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Cath Carroll (born 25 August 1960)
[Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music'', Virgin Books, , pp. 96–7] is a British musician and music journalist.
Career
Carroll was born in
Chipping Sodbury, England, but raised in
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
, then
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. She played guitar in post-punk band Property of... in 1978, which also included former
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
drummer Tony Tabac. In 1979 she formed the band Glass Animals with her friend Liz Naylor. The band was renamed Gay Animals in 1980, before disbanding in 1984. Carroll stated that the band aimed to be "the lesbian
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
", but "it sounded like a very bad
Fall
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...
". During this time she also produced the ''
City Fun
''City Fun'' was a magazine/fanzine documenting the music scene in Manchester, England between 1977 and 1984 and sold up to 2000 copies per issue via gigs, music stores, and selected news agents across Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds. Th ...
'' fanzine with Naylor.
In 1984 she began writing for ''
New Musical Express
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' magazine and ''
City Limits
City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...
'' under the pen-name Myrna Minkoff, and also formed a new band,
Miaow
A meow or miaow is a cat vocalization. ''Meows'' may have diverse tones and are sometimes chattered, murmured or whispered. Adult cats rarely meow to each other, so an adult cat meowing to human beings is probably a post-domestication extens ...
, who released their first single, "Belle Vue" on their own Venus label in 1985.
In 1986 Miaow contributed a track to the ''NME''s ''
C86
''C86'' is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine '' NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music g ...
'' compilation.
In early 1987 they came to the attention of
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutt ...
head
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4.
As a co-founder of ...
, who released two singles; "When it All Comes Down", and "Break the Code". The band also recorded two
Peel Sessions
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
, in June 1986 and January 1987.
[Miaow]
, Keeping It Peel, BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, retrieved 30 May 2010 After several line-up changes, Miaow disbanded in 1988, with Carroll going on to work with
The Hit Parade.
Carroll married former
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Nake ...
guitarist
Santiago Durango
Santiago Alonso Durango (born 1957) is a Colombian–American attorney and retired musician. He is best known for his work with the 1980s punk rock groups Naked Raygun and Big Black.
Life and career
Durango is the son of a Colombian doctor. H ...
, and embarked on a solo career.
In June 1988 Carroll began working on her debut solo album, ''
England Made Me'', named after a
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
novel. The album was recorded in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
Sao Paulo
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
, London, and in Chicago with
Steve Albini
Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...
. Carroll and Albini also recorded a version of "
King Creole
''King Creole'' is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel '' A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, ...
" for ''New Musical Express ''
The Last Temptation of Elvis'' compilation album. Carroll subsequently moved to Chicago in late 1989. There she worked with Chicago
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
producer,
Vince Lawrence. Their song "Too Good To Live" was a single from the album ''England Made Me'' and the album was released in June 1991 on the
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Durutt ...
label.
American band
Unrest
Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including:
* Civil unrest
* Civil disorder
* Domestic terrorism
* Industrial unrest
* Labor unrest
* Rebellion
* Riot
* Strike action
* State of emergency
Notable historical instance ...
paid tribute to Carroll in 1993, with the ''
Cath Carroll (EP)'' released on TeenBeat records, and used a
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...
portrait of Carroll on the cover of their ''
Perfect Teeth'' album in the same year.
Carroll released two singles ("My Cold Heart" in 1994 and "Bad Star" in 1995) and her second album, ''True Crime Motel'', on
Teenbeat Records
Teen Beat is an American independent record label, originally based in Arlington, Virginia, now based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by Mark Robinson (of Unrest) in 1984 at Wakefield High School, along with Phil Krauth (of Unrest ...
in 1995.
In 1996 she married musician and audio engineer Kerry Kelekovich, with whom she released her eponymously titled third album in 2000, on Carroll and Kelekovich's own Lilypad label. In November 2002, Carroll released her fourth album, ''The Gondoliers of Ghost Lake'' on
LTM. In 2003,
LTM also released ''When It All Comes Down'' by Miaow, which compiled all of Factory's Miaow catalogue, rarities,
Peel Sessions
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and tracks which were never released.
In 2001, Carroll's critical discography detailing the works of