RHAYADER: Hits keep coming for online singing sensation and Councillor Paul Dark

As the year ends figure are now over 6,391,494 for viewings of the Facebook video of Paul and fellow songster Aubrey Parsons performing 37 pop classics in around five-and-a-half minutes at the Dovey Inn, Aberdyfi.

Parsons and Dark were offered gigs all around the world on the back of the film taking the internet by storm.

TV appearances and recording offers were also received and the duo found offers coming in from Spain, Italy, Poland and even New Zealand.

“It’s an exciting time juggling this with everything else including council work and family life,” said Paul this summer as viewings broke the 2.8 million mark.

“It’s a nice feeling to know people are viewing and sharing the video and enjoying the music but our feet are still on the floor and we are making the most of it as we know these internet sensations can fade as quickly as they come but whenever I go out I get people stopping me in the street and telling me the number of views have gone up again and by this weekend it should be more than five million.”

Aubrey, who is also director of the Vale of Glamorgan-based Nailed It events company, also said of the original idea for the performance: “It is a bit of a joke really, showing the audience just how many pop songs hang on the same four chord structure – G, C, Am and F.

He said: “From ‘Let It Be’ to ‘Take On Me’ Paul and myself take you on a whistle stop tour of these catchy tunes that all have the same musical base. It’s based on an idea by Australian band Axis of Awesome”.

“It always goes down a storm and we even incorporate some Welsh bands into our version which is always very well received by our home audiences. We also perform some songs in Welsh.”

Paul added: “I’ve been in the music business for 25 years and Aubrey has done about 30 years and for the past two years we have been really building up the act as a duo.”

Paul and Aubrey’s video can be found here.