Farmer John trails his new song
A singing sheep farmer whose quirky songs have earned him a legion of online fans is going viral with a new hit about his favourite trailer.
John Hughes has received 11,000 views of his latest music video in which he croons about the wonders of Ifor Williams Trailers alongside his loyal sheep dog Poppy.
The 61-year-old guitar player, known as the Singing Farmer, now earns most of his income from performing at private gigs across Powys while continuing to tend to his 140-strong flock of Chamois sheep and Limousin cattle at his farm in Meifod, near Welshpool.
He racked up thousands of hits on his Facebook page with daily video posts throughout the pandemic of songs about life on the farm.
The grandad-of-two, who returned to his first love of music 10 years ago when his old school band Storm reformed for his 50th birthday party, acquired his Ifor Williams livestock trailer from a fellow farmer 15 years ago in exchange for cattle – and admits life just wouldn’t be the same without it.
“Farmers can turn their hands to most things, like welding, plumbing, electrics – why not singing?” said the dad-of-four, who is married to wife Jayne.
“As soon as lockdown happened, I started doing a song a day. We put them on Facebook, just me and my dog – well, you try to get the dog involved but she wasn’t really cooperative.
“Quite often I find myself sitting in a queue of Ifor Williams trailers, on the way to market, and singing songs to myself. That’s when I had the idea – and people are always telling me to sing about what I know."
“Pre-lockdown I sang in an Irish pub in Llandudno for St Patrick’s Day. I was doing weddings, funerals, christenings, parties and quite often I’d go into a care home for the afternoon.
“I was singing in a home in Shrewsbury one day. There was a lady in a cot bed with her carer beside her. The carer was crying her eyes out and I was wondering why. I went over to ask her if everything was ok and she explained this lady had been in the home for five years and had never spoken to anybody but she had sung every single song with me. It was enough to make me cry! Music is a way of reaching out and connecting with people.”
Ifor Williams Trailers spokesperson Rob Small applauded John’s originality and passion.
“We’re used to customers singing our praises but John has taken it quite literally!” he said.
“Amid the doom and gloom of a pandemic, John’s song was like a ray of sunshine and has lifted the spirits of all who have watched it.
“We have distributors from all over the world who have been loving listening to John's song and have been sharing and commenting on his video.
“We are thrilled to be the subject of his latest hit and wish him all the best in his singing career.”
To listen to the song go to https://www.facebook.com/Ifor-Williams-Trailers-Ltd-Corwen-Sales-Centre-113274070470226/
