Catatonia (band)

Catatonia

Catatonia were a popular music band from Wales who gained a national following in the United Kingdom in the mid-late 1990s. The band consisted of Cerys Matthews on vocals, Mark Roberts on guitar, Paul Jones on bass (both now members of Y Ffyrc, and former members of Sherbet Antlers and Y Cyrff), Owen Powell (who is a judge on 'Wawffactor' - akin to a Welsh X-factor) on guitar, and Aled Richards (who now drums for Amy Wadge) on drums. Roberts was the main songwriter.

Initially the line up fluctuated, at various times including Clancy Pegg (later of Tystion) on keyboards and Dafydd Ieuan and Kris Jenkins (of Super Furry Animals) on drums and percussion, before settling down to the "classic" line up in 1995.

Matthews and Roberts first met in Cardiff when she was busking, and they began writing songs together in 1992. For four years after this they were also in a relationship, many aspects of this being played out publicly in their lyrics [1].

The couple came across the word catatonia, believing it to mean a sense of extreme pleasure and sleep, and the band was subsequently originally called 'Sweet Catatonia'. On discovering the real meaning of the word (i.e. a psychiatric symptom of certain mental disorders) they dropped the prefix 'sweet'. [2]

Catatonia deliberately tried to make their songs accessible to a broad audience, while at the same time not shying away from original, experimental, or even potentially abrasive sounds. The result was a mix of hooky pop and underground indie rock.

Their songs are characterized by clever lyrics and Matthews's enticing, raspy vocals, which made her something of a sex symbol. Also prominent is her Welsh accent.

The band, in its music, lyrics, and PR, were proudly, or at least happily, Welsh. The chorus of the (mostly Welsh) single International Velvet declares "Every day when I wake up, I thank the Lord I'm Welsh." This, they insisted, should not be taken too seriously, as they are more internationalists than nationalists (hence the name of their 1998 release, International Velvet). Catatonia, in fact, only ever released 5 Welsh tracks - International Velvet being the only one to appear on a UK album. The others appeared as B sides and on EP collections.

After their rise to fame, it became clear that Matthews was not coping well with the increased pressure, suffering from anxiety and nervous exhaustion which resulted in the cancellation of several concert tours and a deterioration in the relationships between the band members. On September 21, 2001, after the release of a new album Paper Scissors Stone, the band officially split.

Cerys Matthews went on to release her first solo album, "Cockahoop", in May 2003. Her second album "Never Said Goodbye" was released in August 2006.

Discography

Numbers given are the highest chart positions for the UK charts.

Albums

Year	Album	U.K. Chart	U.K. Sales
1995	The Sublime Magic of Catatonia	-	-
1996	Way Beyond Blue	#32	40,000
1996	Tourist	-	-
1998	International Velvet	#1	900,000 (3x platinum)
1998	The Crai-EPs 1993/1994	-	-
1999	Equally Cursed and Blessed	#1	300,000 (platinum)
2001	Paper Scissors Stone	#6	60,000 (silver)
2002	Greatest Hits	#24	-

Singles and EPs

• "For Tinkerbell" (EP) - 1993
• "Hooked" (EP) - 1994
• "Whale" - 1994 (Vinyl only)
• "Bleed" - 1995
• "Christmas '95" - 1995 - Fan Club vinyl single (A-side: "Blow The Millennium, Blow")
• "Sweet Catatonia" - 1996 - #61
• "Lost Cat" - 1996 - #41
• "You've Got a Lot to Answer For" - 1996 - #35
• "Bleed" (re-issued) - 1996 - #46
• "I Am The Mob" - 1997 - #40
• "Mulder and Scully" - 1998 - #3
• "Road Rage" - 1998 - #5
• "Strange Glue" - 1998 - #11
• "Game On" - 1998 - #33
• "Dead From the Waist Down" - 1999 - #7
• "Londinium" - 1999 - #20
• "Karaoke Queen" - 1999 - #36
• "Storm The Palace" (EP) - 1999
• "Stone by Stone" - 2001 - #19

Collaborations

• "The Ballad of Tom Jones" - Space with Cerys of Catatonia - 1998 - #4
• "Baby, It's Cold Outside" - Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews - 1999 - #17

References

• David Roberts, ed. (2002). Guinness World Records British Hit Singles (15th ed.). Guinness World Records.

Bibliography

In September 2000, a biography of the band by David Owens entitled Cerys, Catatonia & The Rise Of Welsh Pop (ISBN 0-09-187412-2) was released in the UK (sometimes listed as Catatonia - Enter The Dragon, which was the working title).

Another book, To Hell and Back with Catatonia (ISBN 0-946719-36-5), was released on June 1, 2001, written by Brian Wright.

External links

• Karaoke Queen A Spanish page with band biography, discography, media, polls and other info.
• Catatonia @ WelshBands.eu
• Some Half Baked Ideal Called A Website A Catatonia site with photographs, audio, video, links and other info.
• New Bonhomie A Catatonia site with news, biography, lyrics, discography and other info.
• News report on the break up of the band