Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1990s. The band formed in 1992 after Mark Roberts met Cerys Matthews. The first major lineup featured Dafydd Ieuan on drums, Clancy Pegg on keyboard, Owen Powell on guitar and Paul Jones on bass. They recorded two EPs, For Tinkerbell and Hooked.
Paper Scissors Stone was the fourth and final album by Welsh band Catatonia. It was released on 6 August 2001 in the UK, and reached #6 on the UK album chart.
Dafydd Ieuan is a Welsh musician and producer, best known as the drummer with the band Super Furry Animals, The Peth and The Earth (band).
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s.
International Velvet is the second album by Welsh band Catatonia. It was the band's breakthrough album, reaching number 1 in the UK Albums Chart, spawning two Top 10 singles, "Mulder and Scully" and "Road Rage", three other Top 40 singles, "I Am the Mob", "Game On" and "Strange Glue", and catapulted the band and lead singer Cerys Matthews into the spotlight. Album sales reached 900,000, as it became one of the biggest selling albums of 1998 in the United Kingdom. The album was also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.
"Mulder and Scully" is a song by Catatonia, released as a single from their 1998 album, International Velvet. The song makes direct reference to fictional FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, the two main characters of the popular sci-fi TV series The X-Files who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In an interview Cerys Matthews, co-writer of the song, explained that while she was not a serious fan of the show, the basic premise of the series matched the concept of what she was trying to express.
Equally Cursed and Blessed is the third studio album by Welsh band Catatonia, released in April 1999 via Blanco y Negro Records. It reached number one in the UK Album Chart, and three singles were released from it: "Dead from the Waist Down", "Londinium" and "Karaoke Queen".
"You've Got A Lot To Answer For" is a song written by Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts and recorded by Welsh rock band Catatonia. Taken from their debut album, Way Beyond Blue, it became the band's first Top 40 hit, peaking at no. 35, largely in part due to a campaign started by BBC Radio 1 DJs Mark and Lard.
"I Am the Mob" is a song by Welsh rock band Catatonia from their album International Velvet. It became the band's second top 40 hit, peaking at No.40. The song's lyrics refer to the gangster movie The Godfather, with lines "I put horses' heads in people's beds, cause I am the Mob", and "That Luca Brasi: ah, he sleeps with the fishes".
"Road Rage" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their second studio album, International Velvet. It was written by band member Mark Roberts, with the production credit given generally to the band. "Road Rage" was released as the third single from the album, following their break-out success with the song "Mulder and Scully". The title "Road Rage" was based on the murder of Lee Harvey by his girlfriend Tracie Andrews in December 1996, something for which singer Cerys Matthews later apologised to Harvey's mother.
Catatonia's Greatest Hits is a compilation of the band's best known songs, mainly the singles, but also included collaborations between Cerys Matthews with Space and with Tom Jones himself.
Catatonia's Platinum Collection is a compilation album of the band's songs ranging from 1994 to 2001. Although the band released a Greatest Hits in 2002. Unlike that compilation, the Platinum Collection includes songs from their early EPs released prior to the 1996 album Way Beyond Blue. Platinum Collection contains no previously unreleased tracks, but is said to be "remastered"; however, there is no discernible difference in comparison with previous releases.
"Game On" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their second studio album, International Velvet. It was written by band members Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts, and produced by TommyD and the band generally. Commercially, the song only charted in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 33.
"Dead from the Waist Down" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their third studio album, Equally Cursed and Blessed. It was written by Mark Roberts and the band, and produced by TommyD.
"Londinium" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their third studio album, Equally Cursed and Blessed. It was written by Mark Roberts and the band, and produced by TommyD.
"Stone by Stone" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their fourth studio album, Paper Scissors Stone. It was written by Mark Roberts and the band, and produced by TommyD. It was released as their only single from that album in 2001.
"Lost Cat" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their first studio album, Way Beyond Blue. It was written by Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts, and produced by Stephen Street.
"Sweet Catatonia" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their first studio album, Way Beyond Blue. It was written by Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts, and produced by Paul Sampson and Stephen Street. The title of the track was the original name for the band.
For Tinkerbell is the first extended play recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, also their first release. It features five tracks, some of which were later re-recorded on their first studio album Way Beyond Blue. All the tracks were later compiled with those from the Hooked EP on The Crai-EPs 1993/1994.
"Whale" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, as a non-album release on the Rough Trade Records label. It later appeared on the compilation album The Sublime Magic of Catatonia, and was re-recorded for Catatonia's first studio album, Way Beyond Blue.
