The Cats, previously known as The Hustlin' Kind, were a

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

ensemble from

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

, London.de Koningh, Michael & Griffiths, Marc (2003) ''Tighten Up! The History of Reggae in the UK'', Sanctuary, , pp. 37-38 The group's lineup comprised Tyrone Patterson (keyboards), Richard Archer (bass),

John Kpiaye John Ogetti Kpiaye (born 1948) is a reggae session and live guitarist.Larkin, Colin (1998) "John Kpiaye" in ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , pp. 160-161 He was a member of The Cats who had a No. 48 UK hit with "Swan Lake", a ...

(guitar), and Michael Okoro (drums).

History

They were initially an instrumental band, playing ska and soul covers in London clubs, changing the band name to The Cats in Summer 1968. The group recorded ten tracks at Maximum Sound studios in

Old Kent Road Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæceli ...

in September 1968. Their 1968 single, "

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

", backed by " Swing Low", hit no. 48 in 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 ...

in early 1969, making them the first British reggae band to have a top fifty hit in the UK. According to Kpiaye "Swan Lake" was recorded during the Maximum Sound session, the single was released on the group's own Baf label. "Swan Lake" was later covered by Madness on their debut album '' One Step Beyond...''; Subsequent releases by The Cats failed to chart, rendering them as

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

Discography

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cats English ska musical groups British reggae musical groups Black British musical groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 1967 establishments in England