Fronted by the brassy, irrepressible Cerys Matthews, Catatonia finally took the British pop scene by storm with hits like 'Mulder and Scully' and 'Road Rage'. The album International Velvet quickly became one of 1998's biggest long players, and the follow-up Equally Cursed and Blessed established them as a major pop force. Cerys, with her raunchy vocal style, was now the sexy and outspoken figurehead of a classic five-piece pop group.

Drawing on first-hand experience, new interviews and years of research, To Hell and Back with Catatonia is a fascinating band biography, and the story of how a fan pulled himself out of depression whilst the main reason for his recovery sank into a private hell of her own.

ISBN: 0 946719 36 5
192 pages (illustrated) - Paperback

Publication: June 2001

TO HELL AND BACK WITH CATATONIA

Brian Wright

"Brian Wright is possibly the most qualified person to write a Catatonia biography, not counting the band members themselves!" Welsh Bands Weekly

Photo: Dave Hardacre

"An unusual, frank and enjoyable perspective on ordinary folk in extraordinary circumstances."

"At 200 pages of neat A5 text this tome could seem to be, well, just another band biography. But its author's narrative style isn't run-of-the-mill. Wright's story is one of personal tragedy and survival, thanks in large part to his love of Catatonia's music. And the fact that his own woes - through family deaths, alcoholism and depression - are largely mirrored by the heroine of the tale, Cerys, adds to the narrative's impact.

Starting with character sketches of the main players, the story of the band unfolds from their North and South Walian toots to pre-Catatonia outfit Y Cyrff and links with Cool Cymru figures like the Super Furries and the Edge. Messrs Roberts, Jones, Richards and Powell have their say on early bands, while, true to form, Cerys takes centre stage reflecting on her childhood nightmares and pastimes like eating worms, to 2-Tone and Toyah teenage fixations.

The remainder covers the years until the global take-off and its consequences, not least, by '99, on Cerys. Party games and sobering, self-deprecating reflection will keep those with a passing interest turning the pages, while details of releases, rarities, tours and so on sit neatly with media bites and first-hand insights into camp Catatonia. An unusual, frank and enjoyable perspective on ordinary folk in extraordinary circumstances."
Record Collector

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