Bob Catley: Difference between revisions
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Catley is currently in the studio with Magnum, recording the follow up to 'Brand New Morning', tentatively titled '[[Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow]]'; this release is due on 26th March 2007 |
Catley is currently in the studio with Magnum, recording the follow up to 'Brand New Morning', tentatively titled '[[Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow]]'; this release is due on 26th March 2007 |
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He is know to other members of Magnum as BURST or as BERT. |
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It has been said that once he has had one to many his band mates refer to him as ELVIS. |
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== Solo discography == |
== Solo discography == |
Revision as of 14:13, 14 March 2007
Bob Catley |
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Bob Catley is a British musician, perhaps best known as the lead singer of the rock band Magnum. He is also an accomplished solo artist.
Early Years
After leaving school Catley started an apprenticeship at the GPO. During this time he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks, Life and Clearwater. Shortly afterward he decided to pursue a career in music professionally and he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The line up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Charlie Harrison (bass) (replaced later by Dave Morgan), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and John 'Pank' Panteny (drums). Shortly afterwards they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt - the tracks chosen were ‘Ever Since I Can Remember’, backed with ’Goodbye Mary’. In addition they recorded ‘Mary Colinto’ and ‘Somebody Save Me’. All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan.
Magnum
It was in 1972 in Birmingham when Bob Catley came together with Tony Clarkin and formed Magnum, who originally started as a covers band at the Rum Runner nightclub. Bob's old bandmate from The Smokestacks, drummer Kex Gorin was also a founder member of the band. They released their debut album 'Kingdom Of Madness' in 1978, followed by 'Magnum II' in 1979 and their first live album 'Marauder' in 1980. During this period they toured relentlessly with popular bands of the time such as Def Leppard, Blue Öyster Cult and Judas Priest.
1982's 'Chase The Dragon' album was the first to go Top 20, and was accompanied by a sold out UK tour and a tour of the States with Ozzy Osbourne. 1983's 'The Eleventh Hour', 1985's 'On A Storyteller's Night' and 1986's 'Vigilante' album (which was recorded and produced by Queen drummer Roger Taylor at Queen's famous Mountain Studios in Montreux) all fared similarly well; however it was 1988's 'Wings Of Heaven' album which really broke the band into the mainstream, going gold, reaching number two of the UK chart and spawning three top 30 singles - 'Days Of No Trust', Start Talkin' Love' and 'It Must Have Been Love'. This led to numerous TV appearances including Top Of The Pops. During this period the band regularly graced the stages of such major UK Festivals as Reading and Castle Donington’s Monsters Of Rock.
1990s 'Goodnight L.A.' album which was recorded in the States with producer Keith Olsen also went Top 10, spawned the Top 40 single 'Rocking Chair' and was accompanied by a tour of the UK's Arena circuit, including venues such as Wembley Arena and the NEC. 1991's 'The Spirit', 1992's 'Sleepwalking' and 1994's 'Rock Art', were followed by the announcement of the band's demise and an extensive farewell tour, during which the band's 1995 live album, 'The Last Dance' was recorded.
Hard Rain
Following the demise of Magnum, Bob Catley and Tony Clarkin collaborated on a project called 'Hard Rain' in 1997. Hard Rain consisted of : -
- Bob Catley (vocals)
- Tony Clarkin (guitar)
- Al Barrow (bass)
- Rob Barrow (drums)
- Paul Hodson (keyboards)
- Sue McCloskey (backing vocals)
Magnum Reunion
Not long after the break-up of Hard Rain, Magnum reformed, and released their 2001 album "Breath Of Life"; this was followed by a number of celebrated sell out shows, and the release of the critically acclaimed album 'Brand New Morning' in 2004.
Solo career
Despite a busy touring and recording schedule with Magnum at this time, Bob Catley has found time to embark on a highly successful solo career. He was first approached by Gary Hughes (frontman of Rock band Ten) in 1998 to write a solo album. Bob teamed up with Gary who wrote all the songs on The Tower (as well as producing and playing bass and keyboards). The Tower was written with classic Magnum very much in mind and harks back to "On A Storyteller's Night" style pomp meeting "Wings Of Heaven" style AOR with a very 90s melodic rock production. The Tower was released in 1998 and was critically acclaimed. Powerplay magazine gave The Tower a 'Highly Recommended' rating, saying : -
- "What better way to start off your solo career than with an absolute belter!", "Gary has captured that special feel and vibe of 'Storyteller's' perfectly, and wrapped it up beautifully in renaissance/symphonic style instrumentation, with big grandiose almost epic film score like production schemes", "Spectacular - "On A Storyteller's Night Part 2" with balls!", “Far Away” is a ballad of epic proportions that propels Bob's vocals to heights rarely touched even in his Magnum days", "A production job worthy enough to grace the Titanic soundtrack" and "Essential listening for all fans of vintage Magnum".
