1990: Catherine Wheel – Music AmneZia1990: Catherine Wheel

Biography
Genre(s)
Origin
Peak Date
Years
Members
Discography
Song Highlights
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Reference

Catherine Wheel formed in 1990, comprising singer/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), guitarist Brian Futter, bassist Dave Hawes, and drummer Neil Sims. Hawes had previously played in a Joy Division-influenced band called Eternal. They took their moniker from the firework known as the Catherine wheel, which in turn had taken its name from the medieval torture device of the same name. The band was sometimes included in the shoegazing scene, characterized by bands that made extensive use of guitar feedback and droning washes of noise, as well as their continuous interaction with extensive amounts of effects pedals on the stage floor. However, Catherine Wheel had a more song oriented style than their peers. Their sound was influenced by Pink Floyd, The House of Love and Talk Talk.

Chrome (Catherine Wheel album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The band performed a Peel session in early 1991 while still unsigned; two 12″ vinyl EPs were released on the Norwich based Wilde Club Records, named after the regular weekly Wilde Club gigs run by Barry Newman at Norwich Arts Centre. They signed to major-label Fontana Records after being courted by both Creation Records and the Brian Eno-run label Opal Records. The band’s debut album, 1991/92’s Ferment, made an immediate impression on the music press and introduced Catherine Wheel’s second-biggest U.S. hit, “Black Metallic,” as well as moderate hit “I Want to Touch You”. The album features re-recorded versions of some of the Wilde Club-issued EPs.

The more aggressive Chrome followed in 1993, produced by Gil Norton. With this album, the band began to shed its original shoegazing tag, while still making skillful use of atmospherics, such as on the song “Fripp.” In a 2007 interview, Rob Dickinson said that members of Death Cab for Cutie and Interpol told him that without this album, their bands “wouldn’t exist.”

1995’s Happy Days saw the band delving further into metallic hard rock, which alienated a portion of their fanbase, even as it increased their exposure in the United States during the post-grunge era. The single “Waydown,” and especially its plane-crash themed video, received heavy play in the U.S. A more sedate strain of rock known as Britpop was taking over in the UK, causing C.W. to continue to have greater success abroad than at home.

The Catherine Wheel (album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The B-sides and outtakes collection, Like Cats and Dogs, came out the following year, revealing a quieter, more contemplative side of the band, spanning the previous five years. This carried over into Adam and Eve in 1997, wherein the band scaled back the sonic force of their sound from its Happy Days levels, with clean playing on some songs that featured extensive use of keyboards and acoustic guitars. Alternately, songs like “Satellite” and “Here Comes the Fat Controller” were lush and orchestral in scope.

In 2000, Catherine Wheel re-emerged with a new record label, a new bassist (Ben Ellis); a modified name (The Catherine Wheel); and a new album, Wishville. After mixed reviews, record company turmoil and lacklustre sales, the band went on a still-continuing hiatus.

In March 2010, Ferment was re-released, containing bonus tracks and extensive sleeve notes.

The song ‘Texture’ was featured in the episode ‘model behaviour’ in the first season of the American drama series Blue Bloods, which aired in the US in 2010 and in the UK in 2011. The song is played as detective Danny Reagan discovers a suicide in a bath.

Alternative rock,
shoegazing
Pop/Rock
Alternative Pop
Rock Alternative
Indie Rock
Shoegaze

Great Yarmouth, England

1995

1990–2000

Rob Dickinson
Brian Futter
Dave Hawes
Neil Sims
Ben Ellis

Studio albums

Ferment (1992) No. 36 UK
Chrome (1993) No. 58 UK
Happy Days (1995) No. 163 US
Adam and Eve (1997) No. 53 UK, No. 178 US
Wishville (2000)[8]

Compilations

Like Cats and Dogs (1996) No. 36 Heatseekers (U.S.)

“She’s My Friend” (1991) Wilde Club
“Painful Thing” (1991) Wilde Club No. 5 UK
“Black Metallic” (1991) Fontana No. 68 UK, No. 9 U.S. Modern Rock
“Balloon” (1992) Fontana No. 59 UK
“I Want to Touch You” (1992) Fontana No. 35 UK, No. 20 U.S. Modern Rock
“30 Century Man” (1992) Fontana No. 47 UK
“Crank” (1993) Fontana No. 66 UK, No. 5 U.S. Modern Rock
“Show Me Mary” (1993) Fontana No. 62 UK
“Judy Staring at the Sun” (1995) Fontana No. 22 U.S. Modern Rock
“Waydown” (1995) Fontana No. 67 UK, No. 15 U.S. Modern Rock, No. 24 Mainstream Rock
“Delicious” (1997) Chrysalis No. 53 UK
“Ma Solituda” (1998) Chrysalis No. 53 UK
“Broken Nose” (1998) Chrysalis No. 48 UK
“Sparks Are Gonna Fly” (2000) No. 37 U.S. Modern Rock[8]