The Cateran, or simply Cateran, were a Scottish

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band active between the mid-1980s and 1991.

History

The Cateran formed in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in the mid-1980s, with a line-up comprising

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

natives Sandy Macpherson (vocals), Cameron Fraser (guitar), Murdo MacLeod (guitar), Kai Davidson (bass guitar), and Andy Milne (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 256-7 Davidson had played in several bands in the early 1980s, including Reasons For Emotion, which also featured Craig and Charlie Reid, who later found fame as

The Proclaimers ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

.Kai Davidson
, ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 29 June 2007, p. 27 They were initially influenced by US acts such as

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...

and the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

, and signed to the DDT label. The band's debut release was the 1986

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''Little Circles'', which they promoted by touring with The Proclaimers, for whom Davidson also acted as manager. The "Last Big Lie" 7" followed in 1987, after which Macpherson left the band and Fraser took over as lead vocalist. The Cateran moved to

Vinyl Solution Vinyl Solution was a record label of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the offshoot of an independent London-based record store based at 231 Portobello Road (now known as Intoxica Records). The label signed many unconventional acts in a number of unc ...

for the second album, ''Bite Deeper'' in 1988, before moving on again to

Imaginary Records Imaginary Records was an independent record label based in Heywood, Greater Manchester, England, which specialised mainly in indie rock and post-punk. It was started in 1985 by Alan Duffy, known for his lyrical contributions to Porcupine Tree's f ...

later that year for ''The Black Album'' EP. The band's third and final album, ''Ache'', was issued in 1989 on the What Goes On label, and the band supported

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.' ...

and Tad on their UK tour that year. Nirvana FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important Band 1617135887 John D. Luerssen - 2014 -"The initial shows had Nirvana opening for TAD, with support from the Cateran —a Scottish quintet heavily influenced by Hüsker Dü who were then on tour in support of their latest album, Ache. In fact, it was Cameron Fraser from the Cateran who ... A further EP followed in 1990 before the band split in 1991, with MacLeod and Davidson forming a new band, Joyriders, who released two singles, both of which were named "Single of the Week" by the ''

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'', before splitting up in the mid-1990s. A compilation album of the Joyriders recordings was issued in Japan in 2009."Returning Japanese tour for Inverness rock group", ''

Inverness Courier The Inverness Courier is a local, bi-weekly newspaper, published each Tuesday and Friday in Inverness, Highland, Scotland. It reports on issues in Inverness and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It is the longest, continually running local ...

'', 11 August 2009, retrieved 10 January 2010 Davidson later had a career as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

, and died on 13 June 2007, aged 44, after falling from a tower block.Morris, Adam (2007) "Proclaimers' ex-manager killed in fall", ''

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by JPIMedia, which also ...

'', 20 June 2007 A fund was set up in his memory to support young musicians.Mollison, Hazel (2007) "Fund in music guru's memory hits right note for new talent", ''

'', 11 December 2007 The Proclaimers donated £20,000 to the fund in December 2007."Proclaimers to donate £20,000", ''

Aberdeen Press & Journal ''The Press and Journal'' is a daily regional newspaper serving northern and highland Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness. Established in 1747, it is Scotland's oldest daily newspaper, and one of the longest-running newspape ...

'', 19 December 2007, p. 4

Discography

Albums

*''Little Circles'' (1986), DDT *''Bite Deeper'' (1988),

*''Ache'' (1989), What Goes On

Singles, EPs

*"Last Big Lie" (1987), DDT *''The Black Album EP'' (1988), Imaginary *''Die Tomorrow'' EP (1990), What Goes On

Compilation appearances

*''Time Between - A Tribute To The Byrds'' - "She Don't Care About Time" 1989 Imaginary Records *''A Pox Upon The Poll Tax'' - "Teach Yourself" 1989 Peasants Revolt REVOLT1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cateran, The Scottish punk rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 1991