Bob made his debut solo appearance at The Gods '98, performing a show stopping set featuring tracks from The Tower as well as classic Magnum songs. Such was the response to the show that Now & Then decided to release an "official bootleg" of the set. "Live At The Gods" which was released in January 1999 and features the full set list performed on the day. Bob's backing band for the concert was made up of
- Vinny Burns (Ten) on lead guitar
- Paul Hodson (Hard Rain) on keyboards/backing vocals
- Mike Dmitrovic (Emerald Rain) rhythm guitar
- Sean Gregory (Emerald Rain) on bass
- Murray Daigle (Emerald Rain) acoustic guitar/backing vocals
- Kyle Lazenka on drums
Bob and Emerald Rain also undertook a successful UK tour.
During the summer of 1999 recording commenced on Bob's second solo album Legends. Gary Hughes once again wrote and produced the album (as well as playing keyboards) with Ten's Vinny Burns and Steve McKenna and Dante Fox's John Cooksey providing the musical backing. The songs are based on various Legends, factual, fictional, historical and mythological.
Legends was launched at The Gods 99 where Bob headlined the Saturday night with Emerald Rain and Paul Hodson once again providing backing. Bob toured the UK extensively during 2000 with Hodson and Native Cain providing his backing band. In the run up to Christmas 2000 Bob toured the UK again, and for one Spanish date, with special guest Kip Winger.
German magazine Rock Hard gave Legends 7/7 and had the following to say:
- "Bob Catley is probably one of the best melodic rock singers of the millennium. His new album Legends is a dream album. It can be placed on a level with the best Magnum CDs. He has changed partners and Gary Hughes (Ten-Mastermind) now writes the songs for him. Vinny Burns (guitar player with Ten) puts the finishing touches to the dashing songs of Hughes. I cannot remember the last time I heard an album of this genre which was so exciting and varied. On this album everything is great. The hardest rocker melts away when listening to the ballads, and the fast songs have the right balance between hardness and melody. Brilliant"
2001 saw the release of Bob's third album Middle Earth, which was based on J. R. R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings. The songs, once again penned by Gary Hughes, are based on various parts/incidents/characters from the book. Musicians on Middle Earth include
- Vinny Burns
- Steve McKenna
- John Cooksey
- Gary Hughes
...plus a guest appearance by Landmarq vocalist Tracy Hitchings. Bob toured extensively in 2001 with Kip Winger opening acoustically early in the year, and then spent a month co-headlining UK and European dates with Ten later in the year.
Hard Roxx magazine gave Middle Earth 9.5/10 and had the following to say:
- "Only rarely, an exceptional artist produces an exceptional album. Inspired by Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, "Middle Earth" is Bob Catley's third solo album. The fantasy literature theme, carefully crafted melodies and epic instrumentation means 'Middle Earth' is the most courageous project to date for both Catley, in solo capacity, and for songwriter Gary Hughes. Here Hughes shows a different angle to his talent. 'Middle Earth' is a miles away from his solo AOR, and far removed from Ten material; much more so than 'The Tower' or 'Legends'. Musically the recording has to be Hughes' proudest achievement, with the album including some of the finest verses, choruses and writing of his career. 'The Wraiths of the Ring' holds out the taster. A track with a hypnotic rhythm, before Catley's vocals add that mystical tone in true classic style. 'The Fields That I Recall/Emissary', like other tracks, is unafraid to scene-set, here with some great keyboards, before the main body of the song breaks out of its wrapping. Superb! It's hard not to draw comparisons with Magnum with such a strong circa 'Storytellers Night' feel. The spiritual overtones of Magnum's earlier albums are apparent throughout, whilst the heavy pomp on 'Return of the Mountain King' has a 'Wings of Heaven/Goodnight L.A.' feel. The Magnum elements, on occasions, are mixed with elements of epic 'Out of The Silence' era Dare (listen to some of Vinny's guitar work!).
