Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Catatonia (band)
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===''Way Beyond Blue'' (1996)=== The band began work on a debut album, alongside producer Paul Sampson. Ieuan introduced Sampson to [[Aled Richards]], who later replaced him as Catatonia's drummer when Ieuan left to join the [[Super Furry Animals]].{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=111}} The label wanted to market the band, and so at some expense, had photographer [[Gered Mankowitz]] conduct a photoshoot with Matthews. She, the band and their management all hated the photos, but the label wanted to use them in order not to write the cost off as a loss. In order to have some photos, a series of black and white photos of Matthews drinking a bottle of wine while wearing a [[Pepsi]] T-shirt were taken by one of the press agency staff. Warner Bros liked the images and authorised their use.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=116β117}} The band had a recording session at [[Sawmills Studios]], [[Cornwall]], which saw some disagreements during recording between Matthews and Roberts. Afterwards, Sampson was removed as producer following a row over the arrangement for "Sweet Catatonia".{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=119β121}} Music reviewers responded with surprise when the band began to perform live while sober. Meanwhile, the release of "Sweet Catatonia" as a single was pushed back to January 1996 due to the issues with finding a new producer.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=122β123}} The first time subsequent producer [[Stephen Street]] met the band was when they arrived to record at the Maison Rouge Studios in London. They found working with him far easier than Sampson, as Matthews later explained that he took their ideas into account. Ieuan left during the recording of the album to join Super Furry Animals, and was subsequently replaced by Aled Richards. They returned to live performances after completing the recording of the album,{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=125β127}} and decided to actively look for a second guitarist. They ultimately hired Colour 45's Owen Powell, who by this time was working as a music technician for the Super Furry Animals, to this role.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=128}} [[file:Cerys Matthews - Cambridge Festival 2006.jpg|thumb|right|Cerys Matthews ''(pictured in 2006)'' and Mark Roberts broke up after the release of ''Way Beyond Blue'']] As they prepared for the album, they released a special release for the Catatonia fanclub which had formed after "Bleed". Containing "Blow the Millenium, Blow" and "Beautiful Sailor", the [[vinyl record]] was sent to all members. The following month, on 18 January 1996, "Sweet Catatonia" was released.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=132β134}} It became the first Catatonia single to reach the [[UK singles chart]], peaking at 61st position.<ref name="ukcharts" /> MRM sought to expand the profile of the band in Europe, publishing the compilation ''[[The Sublime Magic of Catatonia]]''.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=137}} The band toured the UK, supported by [[Liverpool]]-based band [[Space (English band)|Space]],{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=144}} and while touring "[[Lost Cat (song)|Lost Cat]]" was released on 22 April. It just missed out on the top 40, reaching 41st position. As part of the tour, they appeared at several music festivals that year including [[Reading Festival|Reading]], [[Phoenix Festival|Phoenix]] and at [[Madstock!]] 3 in London.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=147β149}} Catatonia began to get radio exposure with the single "[[You've Got a Lot to Answer For]]", which entered the top 40 for the first time in September 1996.{{sfn | Buckley| 2003 | p=179}}<ref name=ukcharts/> After several delays, the album ''[[Way Beyond Blue]]'' was released on 30 September. There were 12 tracks, several of which had appeared on previous EPs and as b-sides to singles.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=152}} On the background of the successful album, there were problems behind the scenes. Matthew's and Robert's relationship broke down, with Roberts ending it and seeing someone else within days. The duo sought to keep the band together despite the problems, and they found a way to continue working together.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=157}} Warner Bros. Records had intended to release "Lost Cat" from ''Way Beyond Blue'' in the United States, but due to problems at the record label this did not occur.<ref>{{cite news|title=Label misses chance to distribute hit song|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wb1IAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5oEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1515,8597195&dq=international-velvet+catatonia&hl=en|access-date=2 April 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 August 1998}}</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Catatonia (band)
(section)
Add topic