[14] For Tinkerbell contained some early tracks, including a version of "Sweet Catatonia". In 2019 Matthews was one of the three judges for the 2020 Countryfile Calendar, sold in aid of Children in Need.

[21] They made further appearances on Welsh television to support the release of Hooked in May,[22] but another drunken performance followed, this time in Newport. However, on 21 September it was announced that they were breaking up with the record label releasing a statement which said "Their decision has been made entirely amicably, and there are no details at present as to their future plan". She went to Bryn Y Mor Welsh language school until 11 years of age, then attended St Michael's School, Llanelli. [82] It was suggested that the band might split up in August, which was dismissed as "rubbish" by Catatonia. In 2014, Matthews co-founded an interactive festival, The Good Life Experience, with Charlie and Caroline Gladstone, held every September on the Gladstone estate in Hawarden, Flintshire near the Cheshire border. She replaced Nina Persson in both the awards ceremony (within indigO2) and at the following 'Big Gig' live show (within The O2 arena). [56], Of the five singles released from the album, "Road Rage" became the most critically acclaimed, being nominated for best single at both the Ivor Novello Awards and the Brit Awards,[57][58] while winning at the Q Awards. Online", "News | UK and Worldwide News | Newspaper", "pet shop boys et cerys matthews à Glastonbury 2000", "Cerys Matthews – TMBW: The They Might Be Giants Knowledge Base", "Cerys Matthews: 'My marriage is over. Aled Richards, Cerys Matthews, Clancy Pegg, Dafydd Ieuan, Mark Roberts (5), Owen Powell, Paul Jones (3) [41] 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 didn't occur. They had their first overseas gigs in Germany, support Mwyn in his punk band Anrhefn. … [47], The new album was further delayed as Warner Bros ordered the removal of the six-minute long anti-Warner track "That's All Folks". Matthews sang Patsy Cline's Crazy and Dylan's Blowin' in the wind as part of the memorial service for esteemed War correspondent Marie Colvin, in May 2012. 3 in London.

The subsequent releases "Strange Glue" and "Game On" did not get into the top ten, reaching number 11 and number 33 respectively. [34], As they prepared for the album, they released a special release for the Catatonia fanclub which had formed after "Bleed".

She was Artistic Director for the opening ceremony of Womex 2013 representing Wales. The band began to play live, with Matthews and Roberts busking to support their income. [36] International Velvet became the breakout album for the band, charting at number one in the UK Album Charts. This latest incarnation of the band lasted until its' dissolution in 2001. Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. 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. Matthews later recalled that they'd needed to borrow money from a fan to pay the toll on the Severn Bridge on the way back to Cardiff. [45] 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. Band members included Kevin Teel on guitar, Ben Elkins playing keyboards, Mason Neely on drums, and Jeff Irwin playing bass. [30] The band had a recording session at Sawmills Studios, Cornwall, which saw some disagreements during recording between Matthews and Roberts. [46] Matthews continued to get the band mentioned in the gossip columns of newspapers due to her drunken behaviour. [90] An article in The People newspaper described International Velvet as the "purest pop". Further recordings were made, with Guto Pryce joining the trio. [16][36] After several delays, the album Way Beyond Blue was released on 30 September. She subsequently sang lead vocals on, and co-wrote the music and lyrics for, the band's hits. [34], Matthews won the Best Presenter Music award at the Audio Production Awards on 23 November 2016.[35]. We've always seen ourselves as a little bigger than an indie band. Matthews and Roberts relationship broke down, with Roberts ending it and seeing someone else within days. During the live promotional appearances for the album the band was joined by guitarist Owen Powell. [68] This was a warm up to their largest concert so far, held at Margam Country Park near Port Talbot. They had met while on tour two years prior and had kept in touch.

Lloyd subsequently launched legal action, but accepted an apology from Matthews. The first major lineup featured Dafydd Ieuan on drums, Paul Jones on bass, and Clancy Pegg on keyboards. Let us know what you think of the Last.fm website. [17], They held their first London gigs in support of the EP, under the advice of George and The Pooh Sticks lead singer Huw Williams.

