Music of Wales in the country's national sport of rugby, which in 1905 saw the first singing of a national anthem, Wales's "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", at the start of an international sporting encounter. A tradition of brass bands dating from the Victorian era continues, particularly in the South Wales Valleys, with Welsh bands such as the Cory Band being one of the most successful in the world. The 20th century saw many solo singers from Wales become not only national but international stars. Ivor Novello, who was a singer-songwriter during the First World War. Also, opera-singers such as Geraint Evans and later
Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau was embarrassingly videotaped opening and closing his mouth during a communal singing of the national anthem, clearly ignorant of the words but unable to mime convincingly; the pictures were frequently cited as evidence of his unsuitability for the post. According to John Major's autobiography, the first thing Redwood's successor William Hague said, on being appointed, was that he had better find someone to teach him the words. He found Ffion Jenkins, and later married her. The tune of "Hen Wlad fy Nhadau" has been used for the anthems of Cornwall ("Bro Goth Agan Tasow"), Brittany ("Bro Gozh ma Zadoù"), and