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, Paul Jones on bass, and Clancy Pegg on keyboards. With this line-up the band recorded two EPs, For Tinkerbell and Hooked.
Cerys 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.
Y Cyrff was a Welsh language indie band in the 1980s, initially formed at the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy secondary school in Llanrwst, Conwy. The original line-up consisted of Barry Cawley (bass), Emyr Davies (vocals), Dylan Hughes (drums) and Mark Roberts. They performed on Welsh language television, and internationally, until they broke up in 1991. Afterwards, Roberts formed Catatonia, with Jones joining the band a while later. Cawley was also a guitar technician for the band.
International Velvet is the second album by Welsh band Catatonia. It was the band's breakthrough, 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".
"Mofo" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their 1997 album Pop, and was released as the album's final single on 8 December 1997. The song was partially written about lead vocalist Bono's mother, who died when he was 14 years old. Other songs which Bono wrote about his mother include "Lemon", "I Will Follow", "Iris " and "Tomorrow". Andrew Unterberger of Stylus Magazine considers the song to be "the only legitimate evidence" of U2's supposed dance-orientated direction on the album. He said the song was "Underworld-esque house frenzy."
"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.
"Strange Glue" is a song by Welsh rock group Catatonia. Written by guitarist Owen Powell, it was the band's fourth single to be released from International Velvet and charted at No. 11 on the UK charts.
"The Ballad of Tom Jones" is a song by Space and Cerys Matthews, lead singer of the band Catatonia, which was released in 1998. Lead singer Tommy Scott described Tom Jones as 'brilliant'. The song became a highly successful radio single, and resulted in Space performing with Jones in Jools Holland's' New Year's Eve television programme.
"Road Rage" is a song recorded by Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their second studio album, International Velvet (1998). 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 breakthrough 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.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album of Welsh alternative rock band Catatonia's best known songs, mainly the singles, but also includes collaborations between Cerys Matthews with Space and with Tom Jones himself.
Aled Richards is a Welsh drummer and was a member of the Welsh rock band Catatonia.
Steven Paul "Abbo" Abbott is an English producer, A&R executive, artist manager and concert promoter. Formerly a singer/songwriter, Abbott was lead singer of the band UK Decay from 1979 to 1983.
"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.
"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.
