Super Furry Animals – International Language of Screaming.

International Language of Screaming was the lead single from The Super Furry Animals’ second album Radiator (originally titled Short Assed Skinhead Copper). It was my favourite single of 1997. Not everyone felt that way at the time. The single was not playlisted by Radio 1 and only reached number 24 in the charts. I must have been out of step with the times in my love of a great pop melody, rocking guitars and psychedelic bleeps.

Although SFA have had a long and successful career they never seem to have achieved quite the level of popularity they deserve. But they’re not a band that does things the easy way. Singing songs in Welsh is never going to get you on the cover of Heat magazine - although exactly which are sung in Welch and which in English is often hard to distinguish. After seeing them live for the first time Creation records boss Alan McGhee asked the band if they had any songs in English – the entire set that night had been in English.

1997 was an eventful year for the band. They released their second album to great critical acclaim, played the NME Brats Tour and sold their tank to Don Henley of The Eagles. But highlight of the year for them has to have been, Super Furry Bassist, Guto Price’s triumphant performance on Mark and Lard’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show. He scored four points during the quiz ‘We Love Us’ and walked away with a brand new luxury foot spa.

Given the strange nature of the band it’s sometimes hard to tell fact from fiction with SFA stories. Decide for yourself which of these are true: they appeared on GMTV in a competition to find the next Take That, they have a designated ‘hat day’ once a week, they once released an album entirely in Welsh.


Super Furry Animals – International Language of Screaming.

Buy Radiator.