Reading and Leeds 2021: Do Catfish and the Bottlemen deserve to Headline?
A band who once promised to be the band of the 2010s now seem stale, disconnected and generic. Their progressively worsening albums justify these claims, with an emerging train of thought that their moment has passed and their headline status a gratuitous selection by the festival organisers. Yet for sticking by what they believe in and their ridiculous dedication, they also don’t get the credit they deserve and seeing them headline Reading and Leeds will be a strangely important and deserved moment.
A few weeks before the release of their debut The Balcony in 2014, the Llandudno fourpiece played to one of the largest crowds ever seen in the smaller Festival Republic Stage. Unsurprisingly a year later they played a thrilling slot in the Radio 1 tent which was similarly teeming. They haven’t played at Reading and Leeds since.
This isn’t because the hype suddenly dropped. In fact it was the complete opposite, as their second LP The Ride reached number one on the album charts, pleasing a highly loyal and growing fanbase. With another strong release full of indie rock anthems the band were destined to headline Reading and Leeds like their peers The 1975 did in 2019 following their third and most impressive effort.
The probable reason they haven’t reappeared is because of talismanic frontman Van McCann’s potentially egotistical ambition to only return to the festival as headliners. The band adore Reading and Leeds which has played a significant role in developing such an ardent fanbase and there’s no doubt that one of the biggest names in the 2010s UK rock scene would’ve been highly sought after by Melvin Benn over the past few years. With six headliners playing across the weekend for the first time, Catfish have been rewarded for their patience (or their arrogance) and are at the top of the bill. But is this position welcomed?
In 2019 their third and latest album The Balance came out and whilst sales were still high, this was only due to the massive hype built up over a three year period where no music was released. At this point there was enormous anticipation for a growing band on their way to the top, but unfortunately it was a terribly underwhelming, uninventive and forgettable LP. It’s a record that has encouraged questions over their status as a headline act, accompanied by a brigade of hateful fingers on social media pointing out their unoriginality.
Most significantly though it’s an album that has alienated faithful fans. Catfish’s famously loyal teenage supporters who grew up adoring their first two albums are now approaching or have began their 20s. They’ve all grown up, matured to realise the unimaginative nature of the group’s work, myself included. Most of us will follow them purely out of nostalgia, knowing their setlist is still dominated by the first album.
More concerningly though, onlooking indie fans who used to have sympathy for the group certainly don’t buy into the Catfish appeal anymore, making them a contentious pick as a headliner considering the dullness of their music and there being no female headliners. It definitely seems like they were a cheap and easy selection for Festival Republic.
Nevertheless, despite their weak third album and diminishing prevalence in the music scene, in 2019 they played an arena in every major city in the UK, rocking it out during three UK arena tours and four, yes four, runs in the US. Most of these were sold out, with a new standout moment during their 21000 full capacity concert at Manchester Arena. With an astounding seven tour runs in a year, their headline status is deserved. Something you can’t deny that gets overlooked time and time again is their work ethic which has always been at the forefront of their brand.
Taking it back to 2007 when they were formed, they spent seven years without a record label. That’s over half a decade travelling around the country in a van, hustling and bustling in the smallest venues to even smaller crowds dreaming of headlining Reading and Leeds. The relentless spirit of Van McCann to play on the biggest stages is both his weakness and his strength. Alongside mates from his “small town,” including bassist Benji Blakeway, drummer Bob Hall and best-mate Larry Lau, who was taught by McCann to be the band’s guitar technician, they picked up Geordie guitarist Johnny Bond along the way and grinded their way to the top like none other of their contemporaries. Think of how hard seven years would’ve been without a record label. Seven years! I’m not sure if another guitar based artist will spend that long without a record deal ever again bearing in mind the lack of commercial success and financial rewards of being in a band these days. It’s staggering they didn’t give up. This is why their headline slot is so deserved: because who else has worked harder?
It’s therefore baffling to me why they don’t get branded as working class heroes and are instead treated with increasing contempt online. There are infamous stories of them cheekily putting CDs under windscreen wipers during motorway traffic jams and playing in parking lots outside gig venues in balaclavas after concerts. If anything, they should be admired at how they’ve worked their way up over considerable years.
Their extensive touring efforts all now amount to consistently very noisy gigs night after night. In the past they’ve accepted they will never change the game, desiring to stay inside the box rather than reinvent. All they’ve ever wanted is to entertain by creating sweaty live shows where people can let loose from the stresses of modern life. We all know, including themselves that they’re not sonically spectacular, making the Twitter criticisms more puzzling considering they’ve openly admitted their sound is simplistic. Their headline gig will stick by these roots, doing what they have always done best: blowing the roof off.
Performing at Reading and Leeds will be a crowning moment for the band. It’s a slot they’ve always dreamt of. In 2019 they successfully topped the TRNSMT bill, the third biggest festival after Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds. But I can’t help think in the back of their minds it was only a warm up for this summer. The likes of The Wombats and Two Door Cinema Club have done well to maintain such a status in an era of limited guitar acts and are set to play across August Bank Holiday Weekend with Catfish. But not even they come close to the effort put in by these lads.
This is why their performance will be so special and significant. It’s like the kid in class who is predicted Cs coming out with As because they’ve worked hard. The jealousy found online is remarkable. In an internet age of excessive streaming, Catfish allude to nineties and noughties indie rock with their traditional outlook on sales and live shows. McCann will never be the best singer or songwriter. Bond will never be the best guitarist, the same with Blakeway and Hall. But they will be the ones who deserve it the most. All that’s left to do now is prove the haters wrong again.
Yet there’s a twist to the tale. With no new social media activity and no hints at new music which would be expected before the biggest show of their lives, are the rumours of their separation true? Of course such an obsessed fanbase have discovered through the depths of the government’s archives that Bond, Blakeway and Hall have all left their touring company leaving McCann the only signed member allegedly. Could this be their final performance as a band? It would make sense as a way to finish off on a high, thanking fans for being part of their success story from BBC Introducing to their dream top spot in less than a decade. We will find out in a matter of weeks whether this is all fan-made twaddle but currently it’s all too quiet for my liking. Quite possibly this could be the last hoorah as a group. Or maybe, like always, they’re doing it their own way and messing with the fans.
