Catherine Wheel

Catherine Wheel were an English alternative rock band from Great Yarmouth. The band was active from 1990 to 2000, experiencing fluctuating levels of commercial success, and embarking on many lengthy tours. Catherine Wheel formed in 1990, comprising singer/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson), guitarist Brian Futter, bassist Dave Hawes, and drummer Neil Sims. Hawes had previously played in a Joy Division-influenced band called Eternal. They took their moniker from the firework known as the Catherine wheel, which in turn had taken its name from the medieval torture device of the same name. The band was sometimes included in the shoegazing scene, characterized by bands that made extensive use of guitar feedback and droning washes of noise, as well as their continuous interaction with extensive amounts of effects pedals on the stage floor. However, Catherine Wheel had a more song-oriented style than their peers.
== Links To Peel ==
Peel heard the band through a small indie label named Wilde Club Records, who the group were signed to. After inviting them to perform a session for his show in 1991, the band triggered a record label feeding frenzy following their appearance, but although the likes of Brian Eno's Opal and Alan McGee's Creation were clamouring for their signatures, the band elected to join the recently resuscitated major Fontana.
The band were predominately played by Peel between 1991 and 1992, but by the time the shoegazing music genre melted away, the group rarely got played by the DJ and the band's music started to change into a more metallic hard rock sound until they split in 2000.
== Festive Fifty Entries ==
*1991 Festive Fifty: Black Metallic #15
== Sessions ==
1. Recorded: 1991-04-09. Broadcast: 05 May 1991. Repeated: 30 June 1991
* She's Me Friend / Shallow / Black Metallic / Painful Thing
== Other Shows Played ==
;thumb|330x330px1991
*05 January 1991: She's My Friend (12") Wilde Club
*12 January 1991: Upside Down (12" EP - She's My Friend) Wilde Club
*24 January 1991 (Radio Mafia): She's My Friend (12" single) Wild Club
*26 January 1991: She's My Friend (12" single) Wild Club
*02 February 1991: Salt (12" - She's My Friend) Wilde Club
*Mainly Peel Feb 1991: Upside Down (12" - She's My Friend) Wilde Club WILDE 4
*16 March 1991: Love And Justice (compilation album - Positive Vibrations - Greetings From Planet Oratoroa) Pagan
*16 March 1991: Upside Down () Wild Club
*18 May 1991: Shallow (12" - Painful Thing EP) Wilde Club
*19 May 1991: Spin (EP - Painful Thing) Wilde Club
*24 May 1991 (BFBS): 'Shallow (12"-Painful Thing E.P.)' (Wilde Club)
*25 May 1991: Painful Thing (12" - Painful Thing EP) Wilde Club
*01 June 1991: Spin (12" Painful Thing) Wilde Club
*03 June 1991 (BBC World Service): Shallow (12" - Painful Thing E.P.) Wilde Club
*03 June 1991 (Ö3): 'Shallow (12"-Painful Thing)' (Wilde Club)
*07 June 1991 (BFBS): 'Shallow (12"-Painful Thing E.P.)' (Wilde Club)
*15 June 1991: Shallow (12" EP - Painful Thing) Wilde Club
*Peel Late Autumn 1991: I Want To Touch You (live)
*20 October 1991: Crawling Over Me (12" EP acetate) Fontana
*26 October 1991: Let Me Down Again (12" promo - Black Metallic) Fontana
*01 November 1991 (BFBS): Let Me Down Again (12" promo - Black Metallic) Fontana
*08 November 1991 (BFBS): Crawling Over Me (12" EP acetate) Fontana
*01 December 1991: 'Let Me Down Again' (12" Single)
*07 December 1991: Black Metallic (EP) Fontana
*13 December 1991 (BFBS): 'Let Me Down Again' (12" Single)
*20 December 1991 (BFBS): Black Metallic (EP) Fontana
;1992
*19 January 1992: 'Balloon (7")' (Fontana)
*31 January 1992 (BFBS): 'Balloon (single)' (Fontana)
*01 February 1992: Balloon (12") Fontana
*22 February 1992: 'Flower To Hide (CD – Ferment)' (Fontana)
*29 February 1992: Indigo Is Blue (CD - Ferment) Fontana
*29 February 1992 (BFBS): Ferment (CD - Ferment) Fontana
*10 May 1992 (BFBS): Texture (LP - Ferment) Fontana
;1993
*14 May 1993: Black Metallic (7") Fontana 1991 FF #15
== External Links ==
* Wikipedia
* Discogs
Category:Artists