''For Tinkerbell'' is the debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by Welsh band

Catatonia Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...

, and also their first release. It features five tracks, some of which were later re-recorded on their first studio album ''

Way Beyond Blue ''Way Beyond Blue'' is the debut album by Welsh band Catatonia. It has been seen by many fans as being something of a compilation album, as all but five on the album had appeared on one of the band's early EPs or singles, albeit different rendi ...

''. All the tracks were later compiled with those from the ''Hooked'' EP on '' The Crai-EPs 1993/1994''.

Recording

''For Tinkerbell'' was self produced by the band, released on the Crai record label. The cover of the

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

was a photograph by Roland Dafis, who was a friend of band members

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes and ...

and Mark Roberts. He had previously taken photographs for Roberts' former band

Y Cyrff (1983–1991; The Bodies) was a Welsh language indie band in the 1980s, initially formed at the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy secondary school in Llanrwst, Conwy. The original line-up consisted of Barry Cawley (bass), Emyr Davies (vocals), Dylan Hughes ...

, and for ''For Tinkerbell'', the photograph featured a

cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

ornament from Dafis'

sideboard A sideboard, also called a buffet, is an item of furniture traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for displaying serving dishes, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of cabinets, or cupboards, and one or more drawers ...

which he had bought from

Poundstretcher Poundstretcher (previously styled as £-stretcher and also previously known as ...instore) is a chain of discount stores operating in the United Kingdom. It is based in Kirby Muxloe, England. History Poundstretcher was established in 1981 b ...

. There were five tracks on the EP; "For Tinkerbell", "New Mercurial Heights", "Dimbran", "

Sweet Catatonia "Sweet Catatonia" is a song recorded by the Welsh band Catatonia, taken from their first studio album, ''Way Beyond Blue''. It was written by Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts, and produced by Paul Sampson and Stephen Street. The title of the trac ...

" and the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

version of "New Mercurial Heights", "Gyda Gwen". There were concerns from the record label about the song "For Tinkerbell" not being in the

as liaison Rhys Mwyn was apprehensive about promoting an English language track, since he felt that the song would connect more with Robert's Y Cyrff fanbase if it was in Welsh.

Release

Around two months after release, the EP started to get noticed by the media press. It was named as the single of the week by music magazine ''

NME ''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 ...

'' and

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

DJ Mark Radcliffe played it. He had chosen to do so as he was overwhelmed with the volume of "identakit

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

bands" and "

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

-u-likes", and felt that he wanted to support an independent record label and a band "who weren't trying to be anything but themselves". The single had been sent to

Iestyn George Iestyn George is a Welsh journalist, who previously worked as an editor at both ''NME'' and '' GQ'' and is now a lecturer at University of Brighton. Journalism career During the 1990s, George was a writer for ''NME'' magazine, and became news ed ...

at ''NME'', who previously knew Matthews but wasn't aware of her as a musician. Several tracks were re-recorded to appear on Catatonia's first studio album, ''

''. All the tracks were later compiled onto '' The Crai-EPs 1993/1994'' alongside those from the band's second EP ''Hooked'', released a year after ''For Tinkerbell''.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals * Mark Roberts – guitar * Clancy Pegg – keyboards * Paul Jones – bass *

Dafydd Ieuan Dafydd Ieuan (born 1 March 1969) is a Welsh musician and producer, best known as the drummer with the band Super Furry Animals, The Peth and The Earth (band). Ieuan played with Gruff Rhys in their early band Ffa Coffi Pawb. He was a drummer f ...

– drums

References

* {{Authority control Catatonia (band) EPs 1993 debut EPs Alternative rock EPs