He rose to fame in the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in a South Wales mining community.
[2] In his early twenties, he managed to find alternative work in the Metal Box factory, Melin, Neath, as an electrician's apprentice, but his earlier mining experiences were to influence his music considerably in later years.
"[1] Nevertheless, in time he became competent enough to perform at local eisteddfodau, one of the earliest known recordings of his work being "O Na Le", a folk tune in Welsh which he played at the Dyffryn Lliw eisteddfod in 1967.
The record sleeve of this album includes the following prediction: It may well be that future years will find "Hymns and Arias" rolling a thunderous chorus across the terraced rugby grounds.
EMI offered Boyce a two-album contract, and arrangements were made to make a live recording of his upcoming concert at Treorchy Rugby Club.
His songs and poems were real-time reflections on this unfolding history, often invoking the names of Welsh rugby greats such as Barry John, Gareth Edwards and Dai Morris.
When Swansea City were promoted to the English Premier League in 2011, Boyce was asked to perform for their first game and produced a special version of "Hymns and Arias" for the occasion.
[11] He had gone to watch Glynneath RFC play against Hawick Trades, and was surprised by the host of This Is Your Life, Eamonn Andrews, at the end of the match, whilst he was being interviewed.
In the following year, Boyce took part in the World elephant polo Championships near Kathmandu, Nepal, with an all-star team sponsored by the jewellers and watchmakers Cartier.
His team, consisting of Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, Billy Connolly and Cartier chairman Alain Perrin, only managed to score a single goal during the tournament.
[14] These made-for-television adventures in America and Nepal, as well as many other anecdotes of his worldwide touring in the late 1970s and early 1980s, became the focus of an autobiography, Max Boyce in the Mad Pursuit of Applause, first published in 1987.
[17] On 29 May 2006, Max Boyce headlined at a concert in Pontypridd to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh national anthem, "Hen Wlad fy Nhadau".
[19] Boyce returned to Treorchy in early 2011 to perform a show at the Parc and Dare Theatre, shown on St David's Day on BBC1 Wales.
Sir Geraint Evans possessed considerable talent for comedy and made us laugh in the roles of Falstaff and Leporello, but his career depended every move on his voice.