A ST Dogmaels man has recorded his first CD at the age of 70 to raise funds for the RNLI.

Johnny Rees made his recording thanks to a surprise 70th birthday present from his three daughters of a recording session at Mwnci Studios, at Hebron.

“I told them not to make a fuss and that I was going to go to a concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London,” said Johnny, a former environmental engineer who first picked up a banjo 50 years ago and has always played songs for his children and grandkids.

“When I was there, I met all the kids and grandkids at a restaurant where they gave me my present. They had pre-paid for me to have the recording studio with my guitar and banjo and had mocked up a cover for the CD.

“It was a real shock and it was a bit emotional as well, as they had written notes on the CD.”

The CD is full of songs by Woody Guthrie, his friends and acolytes such as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and Leadbelly and showcases John’s unique instrumental and vocal talents.

John has laid down 20 tracks for the CD. It includes one Welsh song - Milgi Milgi - as well as the Bells of Rhymney written by Idris Davies about the iniquities of coal mining in South Wales. An original track is My Song to Woody.

The theme of protest, the downtrodden and travelling migrants runs strong throughout John’s album.

“I first heard Wood Guthrie at university back in 1964 when sharing a flat in Cardiff. I fell in love with his music from that time and it seems all the themes he raised have come full circle and are as relevant today as they were back then,” he said.

John himself grew up in a caravan in West Wales as a migrant, harassed across the Pembrokeshire Cardiganshire border and being frequently and publicly ridiculed by his Grammar School headmaster about which county he lived in this week.

“I used to get hauled up in front of 700 kids at school assembly, and even today when I go in to Tesco, people remember me being picked on,” he said.

John’s album is dedicated to his mam Dulcie who loved Oh Danny Boy and his dad Ivor who loved singing and humming Leadbelly’s Goodnight Irene.

“We’ve printed 400-plus copies and were looking to raise towards £4,000 for the RNLI in Cardigan and Poppit. I am not looking to make anything myself, every penny will go to the RNLI,” said John.

The CD is available at Awen Teifi, High Street, Cardigan; the RNLI shop at Poppit and J’s Nails salon, High Street, Cardigan.