The rise, fall and rise again of the Welsh band Fifa 22 gamers once sang along to

Things were starting to happen for Merthyr band, Public Order. They had shot to success with their debut single, 'Feels like Summer' which featured on the hugely successful game - Fifa 22. Fame seemingly beckoned.

Then, the bubble burst. They separated from their label and returned to their day jobs. Mega stardom, it seemed, would have to wait, if it ever came at all. But now, the band have another shot at success. They have signed with an independent record company that releases iconic bands such as Oasis and Stereophonics and the future is looking bright once more.

Public Order consists of four friends, all from Merthyr Tydfil - Jac Dodson, David Ashraf, Elis Lloyd-Jones and Daniel Wall. They each have different roles within the band, David is a vocalist and bass guitarist, Jac is also a vocalist and plays the guitar, Elis is the band's DJ and Dan is the drummer.

Four men in room on chairs — Left to right - David, Jac, Elis and Dan (Image: Public Order)

The group began with Jac and David who have been friends since they were in high school, but Elis and Dan joined them along the way and are now the foursome who's music has been listened to by millions. Their released singles, 'Fear' and 'Feels like summer' have been streamed by over two million people, success they hope will continue for their latest release 'Hello' and their upcoming EP.

Jac and David found their passion for music when they were around 12/13-years-old, but it was not the same style of music they now make. Their first memory of music came in high school with the pair playing Coldplay together on the piano. Neither of them had considered making music until then.

As teenagers they had their hearts set on becoming "superstar DJs". David said: "I saw my brother using music production software at home. So I went into school and said to Jac ‘Jac we’re going to become superstar DJs and then we're going to sign a record deal'.”

When they left school they continued to pursue music, working with other aspiring musicians on a programme funded by the Welsh Government. The programme allowed them to seek advice from mentors and use musical equipment they might not otherwise have had access to.

The pair worked on a song with a fellow member of the programme that eventually landed them a record deal with Universal Records. They said: "We met the girl from the programme. We'd written an instrumental, and she wrote the lyrics and melody for it, then we put that out when we were 18, I think. "

"Really randomly we had some message on Facebook from this guy at Universal Music Publishing. The song only had 50 plays so we thought it was fake. It seemed fishy so we thought it was definitely fake.”

But days later they met with a scout for Universal Records who came down from London to Merthyr to meet them. After their meeting, the guys ended up working with him and eventually had a management team in London who were able to get them a publishing deal with Universal. Try WalesOnline Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features

In 2019, Jac and David moved up to Luton to work with the team and began sitting in on writing sessions where they would make music for other artists. Whilst working in London they met Bruce Fielder, better known as Sigala. Bruce helped Jac and David with their music and mentored them in the studio next door.

After just six months of living in Luton, the UK was going into lockdown due to Covid-19. Jac and David made the decision to move back home to Merthyr where they would be closer to their family and friends. This is when the pair began writing their own music. They said: "When we came home we had no-one to write the songs so we had a go. We’d been in sessions with songwriters and watched them do it so we thought we’d have a go at it. That’s when we started writing our own music and started singing."

In 2021, the band released their debut single, 'Feels like summer', which became a big success, featuring on the soundtrack for FIFA 22. But what sounded like a perfect start for their music career ended up not being as great as the band had expected. Instead, they ended up back at "square one" after they were dropped by Universal.

The music they make now is very different from the music they were signed to make, so the pairing of Public Order and Universal "didn't feel right", they said. David said: "It was the right decision looking back but at the time it was a scary decision to make. Especially being stuck in Merthyr because that was our only link to the music industry so to let go of that was like ‘oh God, what are we going to do now?’"

Jac, David and Elis returned to their day jobs as a nurse, postman and engineer while making music in their free time. The group juggle writing, recording, performing gigs and making content alongside their jobs which can be difficult for them.

In February this year, the group decided to make a video on TikTok explaining the story of their journey, having success with their first single then being dropped by their label shortly after. The video was seen by an employee at Ignition Records who reached out to the band in the hope of working together.

Ignition Records is a prestigious record company, home to many recognisable artists such as Oasis and Stereophonics. Owner, Marcus Russell is a fellow Welshman which made the group feel comfortable with him. Jac said: "It was nice having someone so close to home to work alongside."

Marcus met with the band in a small pub in Ebbw Vale and invited them to meet the Ignition team in London. After meeting with the team and sharing the demos of the music they had been working on, in March, David, Jac, Elis and Dan signed a record deal with the company.

The band said they were "buzzing" to sign with such a prestigious record company which represented iconic bands they'd grown up listening to. They said: "It's nuts that we are working with Ignition. When you walk into a pub in Merthyr, Oasis or Stereophonics are always playing on the jukebox so it's mad to think we're working with their label."

Unlike their previous experience, Jac and David have no plans to move out of Wales to pursue their music career and are happy to stay in Merthyr. They have found that living in Merthyr hasn't lessened the amount of opportunities they have had and say that "most people we’ve spoken to like the fact that we are from Merthyr.”

Public Order have many exciting things coming in the near future with their first ever EP in the works and their new single 'HELLO' out now. The band dedicate their time to allowing their fans to follow along their journey on TikTok, which you can follow here.