The Catburgers | Interview | ‘Dreamworld Sessions’
A long lost demo from the Swell Maps / Television Personalities affiliated Scottish band, ‘Dreamworld Sessions’ was originally recorded in 1987 and has now been restored by the National Sound Archives.
Swell Maps / Television Personalities affiliated C86-era indie pop rescued from sheer obscurity and thrust into semi-obscurity by FELT. The Catburgers were a short-lived Scottish group, this recording initially primed for release on Dan Treacy’s Dreamworld imprint yet placed on the perennial backburner as so many creative projects inevitably are.
The group lived on only in the memories of those who happened to catch them on the Edinburgh scene back in the day. With the help of the National Sound Archives, the original master tape containing these three tracks has been rebaked, cut and mastered for seven-inch. ‘Holiday House’ sounds immediately at home in the Postcard Records nexus, the influence of 1980 particularly tangible. Slower paced and with a touch more melancholy than its companions, the song sounds both in and out of time, as if some young teens raised on a hand-me-down diet of Pastels CDs might have laid it down yesterday. Jowe Head of Swell Maps joins the group for ‘The Acid Tree’, whilst EP closer ‘Diving For The Brick’ sees the band ruminating on weak knees, sore lungs and stinging eyes down at the local swimming pool. Accompanying the release is the original demo tape predating this record, recorded at The Rocking Horse Studios in Bathgate in Autumn 1986. The demo is restored from a tape copy owned by journalist Simon Reynolds and contains some of the tracks that made it onto the 7″.
Would you like to tell us about your background? Where did you grow up and how did you first get interested in music?
Robert Jones: I grew up north of London in a wee town called Harpenden, but don’t have any roots there. My mum was from Yorkshire and my dad was a Welshman. I remember listening to the radio as a kid, and we always watched Top of the Pops every Thursday night. The first song I remember liking was ‘Mouldy Old Dough’ by Lieutenant Pigeon.
What were some of the first singles and albums that you got and what gigs did you attend?
The first albums I bought were 70s things like Led Zeppelin and Genesis, but it wasn’t til I was around sixteen that I really got into music. I remember my brother brought home a copy of ‘Closer’ by Joy Division from university, and I sat listening to it over and over again completely mesmerised. I was very into what we called New Wave music – Teardrop Explodes, Echo and the Bunnymen, Clock DVA (check out ‘4 Hours’ it’s a classic!). My first gig was either Teardrop Explodes or U2 (their first UK tour). My friends and I also went to the Knebworth Alternative Festival where we saw a load of bands I don’t remember, but the Television Personalities played. I remember them being incredibly chaotic.
What led to the formation of The Catburgers?
I started drumming when I was sixteen, and played in a band with school friends that never got as far as gigging – there were no venues in Harpenden! I went to Edinburgh University to study maths and left my drum kit behind, but I brought it up in second year and replied to an advert from a group of first year students – school friends from St Andrews – who were looking for a drummer. We were “A Walk Through H” – named after an early experimental film by Peter Greenaway. We had a Cocteau Twins vibe. We did play a few gigs around the university.
In late 1985 Stuart and I went to see the Television Personalities play at Moray House in Edinburgh. We were both completely blown away, and said to each other “we need to quit the band and form a band making music like that!” I got hold of a guitar, learned some chords and started writing songs.
We are all very excited about the release of the lost material that was initially ready for release on Dan Treacy’s Dreamworld imprint, what were the circumstances around it?
We recorded a demo in 1986 and sent it to a load of people including Dan. We knew Stuart Cant and Jeff Duffy who ran the Onion Cellar in Edinburgh, and they knew Dan, so he got chatting to them about how much he liked the demo and things progressed from there. He invited us down to London to record some tracks for release on his Dreamworld Records label.
Would you like to tell about the material, what are some of the strongest memories working on these tracks?
These songs were among the first dozen songs I ever wrote. Jowe came into the studio with us, and I remember him being very helpful – we recorded all three tracks in a day, and that would not have happened without Jowe being there. He just kept things moving along, and had a “yeah that’s fine” kind of attitude where we would have been more perfectionist. The melodica on ‘Holiday House’ was Jowe’s idea and he plays it. I remember it was also his idea to go full-on over the top with the delivery of the “why is life so cruel?” line in Diving for the Brick.
Where did you record it?
Electrorhythm Studio in London. This was a small 16 track studio run by a guy called Wilson Sharp. Some TVPs stuff was recorded there.
What was the Edinburgh scene like back then?
It was very vibrant! Everyone used “rehearsal rooms” in old underground storage cellars off the Royal Mile in Niddrie Street or Blair Street. There was a maze of wee passageways leading to these dank, arch-roofed spaces. It was quite cheap, but the damp played havoc with our gear. I had mould growing on a Vox AC30 amp! The Green Tree pub was just around the corner from these rehearsal rooms, and so you would always find band members drinking in there. Bannermans pub was even closer, but I seem to recall the more rocky bands used to drink there. Our local Edinburgh superstars were The Shop Assistants, on the Edinburgh Record label 53rd and 3rd. There were loads of great bands: Rote Kappele, Jesse Garron and the Desperadoes, the Vultures, the Fizzbombs, The Stayrcase, The Thanes… The styles of music were quite diverse, but we all got on well. The Thanes and The Catburgers had a week-long residency at a pub called Nicky Tam’s for a while. The Onion Cellar was an important club, and it morphed into Speed 3, which I helped to run. We put on all sorts of bands: Primal Scream, Felt, The Chills, The Television Personalities, The Swans, Loop, The James Taylor Quartet, Nico even!
Tell us how material resurfaced with the help of the National Sound Archives? Is the new release sourced from the original master tape?
To answer both those questions: After we recorded the tracks, nothing happened! This was at the time of Dan’s well documented falling apart, and so Dreamworld ceased to be. Stuart Cant of the Onion Cellar (at least I think it was him) was down visiting Dan’s place in Poynder’s Court and happened to find the ¼ inch tape of our recording amongst the piles of mess, so he grabbed it and brought it back to us. It then sat in a box for decades until Fergus expressed an interest in releasing it. He has contacts with the National Sound Archives.
“A whimsical song about someone who is given LSD but plants it in the garden”
How did you get in touch with Jowe Head of Swell Maps for ‘The Acid Tree’, and what was the song about?
We knew Jowe through our connection with the TVPs – he played bass. He was in the studio with us, as I said, and we just thought on the spur of the moment that it would be fun to have him sing some backing vocals. ‘The Acid Tree’ is a whimsical song about someone who is given LSD but plants it in the garden instead of taking it. He waters it and plays it ‘Tiny Children’ by The Teardrop Explodes and it grows into a tree overnight. He then builds a multi-storey treehouse and moves in with his pet dog Cecil!
What happened to the band?
Stuart Macgregor left the band in 1989 when his academic career became more demanding. He is a professor of chemistry these days. After his departure I formed Howl! with Jeff and Mal Kergan, but we were only together for a short time before I became a teacher and no longer had time for the band.
What did you do after the band stopped playing?
I became a teacher of maths and computing.
What currently occupies your life?
I am currently a deputy head teacher. I haven’t been in a gigging band since 1991, but have performed in many staff bands at school concerts, and joined in lots of school musicals and pantos. I have learned to play the mandolin, and music has continued to be a big part of my life.
Klemen Breznikar
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