Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (ˈɡrɨ̞fɨ̞ð maˈrɛdɨ̞ð ˈbowɛn ˈr̥ɨːs; born 18 July 1970 in Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales and serves as the County's principal commercial and administrative centre. Haverfordwest is the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,367 in 2001; though its community boundaries make it the second most populous...

) is a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals

Super Furry Animals

Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...

 who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon

Neon Neon

Neon Neon is a collaborative project from producer Boom Bip and Gruff Rhys, the frontman for the Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals. They began work on the project in October 2006 originally under the moniker Delorean...

 with Boom Bip

Boom Bip

Bryan Charles Hollon, better known as Boom Bip, is an American producer and musician. His music is mostly instrumental, but over the course of his career he has collaborated with several vocalists. He is currently signed to Lex Records, which, until 2005, was a division of Warp Records in the...

. Their album Stainless Style

Stainless Style

Stainless Style is the debut album from Neon Neon—a project from Super Furry Animals front man Gruff Rhys and electronic artist Boom Bip—which was released in March 2008 via Lex Records. The album was streamed in its entirety on the band's Myspace page for one week before its physical release...

 was nominated for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize

Mercury Prize

The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...

. He won the 2011 Welsh Music Prize for his album Hotel Shampoo

Hotel Shampoo

Hotel Shampoo is the third solo album by Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys, released on 14 February 2011. The title of the record is a reference to Gruff’s habit of hoarding mini shampoo bottles and other complimentary hotel products whilst on tour, and the miniature hotel he built from them...

.

He was educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen

Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen

Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen is a school situated in Bethesda in the Ogwen Valley, with around 400 pupils. Some of the buildings date from 1895 when a grammar school was established here, but the present comprehensive school dates from 1951.-Notable former pupils:...

, Bethesda

Bethesda, Wales

Bethesda is a town lying on the River Ogwen and the A5 road on the edge of Snowdonia, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, colloquially called Pesda by the locals.- History :...

, Gwynedd

Gwynedd

Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...

, North Wales

North Wales

North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

 and was awarded a degree in art at Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...

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After playing drums for the band Emily, Gruff Rhys found fame in Wales as the front man of Ffa Coffi Pawb.