
Iris Williams dead: Welsh singer who performed in front of queen and had BBC show dies aged 79 as tributes flood in
STAR LOST Iris Williams dead: Welsh singer who performed in front of queen and had BBC show dies aged 79 as tributes flood in
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A RENOWNED Welsh singer who performed for Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Albert Hall has passed away.
Iris Williams was born 1946 in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, she tragically passed away today, July 11.
Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter
Sign up
2
Iris was awarded an OBE for her contributions to music
Credit: AFP
The world famous Welsh singer performed for US president Gerald Ford on several occasions.
Williams was raised in a children's home and with a foster family in Tonyrefai, she was the daughter of an American GI.
Her biggest hits include a Welsh-language version of Amazing Grace.
She appeared on the BBC's hit Welsh pop music programme Disc a Dawn and went on to have her own BBC TV show.
Williams was honoured with an OBE for her contributions to music and sang at the opening of the National Assembly of Wales in 1999.
Williams' brother Ashley told the BBC: "I never met her until we were adults and it was wonderful to meet up with her," he said.
"In my opinion she was one of Wales most underrated singers. She had a tremendous career, it was very hard for her growing up.
"When she came back to Wales she used to come to the house a lot. I always used to say 'where do you want to go?' and she'd always say Tonyrefail.
"She loved the valleys, she had so much support from people in the valleys."
In a post on social media, The St David's Society of the State of New York said Williams had "joined the heavenly chorus where her joyful singing will surely bring those joys beyond measure which we have been honoured to share."
"New York held a special place in her life and it was here that she gave birth to her only child Blake."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South Wales Guardian
3 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Oti Mabuse ‘delighted' as she receives Freedom of the City of London
The 34-year-old South African has been recognised for her 'significant achievements in contemporary dance and her charitable work'. She has had a successful dancing career, winning the South African Latin American championships eight times and is one of the most successful professionals to have appeared on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, having won the show two years in a row. To be following in the footsteps of legends of the arts and entertainment industry, including Sir Matthew Bourne, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Giles Terera, and Strictly's very own Len Goodman, feels quite remarkable Mabuse, who attended a ceremony at Guildhall with family and friends on Wednesday, said: 'I am delighted to have received the Freedom of the City of London for my dance and charitable work, and I am very grateful to Chris Hayward and Keith Bottomley for nominating me. 'To be following in the footsteps of legends of the arts and entertainment industry, including Sir Matthew Bourne, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Giles Terera, and Strictly's very own Len Goodman, feels quite remarkable.' Mr Hayward is the policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, while Mr Bottomley is the sheriff-elect of the City of London. Former Strictly head judge Goodman died in 2023 aged 78. Mabuse won Strictly in 2019 and 2020 and has also appeared on The Greatest Dancer as a dance captain and as a judge on ITV's Dancing on Ice. Mr Hayward said: 'Having won a clutch of dance titles during her career and a place in our hearts, mostly, down to her appearances on the hugely popular 'Strictly', I am sure that Oti's Freedom will be welcomed warmly by her many admirers. 'Away from the dance world, her work with Unicef to raise awareness of the support needed by premature babies and their mothers, is highly commendable, and I am very happy to join my colleague, Keith Bottomley, in nominating Oti for the Freedom.' Mr Bottomley said: 'As well as impressing us on the dance floor, Oti Mabuse's charitable work with women and young people in communities across London, and overseas with Unicef, deserves our admiration and respect. 'It has been a pleasure to nominate Oti to be admitted into the Freedom, and I am sure that she will have very happy memories of today for many years to come.' The tradition of the freedom of the city is believed to date back to 1237. Past recipients include comedian, actor and writer Sir Lenny Henry and Lady Mary Peters, who won an Olympic gold medal in the athletics pentathlon in 1972, as well as Sir Chris Hoy and his wife, Lady Sarra Hoy.


