The Catherine Wheel – Live At Norwich Waterfront – April 26, 1992 – BBC Radio 1 In Concert –
The Catherine Wheel this weekend. Probably one of the most underrated and overlooked bands of the 90s – doing a concert for the BBC Radio 1 series in Concert, recorded live at Norwich Waterfront, April 26, 1992.
I have run several The Catherine Wheel concerts and sessions over the past few years, always with the preface that they (along with The Charlatans) turned my head around with regard to new music in the 90s. Hearing them, live at The Hollywood Palladium (Catherine Wheel opened for The Charlatans), crammed into this modest sized venue with a room temperature wandering around 100 degrees, clouds of incense, someone smoking an awful lot of dope and the audience sprawled out on the floor – it took me right back to any one of a number of nights at the old Shrine Exposition Hall downtown – the same incense, the same clouds of dope (although less “skunky” in 1967 than in 1992), the same stifling heat and the same sprawled out audience. It was time traveling. And maybe the bands were different, but the vibe was exactly the same. And it was at that moment, sitting in the Palladium, sweat pouring off me in gallons and moderately stoned from the contact high that I realized music was in good places and we were in good hands – and maybe these bands and artists weren’t around in 1967, some not even born then, but they captured the spirit and the 90s were a welcome relief, paving the way for a lot of renewed excitement over music in general.
There was a lot going on in the 90s, much of it has stood the test of time. It will always baffle me why The Catherine Wheel didn’t become a household name – why they were overlooked. Truths to tell, if you kept your ears to the ground and checked out everything coming out between Seattle and Manchester it would prove overwhelming just by the sheer number of bands alone.
That’s why it’s always good to periodically visit genres from other years and other decades – there are always gems to be found if you dig around a little. The Catherine Wheel are certainly one of them.
Crank it up and enjoy. Incense, extreme heat and clouds of dope are an option – up to you.
