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Cerys Matthews

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Cerys Matthews

Cerys Matthews (pronounced [ˈkɛˌrɪs]) (born 11 April 1969, in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the Welsh rock band Catatonia, from 1992 to 2001.

Biography

The daughter of a surgeon, Matthews was brought up in Swansea and Pembrokeshire and is a fluent Welsh speaker. She has cited her childhood heroes as being Pippi Longstocking and The Wombles due to their love of recycling. She attended St Michael's School in Llanelli, and learned to play the guitar at the age of 9 - teaching herself blues and rude Irish folk songs. After a stint in Spain as a nanny, where she learned to speak Spanish and Catalan, Matthews worked for Pembrokeshire County Council. She later moved back to Cardiff and became involved with the local music scene, meeting boyfriend Marc Roberts. She currently resides in Wales with her 2 children Glenys Pearl,four and Johnny Jones, two.

Catatonia

The band Catatonia was formed in 1992, reputedly after Roberts heard Matthews busking in a street in Cardiff city centre (this later turned out to be a story fabricated by the band, as Matthews had known Roberts for some time, although they did often go busking). She subsequently sang lead vocals on the band's hits, including "You've Got a Lot to Answer For", "Mulder and Scully", "Dead From the Waist Down", and "Road Rage", and played guitar on the earlier material before second guitarist Owen Powell joined the band. She also performed a single with the band Space named "The Ballad of Tom Jones", which tells the story of two lovers who want to kill each other, but then hear a Tom Jones song that defuses their homicidal feelings. In addition, she collaborated with Tom Jones himself to record a version of Frank Loesser's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" on Jones' album Reload. Matthews was once voted the "Sexiest Female in Rock" by the now defunct magazine, Melody Maker.

Nashville

Having met and fallen in love with country music producer Seth Riddle, Matthews moved to Nashville, United States in early summer 2002. She had already collected seventy-six traditional folk songs with the idea of making an album of folk covers, but meeting Bucky Baxter changed all that. On her arrival in the United States in June, Matthews handpicked Baxter, who had played lap steel guitar for Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams. Her debut album, Cockahoop, was recorded in seven months and appeared on Blanco y Negro in the UK in May 2003. She married Riddle in West Wales in February 2003,[1] and toured the album around Britain but with minimal promotion as she was several months pregnant at the time. Its Stateside release followed in October 2004.

In December 2005, Matthews recorded a new version of Len Barry's 1960s UK top 10 hit "1-2-3" in Nashville, Tennessee. She released it as a download-single with all profits going to a children's charity.[2][3]

In spring 2006, Matthews with a new band introduced material from her upcoming album at SXSW in Austin, Texas, United States. The gig was so well attended that many had to watch from the street outside.

"Never Said Goodbye"

Having broken up with Seth Riddle, Matthews moved back to Pembrokeshire with her children.; this was on the pretext of the release of her second solo album and that she wanted to show her children the traditions and ways of her homeland.[4]

In July and August 2006 Matthews conducted a short tour of the UK to promote her new second solo album titled Never Said Goodbye (released in the UK by Rough Trade on 21 August 2006). The new album was preceded by the single "Open Roads" (released 7 August 2006). Band members included K. Teel on guitar, Ben Elkins playing keyboards, Mason Neely on drums, and Jeff Irwin playing bass. She headlined Cardiff's Big Weekend festival on 6 August 2006.

During September and October 2006, Matthews embarked on an extensive UK and Ireland tour, during which she played tracks from her first two solo albums, as well as three Catatonia hits. She also embarked upon a short acoustic Welsh tour in November 2006, before returning to Nashville for Christmas. To coincide with the re-launch of her solo career, Matthews redesigned her official website, and added a page to the ever-popular MySpace web directory. (/cerysmatthewsofficial)

Cerys appeared at the live 'Guilty Pleasures' concert at the Hackney Empire, London on the 20 March 2007, performing the Bonnie Tyler hit 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and the Dolly Parton/Kenny Rogers duet 'Islands in the Stream' along with Terry Hall and the BBC concert orchestra!

In an interview on the eve of the launch of her mini-album in Welsh Awyren = Aeroplane, Matthews confirmed she had divorced Seth Riddle and moved permanently back to Pembrokeshire.[5]

Matthews appeared in the 2007 series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! on ITV. She was voted off on November 29 one day before the final episode of the series, coming fourth. She has confirmed that she is in a relationship with ex-Eastenders star Marc Bannerman whom she met in the jungle.[[6].

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Singles

References

  1. ^ Cerys arrives for wedding on tractor BBC Wales - 22 February, 2003
  2. ^ http://www.jmcreative.net/ "1-2-3" download
  3. ^ http://www.jmcreative.tv/result/videoitem/105.jsp?v=7&n=62 "1-2-3 (For a Very Good Reason)" commercial film
  4. ^ Cerys in divorce Daily Mirror - 15 October 2007
  5. ^ Divorced Cerys returns to Wales BBC Wales - 15 October 2007
  6. ^ http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2975806.ece Cerys Matthews leaves I'm A Celebrity ] The Times Online - 30 November 2007

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cerys_Matthews&oldid=175691624"