The Family Cat were formed in 1988 by Paul Frederick on vocals and guitar, Stephen Jelbert on lead guitar, Tim McVay on rhythm guitar, John Graves on bass, and Kevin Downing on drums, - and made their London debut in April 1989, after which they were immediately signed up by John Yates for his new Bad Girl label. Their first release in July of the same year was 'Tom Verlaine', and it was an immediate success, claiming the coveted NME Single of the Week slot. It featured layered guitars meandering over a hypnotic lead and sturdy bassline, and did not disappoint those who had already witnessed the band's blistering live shows. The success of the single encouraged the band to return to the studio with ex-Jam drummer Rick Buckler producing, and they recorded the mini-LP 'Tell 'Em We're Surfin'', which was issued in 1989. It was somewhat critically received, with the lacklustre production being mentioned in reviews, and as a result Buckler was relieved of his production duties, and their next single 'Remember What It Is That You Love' was more representative of their live sound, and performed well in the indie charts. Their distinctive artwork by Iain Stronach was also beginning to attract attention, and the band were soon as recognised as much for their T-shirts as for their music. Two more singles followed on Bad Girl, in the form of 1990's 'A Place With A Name' and 1991's 'Colour Me Grey', after which they left the label and signed with Dedicated. At the same time they released a single on the Clawfist label, which was a singles club where two bands covered each other's songs on both sides of a 7" single, with The Family Cat teaming up with Cud for their offering. After a year of touring and recording, their next single 'Steamroller' appeared in 1992, and was greeted with acclaim from critics and fans alike, while the follow-up 'River Of Diamonds' featured backing vocals from Polly (PJ) Harvey, and yet despite rave reviews in the press, sales were still disappointing.
The band's second album, 'Furthest From The Sun' was released later that year, but fared no better in the charts, despite being an excellent record. In August 1993 they released 'Airplane Gardens', which just managed to scrape into the bottom of the charts, following which the band embarked on eight months of recording and gigging, before the release of their third album 'Magic Happens' in 1994. Once again the favourable reviews weren't reflected in the sales, although the single of 'Wonderful Excuse', which was taken from the album, did almost reach the Top 40, as did the follow-up 'Goldenbook', which was backed by the provocatively titled 'Bring Me The Head Of Michael Portillo'. This was to be their final record, as frustrated and disillusioned at not being able to gain any commercial success, the band split at the end of 1994. As is so often the case, they became appreciated much more after they split than while they were active, with their work being constantly re-appraised, and fans mourning the fact that they weren't given the acclaim that they deserved when they needed it. They were also very generous with their music, with nearly every single having at least one exclusive song on the flip, and with later releases coming in multiple formats, sometimes as many as four otherwise unavailable tracks. They also released another single on Clawfist, on their own this time with a cover of Big Star's 'Jesus Christ', as well as performing one of Carter U.S.M.'s songs on that band's 'Glam Rock Cops' single in 1994, and they contributed a rollicking 'Rocks Off' to a Rolling Stones tribute album. There was even a free 7" single which came with initial copies of the 'Furthest From The Sun' album, and after unsuccessfully trying to find 'Kolombus' and 'Montague Terrace' online, I checked my vinyl copy of the album and was surprised to find that I'd quite forgotten that I got the free 7" when I bought it in 1992. If you add in three previously unreleased songs which were intended for a proposed fourth album, then there is enough non-album music for another triple disc post, but this time I'm treating it like a box-set, with each album having it's own title and cover, just so that I can get in as many cat puns as I can.
Got Your Tongue
01 Tom Verlaine (12" single 1989)
02 Octopus Jr. (b-side of Tom Verlaine')
03 Remember What It Is That You Love (single 1990)
04 Push Comes To Shove (b-side of 'Remember What It Is That You Love')
05 (Thought I'd Died) And Gone To Heaven (b-side of 'Remember What It Is That You Love')
06 Place With A Name (single 1990)
07 Concrete (b-side of 'Place With A Name')
08 Pass Away (b-side of 'Place With A Name')
09 Strange Kind Of Love (split single with Cud 1990)
10 Rocks Off (from 'Stoned Again - A Tribute To The Stones' 1990)
11 Fearless (John Peel session 1990)
12 I Must Have Been Blind (b-side of 'Colour Me Grey' 1991)
13 Jesus Christ (single 1991)
Track listing
Has Nine Lives
01 What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (b-side of 'Steamroller' 1992)
02 Across The Universe (b-side of 'Steamroller' 1992)
03 Kolombus (from free 7" single with 'Furthest From The Sun' 1992)
04 Montague Terrace (from free 7" single with 'Furthest From The Sun' 1992)
05 Atmospheric Road (b-side of 'Airplane Gardens' 1993)
06 Mount Pleasant (Mark Goodier session 1993)
07 Prog 4 (b-side of 'Springing The Atom' 1993)
08 Happy To Be Here (b-side of 'Springing The Atom')
09 Lean On Me I Won't Fall Over (guest on single by Carter U.S.M. 1994)
Track listing
Out Of The Bag
01 Unwieldy World (b-side of 'Wonderful Excuse' 1994)
02 Counting Crosses (b-side of 'Wonderful Excuse' 1994)
03 Sign Of The Bloodcell (b-side of 'Wonderful Excuse' 1994)
04 Propeller Blades (b-side of 'Wonderful Excuse' 1994)
05 Bring Me The Head Of Michael Portillo (b-side of 'Goldenbook' 1994)
06 Gone To Heaven (b-side of 'Goldenbook' CD single 1994)
07 Old Faithful (b-side of 'Goldenbook' 7" single 1994)
08 Goldenboot (b-side of 'Goldenbook' 7" single 1994)
09 Ace Of Cups (previously unreleased)
10 Snowplough (previously unreleased)
11 Taking Your Sister Home (previously unreleased)