South Wales Guardian
3 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
FKA Twigs agrees to settle lawsuit alleging abuse from Shia LaBeouf
A lawyer for FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, filed a request in Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss her case against the 39-year-old American actor with prejudice, meaning it can't be filed again. A joint statement said: 'Committed to forging a constructive path forward, we have agreed to settle our case out of court. While the details of the settlement will remain private, we wish each other personal happiness, professional success and peace in the future.' First filed in 2020, the case had several trial dates scheduled in the years since, but those were always delayed well in advance. The two met and became a couple in 2018 after 37-year-old English singer and actor Barnett was cast in a supporting role in Honey Boy, an autobiographical film about LaBeouf's upbringing as a child actor. After an early 'charm offensive' from LaBeouf, the relationship became a 'living nightmare', her lawsuit said. She said LaBeouf put her in a constant state of fear and humiliation, once slammed her into a car, tried to strangle her and knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease. She said he also isolated her from family and friends, demanded absolute fealty and was angrily jealous of everyone from waiters she'd been polite with to her ex-fiance Robert Pattinson. She said that her experience was part of a pattern for LaBeouf. 'Shia LaBeouf hurts women,' the suit said. 'He uses them. He abuses them, both physically and mentally. He is dangerous.' LaBeouf said in a statement just after the lawsuit was filed that he had been 'abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I'm ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt'. But he denied the accusations in the lawsuit in a 2021 filing, saying any injuries done or damages incurred by Barnett were not his doing. LaBeouf is best known for his roles in 2007′s Transformers and in 2008′s Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. He also starred in the 2019 film The Peanut Butter Falcon and in last year's Megalopolis. Known for her genre-bending musical styles, FKA Twigs worked as a backup dancer for other artists before releasing her studio debut, LP1, in 2014. She followed it with 2019's Magdalene and Eusexua from earlier this year. As an actor, she appeared in 2024's The Crow.


Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Powys County Times
FKA Twigs agrees to settle lawsuit alleging abuse from Shia LaBeouf
FKA Twigs and Shia LaBeouf have agreed to settle her lawsuit alleging LaBeouf was physically and emotionally abusive to her during their relationship. A lawyer for FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, filed a request in Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss her case against the 39-year-old American actor with prejudice, meaning it can't be filed again. A joint statement said: 'Committed to forging a constructive path forward, we have agreed to settle our case out of court. While the details of the settlement will remain private, we wish each other personal happiness, professional success and peace in the future.' First filed in 2020, the case had several trial dates scheduled in the years since, but those were always delayed well in advance. The two met and became a couple in 2018 after 37-year-old English singer and actor Barnett was cast in a supporting role in Honey Boy, an autobiographical film about LaBeouf's upbringing as a child actor. After an early 'charm offensive' from LaBeouf, the relationship became a 'living nightmare', her lawsuit said. She said LaBeouf put her in a constant state of fear and humiliation, once slammed her into a car, tried to strangle her and knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease. She said he also isolated her from family and friends, demanded absolute fealty and was angrily jealous of everyone from waiters she'd been polite with to her ex-fiance Robert Pattinson. She said that her experience was part of a pattern for LaBeouf. 'Shia LaBeouf hurts women,' the suit said. 'He uses them. He abuses them, both physically and mentally. He is dangerous.' LaBeouf said in a statement just after the lawsuit was filed that he had been 'abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I'm ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt'. But he denied the accusations in the lawsuit in a 2021 filing, saying any injuries done or damages incurred by Barnett were not his doing. LaBeouf is best known for his roles in 2007′s Transformers and in 2008′s Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. He also starred in the 2019 film The Peanut Butter Falcon and in last year's Megalopolis. Known for her genre-bending musical styles, FKA Twigs worked as a backup dancer for other artists before releasing her studio debut, LP1, in 2014. She followed it with 2019's Magdalene and Eusexua from earlier this year. As an actor, she appeared in 2024's The Crow.