[81], Tributes came in for the band from a variety of sources, with BBC Radio 1 presenter Huw Stephens describing them as "international superstars", and adding "I always thought they were one of the best Welsh bands. [6] They began dating as well as writing songs together at the end of 1991. Mwyn arranged for Matthews and Roberts to be joined by Dafydd Ieuan on drums, former Y Cyrff member Paull Jones on bass, and Londoner Clancy Pegg (who had befriended Roberts and Matthews after moving to Cardiff) on keyboards. Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1990s. performance to kiss bassist Mike Mills. Iestyn George, editor of the magazine Maxim at the time, praised the influence that Matthews had through Catatonia in the later 1990s, saying that "Around 1998 and 1999, Cerys was in the papers every other day". Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who first formed in 1992, when guitarist … The family moved to Swansea when she was seven. [66] The album, like International Velvet, reached the top spot in the UK charts. [40] On the background of the successful album, there were problems behind the scenes. 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. Containing "Blow the Millenium, Blow" and "Beautiful Sailor", the vinyl record was sent to all members. In 2007 Matthews became Vice-President of the Welsh homelessness charity Shelter Cymru. We tend to share things out more evenly. "[62], The style of music played by Catatonia changed slightly over time. They went on to perform in Austin, Texas and in Los Angeles during March. The following month, on 18 January 1996, "Sweet Catatonia" was released. The title was taken from a line from "She's A Millionaire", a song on the album.

She compared the music to that of the Scottish band Mogwai, while elements of "Nightfall" were compared to Arab Strap. She held the ambition to have the band appear on Radio 2, as due to poor levels of radio reception in Wales they had been unable to listen to other stations. At the time this was because Matthews had not yet finished her "ongoing treatment for anxiety and exhaustion". Just prior to going out on stage, they began taking cocaine, the result of which was a terrible performance later lamented by Roberts. While the duo did go busking, they didn't meet this way. [42], 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. [77], Catatonia went on to headline the NME stage at the T in the Park festival on 7 July, having conducted a warm up concert at The Lighthouse, Glasgow. Her debut album, Cockahoop, ended up consisting mainly of her own songs. The new album was preceded by the single "Open Roads". When George arrived for the interview, Matthews asked if he'd be interested in becoming the band's manager. Matthews became involved with fellow contestant Marc Bannerman after the show, but they split four months later. [91] By the time that Paper Scissors Stone was released, the band were using country music influences in some of their songs according to Fiona Shepherd at The Scotsman. [19] She toured the album around Britain with minimal promotion as she was several months pregnant at the time. (British TV series) participants, Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y, BLP articles lacking sources from December 2013, Pages using Template:Infobox musical artist with unknown parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Arlington Way" (Rainbow City Recordings − 2009), "Into The Blue"/"Mae Angen Llong Ar Gapten" (Rainbow City Recordings − 2010), "Sweet Magnolia" (Rainbow City Recordings − 2011), MAVIS presents Candi Staton & Cerys Matthews, singing "Nemesis Required" (2010), This page was last edited on 27 August 2020, at 10:57. [48] The single was released on 6 October and entered the top 40 for a single week in the 40th position.

Guitarist Powell stated the importance of the Llangollen performances, as North Wales was the first place where the crowd had sung along to their songs. [citation needed]. [87], While working on International Velvet, Matthews was approached by Tommy Scott of the Liverpool-based band Space to perform on the single duet "The Ballad of Tom Jones". [37] The band toured the UK, supported by Liverpool-based band Space,[38] and while touring "Lost Cat" was released on 22 April. Song examples are "Let's Go Fly A Kite", "Oh Susannah", and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot".

[4][5] Matthews had been a fan of Roberts' previous band Y Cyrff. They duly signed. [79] On the other hand, Andy Gill of The Independent felt the song is the "closest they come" to a hook "as memorable as" their erstwhile hits. [36] On 14 May 2018, Matthews took over from Paul Jones as the presenter of the Blues Show on Radio 2. [53] "Dead From The Waist Down" ended up becoming the final single by Catatonia to reach the top ten in the singles charts, getting to number seven in the UK singles charts. We're really looking forward to what they (the new songs) are going to sound like live. In April 2010, Matthews returned to 6 Music to present a weekend show on Sunday mornings. They released a charity single in 2010 to fund construction of a statue of Welsh footballer Fred Keenor in Cardiff city centre. Hopefully by now people realise that Wales is brimmed full of talent and we're great people with massive brains. Matthews moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2001.

[84] Matthews returned in late 2009 as the first recording artist to release albums simultaneously in both Welsh and English (Paid Edrych I Lawr and Don't Look Down, respectively). Matthews has subsequently released solo albums, while Powell has become a radio presenter and joined the supergroup The Stand to release a charity single. The album release included two tracks from International Velvet, including "Road Rage". [81], Matthews went on to release her first solo album, Cockahoop, in May 2003. Go directly to shout page. [75], The band took a break from performing live between the NetAid charity concert in October 1999 and 2001. In both selecting and writing the songs she delved into the influence of both the music she has heard round the globe, and the places she had visited.