Tower

Description

Born in Aldershot on September 11, 1947, Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young. He then attended Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a music career shortly after meeting like-minded people at university. During his university studies, he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark on guitar, Ron Savage on guitar, Derek Danks on bass, and Brian Worrell on drums, Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined the local group The Capitol Systems. The initial lineup consisted of Bob Catley (vocals), Paul Sargent (guitar), Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards), and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly after, they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science fiction novel. A unique deal was struck with Mercury after Paradox caught the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember," accompanied by "Goodbye Mary." Additionally, they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me." All these songs were written by Dave Morgan. Paradox played at festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before disbanding upon their return to the UK in 1970. Formed in 1972, Magnum primarily consists of Bob Catley on vocals and Tony Clarkin on guitar. Magnum started as the house band for the famous nightclub Rum Runner in Birmingham (later home to Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs during a residency at the Railway Inn on Curzon Street in Birmingham in 1976. Alongside Clarkin and Catley, drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO) were part of the lineup. Their most notable success during these early years was Chase The Dragon (1982), produced by Jeff Glixman, which reached number 17 in the UK and included several songs that would become staples of the band's live set, including "Soldier of the Line," "Sacred Hour," and "The Spirit." Their album broke through in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night, which contained the single "Just Like an Arrow." This success continued in the following years with Vigilante produced by Roger Taylor (Queen) in 1986, the album Wings of Heaven reaching the top 5 in 1988, and Goodnight L.A. produced by Keith Olsen, reaching number 9 in the UK charts in 1990. Subsequently, Clarkin decided to maintain tighter control, and after their initial success with the mainstream audience, the band lost support from their major label and returned to a more personal level of production. Eventually, the band disbanded, leading to the formation of Hard Rain in 1995, which saw Clarkin pursue a more pop-oriented direction with a group that included Sue McCloskey on vocals. This new direction did not sit well with Catley, and after a headlining performance at The Gods in the late 90s, a conversation with Bruce Mee from Now & Then Records led Catley to agree to a decision that ultimately resulted in his first solo album, 'The Tower.' This release was entirely written by Gary Hughes from Ten, with writing completely aimed to be in the vein of classic Magnum. The album itself was recorded by various members of Ten, including the incredible Vinny Burns (Dare) on guitar. Upon its release, the numerous positive reviews concluded that the release of "The Tower" had succeeded beyond its wildest imagination... and that Bob Catley's solo career had been launched with incredible success!! With lyrical complexity and majestic pomp, songs like 'Far Away,' 'Fear of the Dark,' 'Madrigal,' and 'Deep Winter' take you back to that glorious period of Magnum between 'Chase The Dragon' and 'Wings Of Heaven,' while melodic rockers like 'Scream,' 'Dreams,' and the title track 'The Tower' show what Magnum would have sounded like if they had gone a bit harder. Another absolutely brilliant album that truly deserves to be ranked alongside those classic mid-period Magnum albums.