Catch were an English

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band consisting of singer/keyboardist

Toby Slater Tobias Lewis Slater (14 August 1979 – 13 December 2021) was an English singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer for the 1990s indie pop band Catch, who released two singles in the UK and an album in Indonesia. Slater also ...

, bassist Wayne Murray and guitarist Ben Etchells. The band were signed to

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

and released two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

- "Bingo", which reached No. 23 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and "Dive In", which reached No. 44. The band released one self-titled album, which was only issued in Indonesia.

History

Catch were formed from the ashes of Toby Slater's first band Brattish, who were active in 1994/95. The band featured bass guitarist and backing vocalist Matthew Harding, who was briefly a member of Catch, but reputedly left when Slater refused to give him a writing credit. Brattish rehearsed the Catch material extensively, paid for by interested A&R men, but never gigged. Slater also was a driving-force behind the

Romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcadia ...

movement, DJing at

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

's Arcadia at L'Equippe Anglais and Madame Jojo's in the autumn/winter of 1995. ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' reported that an eleven track demo tape of Brattish, featuring a heavily synth/electro sound, was circulating among an elite handful at Arcadia/Club Skinny at the time.Romo: The Next Generation: Brattish, Romo special feature, ''Melody Maker'' 25 November 1995 page 17 The release of debut single "Bingo" saw the band appearing on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', ''Light Lunch'', ''The Paul Ross Show'' (performing three songs live), ''

The Jack Docherty Show ''The Jack Docherty Show'' was a weeknightly comedy chat show which first aired on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom between 30 March 1997 and 23 June 1999. Presented by comedian Jack Docherty, the programme was one of the first to air on the chan ...

'' and various Saturday morning UK TV shows. "Bingo" was also being shown on the '' ITV Chart Show'' when ITN interrupted programming to report on the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

in 1997. Slater also presented some shows on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

around this time. The band's debut album was rush released in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

due to the band's sudden popularity there, and they visited

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

for a promotional tour and performed acoustically for fans. The album was delayed in the UK due to Slater being unhappy with it at the time, however the band split up prior to it being released in any form in the UK. A working title was believed to have been ''Victim Support''.

Post-split

Following the split of Catch, Slater moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and began pursuing a solo career. Returning to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he formed a group featuring former members of the UK band Salamanda, and began recording and gigging, under his own name. The Toby Slater Band released one single, "Consumption", and other songs that were made available online via Slater's own website and via the fledgling

Napster Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing application. It originally launched on June 1, 1999, with an emphasis on digital audio file distribution. Audio songs shared on the service were typically encoded in the MP3 format. It was founded by Shawn ...

file sharing service, on which Slater was a featured artist during August 2000. Slater had written, recorded and released music with a band, initially under the name Kunta Kinte and subsequently as Tough Love. He was also involved in the ''White Mischief'' series of

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...

entertainment events based predominantly in London. Wayne Murray is now a touring guitarist for the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

and fronts a music project named Boy Cried Wolf. Ben Etchells is a sound engineer at Live Sound Training. Toby Slater died on 13 December 2021 at the age of 42.https://www.nme.com/news/music/toby-slater-of-britpop-band-catch-has-died-3122727

Discography

Albums

* ''Catch'' (Indonesian only release, 1997, now out of print)

Singles

* "Bingo" (September 1997) - UK #23 * "Dive In" (February 1998) - UK #44

List of Catch songs

* "Bingo" * "Dive In" * "Half the World Away" * "A New Soul" * "Don't Wait Up" * "Pity the Man" * "My Burst Balloon" * "Expensive Kiss" * "Goodbye" * "Start of Something" * "Over Again" * "Maybe Tonight"

B-sides

* "Boys Will Be Boys" * "Bitten by You" * "The Better Me" * "Simon Says" * "Pullover Boy" * "No-One Knows" * "The Possibilities" * "Morning Sun"

Known demos

* "Blue Room" * "Under the Bed" * "Victorian Names" * "Paper Aeroplanes" * "The Worst Years" * "My Bright Child" * "Second to None"

References

https://www.riotactpodcast.com/70-the-anal-timekeeper/

External Links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Catch 1997 establishments in England 1999 disestablishments in England British indie pop groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 English alternative rock groups Britpop groups British musical trios Virgin Records artists