Before they became the drunken face of Britrock with 1998’s International Velvet, Catatonia laid down this underrated debut album with Daf on drums. With impeccable timing, he left as they hit paydirt.

Dafydd Ieuan says:

“Cerys Matthews was the face, but Mark Roberts [guitarist] was the boss. I’d known him for years ’cos we came from the same part of Wales and we’d been in Welsh language bands in the late-’80s.”

“We did most of Way Beyond Blue in Cornwall, in a studio you could only get to by boat. I had to restrain myself, not hit the drums as hard as I could, because I’d been playing in blues bands in working men’s clubs in North Wales. But they were still rocky, dangerous songs. I liked For Tinkerbell.”

“I always thought Mark was a natural songwriter and that Cerys could pull it off. Unfortunately, it came to the point where I had to choose whether I wanted to get the Super Furry Animals going or carry on with Catatonia. That’s why I left. Then they became mega-famous.”