Catatonia
Catatonia were a Welsh alternative folk/rock band formed in 1992 by Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts. The band dissolved in 2001 leaving four albums of shimmering guitar pop, laden with inventive songwriting.
Catatonia began as a duo with Matthews and Roberts' first songs Difyrcheulyd, Gyda Gwen and Dimbran. These were made into music videos for the Welsh language channel S4C and played on Welsh radio.
Early Collaborators were bassist Guto Pryce and drummer Dafydd Ieuan of Super Furry Animals, also bassist Paul Jones, keyboardist Clancy Pegg.
The debut single For Tinkerbell was NME single of the week in 1993. An EP Hooked followed in 1994, also via Crai a subsidiary of Welsh language label Sain.
The debut album Way Beyond Blue was released in 1996 to rising airplay, and Catatonia's single You've Got a Lot to Answer For reached no. 37 in the UK singles chart.
The now established line up was Matthews, Roberts, and Jones on bass, with Aled Richards on drums and Owen Powell on guitar. This line up would remain until the end. Together they toured intensively and recorded the sophomore album International Velvet which was released in 1998 and went straight to no. 1 in the UK Albums Chart.
The supporting singles Mulder and Scully and Road Rage went to top 5. The LP was certified triple platinum by British Phonographic Industry selling more than 900,000 units. (It continues to sell consistently).
In 1998, gathering international interest, Catatonia signed to Neil Young's label, Vapor Records with Elliot Roberts (manager of Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan) at the helm.
The single Road Rage was nominated for best song at the Brit Awards and the Ivor Novello Awards, and won the Q Awards. The band performed the title track of the album International Velvet at the opening of the opening ceremony of the 1999 Rugby World Cup on 1 October in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. It has since become an unofficial Welsh Album.
While in Catatonia, Matthews had further chart success with Liverpool band Space. The Ballad of Tom Jones reached top 4 in March 1998 and her duet with Tom Jones, Baby, It's Cold Outside was one of the tracks from Reload Jones' highest selling album of his career, which topped the charts in several territories and twice in the UK in 1999 and 2000.
Catatonia's third album Equally Cursed and Blessed was released in April 1999 and again went straight to the top spot in the UK album charts. It was supported by top 7 single Dead from the Waist Down.
Rumours began to circulate about unease within the group, indeed Cerys and Mark's personal relationship had floundered.
Still Catatonia continued, becoming known for their inventive songwriting and the charismatic vocals of Cerys. Against a sea of largely English male fronted Brit-pop sound waves, they stood out.
Their final album Paper Scissors Stone, produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley in London, was released in 2001 and entered at no. 7 in the album charts.
But all was not well. The tour to support Paper Scissors Stone was cancelled, Matthews entered rehab and the band parted ways.
1993 / 1994
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