Welsh football fans have succeeded in their campaign to get Dafydd Iwan to number one after the legendary singer inspired Wales to qualify for the World Cup. Around 33,000 fans inside Cardiff City Stadium sang along to his famous Welsh language folk song Yma O Hyd as he performed it before and after Rob Page's men's play-off final victory over Ukraine on Sunday.
Following the game, 78-year-old Dafydd was joined by Wales' stars on the pitch as they celebrated the historic achievement. Despite it pouring with rain, the electric atmosphere was impossible to dampen, with fans treated to a second rendition of the day of the patriotic anthem. You can read more about that here.
After leading the Red Wall in song and helping Gareth Bale and Co. to one of Wales' greatest ever sporting successes, fans launched a campaign to see Dafydd recognised in the UK singles charts.
Incredibly, the song has made it to the top of the iTunes chart on Wednesday. You can download the song for 79p on the iTunes website.
Read more: The moving scenes nobody saw outside the stadium as Wales and Ukraine fans applauded each other
Originally released in 1981, the song tells the story of how Welsh language and culture has survived more than 2,000 years against all the odds. It has become something of an unofficial anthem for the Wales national team as they qualified for the nation's first World Cup since 1958.
Dafydd himself is a hugely popular figure in Wales, with the singer and former Plaid Cymru politician also raising the roof ahead of Wales' play-off semi-final against Austria back in March. Originally hailing from Carmarthenshire, he now resides near Caernarfon, but he has fans all over the country.
The charts campaign was started by Wales fan Andrew Dowling, who described the song as "iconic". Explaining the reasoning behind the bid to get the song to number one, he said: "Dafydd Iwan is a Welsh legend and the song is very powerful in the current climate of what is going on in the UK and most importantly in Wales right now, politically and in a sporting sense.
"The song has long been an iconic song and will be for future generations thanks to Wales qualifying for the World Cup and younger people listening to his music. The connection between Wales fans and the song is very strong. You can see the passion in Dafydd's eyes when he sings it - he gets it, we get it and the future generation will get it. We are still here, fighting for our language and our right to be an independent nation."
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Speaking to WalesOnline following his performance on Sunday, Dafydd said he was "glad that the song had reached new levels". He added that the play-off final was very different to his performance ahead of the Austria game.
"The plan was always to have me perform before both games," he said. "Ahead of the kick-off against Austria was a memorable moment, it felt like there was a lot more singing than I had expected."
"This time round, it felt like everyone was singing. It felt like there was an effort to sing a Welsh-language song, even if some did not understand the words. I'm glad that the song has reached new levels and feels like it belongs to football fans even when they don't speak Welsh.
"Of course, it was pouring with rain and I was soaked. But, if anything, it added to the atmosphere and the message behind the song: in spite of everything and anything, we are still here."
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