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===''International Velvet'' (1997β98)=== While Roberts sought to begin work on a second album, they began to tour with fellow Welsh band [[The Manic Street Preachers]] as a support act, and the label released the compilation ''[[Tourist EP]]'' in Japan.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=162β163}} They began recording demos for a new album in Cardiff at the start of January 1997. The subject matter was mostly based on the stories coming out of Roberts and Matthews' breakup. They booked in a recording session for the second album in June, at the [[Monnow Valley Studio]] in [[Rockfield, Monmouthshire]]. In the run up to the recording, they performed for the first time in the United States, supporting [[The Boo Radleys]] in New York. They went on to perform in [[Austin, Texas]] and in Los Angeles during March. The following month, they conducted a ten-night tour of the UK, in which songs such as "[[Mulder and Scully (song)|Mulder and Scully]]" made their first public appearances.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=167β169}} As they worked on the album, Catatonia feared that they were about to be dropped by their record label, which they summed up in the song "That's All Folks". Further references to difficulties with Warner Bros were included in "[[I Am the Mob]]", but they preferred working with producer [[TommyD]] on the production than they had with those on ''Way Beyond Blue''.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=176-178}} The first single off the album had intended to be "Mulder and Scully", but the label insisted that "I Am the Mob" was released instead. As with previous works, this was delayed, and Catatonia performed at festivals during the summer of 1997 while they waited for the release. They were booked for the [[Glastonbury Festival]], but upon arriving they were told their spot had been cancelled.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=180}} Matthews continued to get the band mentioned in the gossip columns of newspapers due to her drunken behaviour.{{sfn | Buckley| 2003 | p=179}} One example followed an incident at a party celebrating the victory of the yes vote in the [[1997 Welsh devolution referendum]], as when asked how she felt about the result, she responded "What we want to know is who is going to shag [[SiΓ’n Lloyd]]?" Lloyd subsequently launched legal action, but accepted an apology from Matthews.<ref>{{cite news|title=TV Sian in storm at sex 'slur'|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61070168.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504203432/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61070168.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 May 2016|access-date=2 April 2016|work=Daily Mirror|date=27 September 1997|url-access=subscription|via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}</ref> The new album was further delayed as Warner Bros ordered the removal of the six-minute-long anti-Warner track "That's All Folks". Meanwhile, work continued on "I Am The Mob" with a video shoot directed by [[Kevin Allen (actor)|Kevin Allen]].{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=183}} The single was released on 6 October and entered the top 40 for a single week in the 40th position. Catatonia found their roles reversed shortly afterwards, performing as the support act to Space after the Liverpudlians had a series of top 20 singles. They finished off the year with a tour of their own, originally aimed to support the new album, but this was still being held back by the label.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=186β187}} Warners replaced "That's All Folks" with "My Selfish Gene", and agreed to release "Mulder and Scully" in January 1998 and ''[[International Velvet (album)|International Velvet]]'' some two weeks later.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=189}} "Mulder and Scully" launched them into the mainstream public consciousness when it was released on 19 January 1998.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cerys Matthews: Rise of a Star.|url=http://galenet.galegroup.com.www2.lib.ku.edu:2048/servlet/BCRC?srchtp=adv&c=1&ste=31&tbst=tsVS&tab=2&aca=nwmg&bConts=2&RNN=A92765353&docNum=A92765353&locID=ksstate_ukans|access-date=28 June 2012|newspaper=Europe Intelligence Wire|date=22 September 2002|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=193}} It entered the charts at number 3;<ref name="catatoniabiography">{{cite web|title=Catatonia|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/catatonia/pages/biography.shtml|publisher=BBC Wales|access-date=2 April 2016}}</ref> the highest position a single by Catatonia would ever achieve.<ref name="ukcharts" /> ''International Velvet'' became the breakout album for the band, charting at number one in the [[UK Album Charts]].<ref name="catatoniabiography" /> The album sold more than 900,000 copies in 22 months, being certified triple platinum by the [[British Phonographic Industry]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Certified Awards β Certification Levels |url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certification-levels.aspx |publisher=BPI |access-date=2 April 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124102159/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certification-levels.aspx |archive-date=24 January 2013}}</ref> ''International Velvet'' was nominated for the [[Mercury Music Prize]] 1998,<ref>{{cite web|title=Albums of the Year: 1998|url=http://www.mercuryprize.com/aoty/shortlist.php?Year=1998|publisher=Mercury Prize|access-date=29 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915091823/http://www.mercuryprize.com/aoty/shortlist.php?Year=1998|archive-date=15 September 2013}}</ref> which was awarded to [[Gomez (band)|Gomez]] for ''[[Bring It On (Gomez album)|Bring It On]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mercury Rising: Gomez Win '98 Album Prize|url=http://www.nme.com/news/gomez/519|access-date=2 April 2016|newspaper=NME|date=17 August 1998}}</ref> Of the five singles released from the album, "[[Road Rage (Catatonia song)|Road Rage]]" became the most critically acclaimed, being nominated for [[Brit Award for Song of the Year|best single]] at both the [[Ivor Novello Awards]] and the [[Brit Awards 1999|Brit Awards]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wright|first1=Matthew|title=Matthew Wright at the British Awards: The Winners|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60391168.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504201315/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60391168.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 May 2016|access-date=1 April 2016|work=Daily Mirror|date=17 February 1999|url-access=subscription|via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Wright|first1=Matthew|title=Matthew Wright's Column: Ivor Novello Songwriting Awards: Moody Matty|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60383663.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504201309/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60383663.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 May 2016|access-date=1 April 2016|work=Daily Mirror|date=28 May 1999|url-access=subscription|via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}</ref> while winning in that category at the [[Q Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wright|first1=Matthew|title=Matthew Wright's column: Wales β and moans|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60622067.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504201504/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60622067.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 May 2016|access-date=1 April 2016|work=Daily Mirror|date=31 October 1998|url-access=subscription|via=[[HighBeam Research]]}}</ref> Despite this, it did not chart as high as "Mulder and Scully", reaching number 5 on the [[UK Singles Charts]]. The subsequent releases "[[Strange Glue]]" and "[[Game On (song)|Game On]]" did not get into the top ten, reaching number 11 and number 33 respectively.<ref name=ukchart>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/32451/catatonia/ |title=Catatonia |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=2 April 2016}}</ref> The title track of the album, "International Velvet", featuring the line "Every day when I wake up I thank the Lord I'm Welsh" and Welsh language verses, received additional attention from the media. Matthews explained in an interview that she wanted to turn to invert the idea of being Welsh from an apparent negative into a positive, "We're not seen to be very good at anything. Our [[Wales national football team|football team]] is shit. The song is saying, despite all these things, I still wake up in the morning and thank the Lord that I'm Welsh. Hopefully, by now people realise that Wales is brimmed full of talent and we're great people with massive brains."<ref name="tomboy"/> In front of 70,000 spectators, Catatonia performed "International Velvet" at the opening ceremony of the [[1999 Rugby World Cup]] in the [[Millennium Stadium]] in Cardiff.<ref>{{cite news|title=World Cup kicks off in style|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/rugby_world_cup/461052.stm|access-date=2 April 2016|work=BBC News|date=1 October 1999}}</ref> The album became the first to be released for Catatonia in the United States, but failed to chart. ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called it "overlooked".<ref name=abroad>{{cite news|last=Jenkins|first=Mark|title=Welsh Band Catatonia: Internationalists Abroad|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/03/29/catatonia-time-to-wake-america/ff59b596-50ed-4ee6-8223-98bd626b610b/|access-date=2 April 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=9 August 1998}}</ref>
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