WELSH singer Iris Williams came back to her roots this week with a joint concert with one of Wales’ best-loved male voice choirs.

The first half opened with Treorchy Male Choir taking to the stage dressed smartly in their black suits and shirts and singing very well rehearsed favourites, with the choir member compering their show quickly achieving a great rapport with the audience with some witty lines.

Iris Williams appeared on stage dressed in a sparkly blue dress, joking: “I was looking for the ladies’ bathroom and thought it might be this way! While I’m here, I think I’ll sing a song with the boys.”

Just a few lines into the number, it was evident that her beautiful rich voice is still in very impressive shape. The choir then finished the hour-long first half with some favourites from West End musical Les Miserables. Overall, with the piano accompaniment and the venue’s famous organ, the sound that Treorchy produced was practically note perfect.

The second half got underway with Iris’ four piece band (piano, keyboards, double bass and drums) firing up the first song of her set. Making it look very easy, she sang a selection from her latest CD and in between numbers entertained the crowd with some funny stories and teased her MD on the piano.

When she began her most famous song “He was Beautiful” (theme from the Deerhunter film) without introducing it, the crowd instantly recognised it and burst into loud applause.

At the close, Iris received a standing ovation and her expression revealed she still truly relishes what she does.