Episode Notes

Episode 34 of To Here Knows When - Great Irish Albums Revisited focuses on Mute by Catchers released in 1994 on Sarah Records.

Dale Grundle and Alice Lemon join me to discuss Mute by their band Catchers. Formed in Portstewart in the early 90s the band were signed to Setanta Records and moved to London. ‘Cotton Dress’ their debut single was awarded ‘Single of the Week’ in Melody Maker and the band recorded Mute, their debut album, with Mike Hedges in France. Mute was critically acclaimed in the music press and Catchers toured Europe with Pulp and Edwyn Collins becoming hugely popular in France. Dale and Alice chat about the Catchers career, the recording of both Mute and Stooping to Fit, their second album.

Catchers came from Portstewart, the small seaside town in County Derry four miles west of Portrush. Coleraine is situated about five miles away and forms the southern vertex of a triangle with its two northern coastal towns. Almost in the middle of this triangle is the University of Ulster.

In the recently published book Sounds Irish, Acts Global: Explaining the Success of Ireland’s Popular Music Industry, Michael Murphy writes about a generation who emerged from various Students’ Unions around the country in the 70s and early 80s. Murphy dubs them the “Ents Entrepreneurs” and he argues that their groundwork laid the foundation for some of the biggest success stories in Irish music and in turn enabled Irish artists to succeed on a global stage.

When I read about Murphy’s “Ents Entrepreneurs” I was reminded of That Petrol Emotion’s Raymond Gorman. In Episode 22 Raymond talked about seeing Dexy’s Midnight Runners live in the University of Ulster, Coleraine in 1979. He described it as, “the greatest gig I have ever seen to this day.”

Dale Grundale from Catchers also talks about gigs at the University of Ulster in this episode and how inspiring it was for the local music scene that big bands came to this part of Northern Ireland. He mentions that The Smiths played in Coleraine and years later both Primal Scream and The Stone Roses played there.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Dale formed Catchers with Alice Lemon on backing vocals and keyboards and Peter Kelly (on drums). After a move to London via Dublin, Ger Fitzgerald from Limerick band They Do It With Mirrors joined on bass.

‘Cotton Dress’ their debut single was awarded ‘Single of the Week’ in Melody Maker on the 4th of May in 2004. ‘Cotton Dress’ is described as “exquisite” and “blissfully beautiful” and Catchers are described as “sublime, enchanting and some strange kind of wonderful.” Over at the NME, a few weeks later, the band’s second single, “Shifting” is described as putting you, “in mind of a sweeter Smiths or a poppier Echo and the Bunnymen.” The review continues: “The voices of singers Dale and Alice intertwine like a folky, more innocent version of Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield.”

A few weeks after those reviews Ian Gittins interviewed the band for Melody Maker’s ‘Advance’ page – their new band section.

The last time I heard a first single from an Irish band that I adored this much, you know, it was The Cranberries…

“God, I hate that!” says Alice Lemon, singer with Coleraine's unspeakably wonderful new export, The Catchers. “It's so obvious! They're a nice band, but I just keep hearing wistful female vocal, Irish, singer with short dark hair, Cranberries, blah blah blah, and it makes me sick.”

I love that, Alice, who was very much the band’s spokesperson was thankfully never afraid to speak her mind.
Catchers were off, the triangle area was well and truly in their rear view mirror.

The French music press and French radio really got behind the band. Richard Robert the respected Les Inrockuptibles music journalist once wrote:

“There is nothing better than the two voices of Alice Lemon and Dale Grundle when they are left to their own devices, when they cuddle each other to keep warm, when they marry each other in strict confidentiality – guitars and keyboards acting as best men and women, as sole witnesses.”

What a beautiful description of what Dale and Alice brought to Catchers.

For Further Listening/Viewing/Reading:

To Here Knows When column in The Goo on Mute…

Mute and Stooping to Fit are available on Bandcamp. You’ll also find We Speak in Flames (a collection of demos) and Catchers Live 1994​-​1996 on Bandcamp - both highly recommended.

‘Something’s Taking Over Me’ by Catchers was released in 2021. The video was directed by Oscar-winning director James Reed (My Octopus Teacher).

Below: Press cuttings from various UK and US publications, click on each image to enlarge.

Dale has released a number of albums under the name The Sleeping Years. We’re Becoming Islands One by One from 2013 was described by Drowned in Sound as: “a record that only Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago has really rivaled in recent months. 8/10"”