“The venues are more of a pay off than the awards, they’re the benchmark for us”  Bondy, Catfish and the Bottlemen

Ali and Dan discuss Catfish and the Bottlemen and their ascent from small, independent venues to bona fide festival headliners since their debut album, The Balcony, was released in 2014. As well as making their cases for their favourite Catfish anthems to be included in the final seven song setlist, they also compare the songwriting talents of  Van McCann and Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner, the Reading/Leeds announcement that there will be two headliners per night,  snobbery in the music press, the UK arenas most likely to score low on the gameshow Pointless, whether Scottish music fans are the best in the world, Jimmy Nail and Kempy's favourite soft beverage, Robinson's Blackcurrant corida.

THIS WEEK'S HEADLINERS
An adolescent Van McCann, frontman of Catfish and the Bottlemen, began submitting his tracks to the BBC Introducing Uploader a decade ago. He did so with intent, quoted as saying “we believe that once our music is heard, the people will love it”. He was relentlessly committed to the world hearing their music; throwing demos onstage at gigs and stuffing them under car windscreen wipers to get the word around the country.

The journey started to pick up pace after their 2013 appearance on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds’ festivals. A year later, their debut album, the Balcony, was released. Filled with perfect three-minute indie-rock anthems that resonated not just in their hometown of Llandudno, but nationwide. BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq described them as his favourite band of the year and, judging from their ascension up the line-up posters of festivals across the country, he wasn’t the only one who fell in love with the 11 songs on The Balcony, all of them – according to Van in an interview with Lammo - about girls and getting out a small town. The songs on their debut were made to be played live – or rather screamed back at the band from their legions of devoted fans - and follow-up The Ride, released in 2016, and last year’s effort, The Balance, have capitalised on Van’s instinct for a great hook and huge singalong choruses that match the bands’ stadium sized ambition. Experiencing Catfish live – even watching footage of their gigs and the reaction of their fans – prove that they are worthy festival headliners and next year, alongside Stormzy, come full circle as they top the bill at Reading and Leeds festival. 

EPISODE LINKS

BBC Introducing, Catfish and the Bottlemen - The Rise - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p07w3bcf/bbc-music-introducing-catfish-and-the-bottlemen-the-rise

Catfish and the Bottlemen headline gig at TRNSMT 2019 - https://youtu.be/XumHP-Eo854

Catfish and the Bottlemen official website - https://www.catfishandthebottlemen.com/homepage-v2-uk/

Robinson's Blackcurrant Cordial - https://www.robinsonssquash.co.uk/our-products/product-range/

Van McCann and Steve Lamacq discuss 'The Balcony' - https://youtu.be/Aj9OCY1wvYA

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