“Cerys baby name choice would have been honour, says Barry John - WalesOnline”

Cerys baby name choice would have been honour, says Barry John - WalesOnline

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 04:32 AM PST

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Feb 14 2010 by Claire Rees, Wales On Sunday

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CELEBRITIES are renowned for giving their kids crazy baby names, but Cerys Matthews' wacky choice may have denied her third child world sporting fame.

The singer was due to name the bouncing boy she gave birth to in November after Welsh rugby legend Barry John – but she opted for Red Owen instead when she decided she might offend the fly-half, considered one of the greatest players of all time.

But the Wales on Sunday columnist said: "I would have been honoured!

"I wish she had named him after me.

"I've had a budgie named after me once – this would certainly have beaten that, but I'm humbled she even considered it.

"I'm a big fan of her music and I love the lilt in her speaking voice.

"Red Owen's nice but Barry John Matthews? He would have played for Wales with a name like that!"

The former Catatonia singer also revealed she had a close call ahead of Red's birth as she was presenting last year's Children In Need live.

"I don't know if you noticed but I started swelling up – (it was) better than any Botox," she told Eleri Sion and Dafydd Du on BBC Radio Cymru's morning programme.

"My face, hands and my ankles. So I went back to London and I'm not one for going to the doctors very often but I thought, 'There's something odd here.'"

Cerys turned out to be suffering from pre-eclampsia, a potentially serious pregnancy complication, and within 24 hours she and her manager boyfriend Steve Abbott were welcoming a little boy, who arrived nine weeks early and weighed less than three pounds.

"But he's now doing brilliantly, absolutely brilliantly," she said.

Mum-of-three Cerys also said this week she was looking forward to taking the newest member of the Matthews clan on a two-week tour of the UK.

The former I'm A Celebrity contestant, who is also about to start a new Sunday morning programme on BBC 6 Music, plays 10 dates during April including Cardiff, Newport, Wrexham, Aberystwyth, Llanelli and Builth Wells.

"I feel quite lucky that I can do this kind of thing – the baby's coming with me on tour," she said.

"I can sit down and play the guitar – I don't have to rock out so much.

"Every mum's familiar with juggling. You know, you have to do it. When your hours are irregular, it's really difficult.

"But you only get one life so you just have to do it don't you?"

n Cerys' new single Into The Blue is released on February 22.

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