
The tour led to a new TV series in America, and a new album, Reunion Of The Heart, released in September 1998. It came soon after City Of Gold, a project Mal had contributed lead vocals to which caused waves throughout the gospel music world.
In 1999 Mal recorded a new album, Land Of My Children, which featured new versions of the Welsh hymns Mal had grown up listening to. A single, Bread Of Heaven, was released in September to coincide with the Rugby World Cup. Since then, no rugby party has been complete without everybody joining in the chorus.
A new single, Golden Days, was released in March 2000. It featured Elton John on backing vocals. In July a new acoustic album was released. Mumbles To Memphis was inspired by a trip Mal made to the Deep South for a television programme about the roots of Black Gospel Music. It was followed in 2001 by a new album, The Ring, which featured duets with Bonnie Tyler and Martyn Joseph.
Soon after he wrote two musicals, Amazing Grace and Contender, the latter based on the life of boxer Tommy Farr.