- Anyone expecting a full blooded rock album could be in for a shock. The excellent 'This Gallant Band of Strangers' is as bombastic as it gets, but elsewhere there's plenty of guts, fire and outright quality to satisfy. If there is a high point, then 'Where You Lead I'll Follow/Stormcrow and Pilgrim' is it. The song has so much within. An unfolding keyboard intro, dramatic undertones, poignant vocals and pomp rock extraordinaire; Vinny Burns holding the whole thing together with a supreme rhythmic riff. Nearly always avoiding the obvious, or a tried formula, Hughes' thoughtful melodies, provide a legendary singer with a near perfect platform. Sense-provoking, unashamed escapism, 'Middle Earth' will be compulsive listening for many a year."''
2003 saw a change in writing partners for Catley - ‘When Empires Burn’ was written and produced by Bob’s long time keyboard player Paul Hodson. The band consisted of : -
- Bob Catley (vocals)
- Paul Hodson (keyboards)
- Vince O’Regan (guitars)
- Al Barrow (Bass)
- Jamie Little (drums)
‘When Empires Burn’ was again backed by a full European tour, this time touring with the Yorkshire based band Lost Weekend.
Destiny had the following to say about 'When Empires Burn' : -
- "After a trio of finely sculpted studio albums with Ten man Gary Hughes at the writing and production helm, circumstances have decreed that it's time for 'Uncle Bob' to move on. Into the breach, somewhat tentatively at first perhaps, steps long time touring band keyboard player Paul Hodson, pretty much an unknown quantity before now. However, as soon as 'When Empires Burn' hits the streets, I guarantee that there'll be queues around the block for his services, because to put it simply, this is absolutely amazing! Easily the heaviest and most audacious album of Catley's distinguished career (solo or otherwise), this is a remarkable achievement on virtually every level. Contrary to the pronounced dip in quality some might have been expecting, songs such as 'Meaning Of Love', 'When Empires Burn', 'Gonna Live Forever', and 'The Prophecy' take things majestically on to the next level. A bombastically overblown, gloriously pompous blend of some of the best elements of Ten, Dare, and Magnum (with some seriously heavy duty guitars courtesy of Pulse man Vince O'Regan - very Kee Marcello circa 'Out Of This World' at times), everything about this release is a joy to behold. Brash and powerful, bold and dynamic, 'When Empires Burn' sets the standards which others (Magnum included) now have to aim for. Stunning!"
Bob’s 2006 solo album 'Spirit Of Man' was written by Dave Thompson and Paul Uttley of Lost Weekend and Vince O’Regan of Pulse, and was recorded at KRT Studio’s in Wolverhampton (a studio owned and run by Bob’s guitarist Vince O’Regan). Bob and Vince have co-produced the album. This is the first time that Catley has had a role in the production of one of his albums. The musicians featured on the album are
- Bob Catley (vocals)
- Vince O’Regan (guitars)
- Al Barrow (bass)
- Jamie Little (drums)
- Irvin Parratt (keyboards)
The album was supported by a full UK and European tour, including an intimate date at Londons famous Underworld club.
Side Projects
Despite Bob’s busy recording and touring schedule with both Magnum and his own (solo) band, Bob has still found time to add his vocal talents over the years to various rock opera projects such as :-
- 'The Boy' in Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman’s ‘Jabberwocky’
- Sir Henry Baskerville in ‘Hound Of The Baskervilles’, again with Clive Nolan and Oliver Wakeman
- Merlin in Once and Future King Part I and Once and Future King Part II, an opera based on the King Arthur legend written by Gary Hughes of Ten
- The Tree of Knowledge in Avantasia with his good friend Tobias Sammet of Edguy
'Knighthood'
Despite being known as 'Sir' Bob Catley, Catley has never received a Knighthood; instead this is commonly used as a 'Term of endearment' by fans and has no other connotation.
Current Status
Catley is currently in the studio with Magnum, recording the follow up to 'Brand New Morning', tentatively titled 'Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow'; this release is due on 26th March 2007 He is know to other members of Magnum as BURST or as BERT. It has been said that once he has had one to many his band mates refer to him as ELVIS.
Solo discography
- The Tower (1998)
- Live at 'The Gods' (1999)
- Legends (1999)
- Middle Earth (2001)
- When Empires Burn (2003)
- Spirit Of Man (2006)