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They gathered together a collection of friends and colleagues to form the rest of the band. Paul Jones (bass) was the bassist in Y Cyrff, drums came from Daffydd Iuean (now with the Super Furry Animals.) This was later changed to long-haired Aled Jones from local band the Hepburns. The last member of the band was Clancy Pegg(keyboards), the only other girl in the band. She later left to join the unknown Welsh band Crac. Clancy was replaced by a second guitarist, Owen Powell formerly of the Crumblowers.

In 1993, the band released their first single, a 5-track EP named For Tinkerbell. It recieved critical acclaim from the music press including Single Of The Week in the NME. This title was also awarded to the follow up, the 3-track Hooked. Despite all the brilliant reviews and awards, neither single charted.

The band continued to release singles. In 1995 they released a compilation album of several of their previously released songs. Sublime Magic is now one of the rarest and most sort after records Catatonia have released. Also in 1995, Catatonia's fan mailing list recieved a cristmas present from the band. Christmas 95 is the most sort after Catatonia record. Only 1,000 were ever released and copies change hands for over £100 between devoted fans. Around, this point in the bands history, Mark and Cerys' relationship was on extremely rocky ground. Cracks were showing and the band began to slowly cave inwards.

In 1996, Catatonia relesed their first studio album, Way Beyond Blue is a collection of different musical styles sung in both Welsh and English. Still, it didn't chart. The band were recieving much press coverage by this point. They were being championed by Radio 1 DJ's Mark and Lard who interviewed them at the 1996 Phoenix Festival. By this point Mark and Cerys' relationship was really on the rocks. Cerys' drinking reached all time heights and the stories in the music press surrounding them became increasingly wild. In early 1996, Mark dumped Cerys, just days before they went on tour. Unable to escape her ex, Cerys pulled a hat over her eyes and pulled away from the band, trying to get some space.

During 1997 the band settled down a little. Although Cerys and Mark were still bitter they covered everything up in order for Catatonia to survive. They began work on their second album. They were a little more well known now having had a few very low chart entries during the previous years. Late in the year, they released the first single from International Velvet. I am the Mob charted at number 40, their highest so far. The band went on tour but their record company threatened to drop them if their next single flopped. Desperately, the band released Mulder and Scully. The impossible happened. The single flew up the chart, eventually landing at number 3. The band were on several national TV shows including Top of the Pops.

Over the next months more singles were relesed including their most well-known hit, Road Rage which won the Q Award for best single. Cerys duetted on The Ballad of Tom Jones with Liverpudlian band Space. She became a regular face on the London scene and no celebrity party or ceremony was complete without her. International Velvet topped the chart and the demand for the bands old singles became so high their previous record company, Crai, released a compilation of the bands first 2 singles at Christmas.

1999 was just as wild for the band. They released their third album, Equally Cursed and Blessed. It reached number 1 the week it was released. After supporting the Manic Street Preachers over christmas, the band toured themselves in spring supported by the Big Leaves from north Wales. Over summer the Home Internationals arrived. Three enormous shows, 2 in Llangollen and the third in Margam Park. Margam Park drew a capacity crowd of over 30,000 people. Cerys appeared on the front cover of lad-mag FHM and was featured and interviwed in nearly every magazine imaginable. It was at this point that the bands popularity seemed to start a steady descent. Cerys appeared duetting with Tom Jones on his latest duets album but it didn't help much, just keeping them above the surface.

In 2000 Catatonia were forgotten. They played 2 shows in the US in January before dissappearing into the studio for the rest of the year. Nothing was released and no shows or festivals were played. The fans rapidly moved away, finding other bands to follow and selling up their collections. This left only a core group of fans unwilling to let go. Cerys recorded a few solo tracks such as The More I See You and Thank You Stars for the film Fanny and Elvis and the animated series of Watership Down respectively. She also appeared at Glastonbury duetting with the Pet Shop Boys on their hit single, What Have I Done to Deserve This?
The fans amused themselves by discussing everything imaginable about the band, feeding off the slightest word from the studio, reading the recently published book about the band and setting up uncountable web groups on the internet. Even the most hardcore of message groups began to drift from the band. Over summer the band were almost forgotten as fans began discussing other topics such as Big Brother and other bands due to the lack of Catatonia in the public.

Now, in 2001 the band have announced they have almost finished their new album. They have begun to reappear in the music press. They have been featured in underground film, Beautiful Mistakes about the Welsh music scene. The album is rumoured to be released on the 4th June and a single is due to be announced at any time. On the 26th April the band are playing a warm up gig in Northampton, their first UK gig in over 2 years! Two days later they are playing at the massive UNISON concert in Manchester along with 4 other high charting bands. The gig has drawn fans from all over the country, many were phoning or at the box office buying tickets within minutes of them going on sale. The gig is destined to be huge with interest in the band starting to increase, much due to Cerys' appearance on the tribute album to the late Ian Dury. Let's hope the band continue as they always have done and that their following stays with them. Always.

All information gathered from "Cerys, Catatonia and the Rise of Welsh Pop" by David Owens, Record Collector magazine and various web sites. Many thanks to Adams Shutes for all the information he has released on his site, much of which has helped this biography.

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