22 February 2024
Newsdesk
Beginning a monumental new chapter, multi Platinum-selling, BRIT Award-winning, arena-filling giants Catfish and the Bottlemen return today with their first new music in five years, and announce their first headline shows since 2021, all before headlining Reading & Leeds Festival for the second time this summer.
The anthemic, stadium-ready new single ‘Showtime’ is out now via Island Records. Frontman, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Van McCann recorded the song in Los Angeles with multi-GRAMMY winning producer Dave Sardy (Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, Rolling Stones). Reflecting the sun-kissed optimism of LA and marking a bold evolution in Van’s songwriting, it is the first track to be released from Catfish and the Bottlemen’s soon to be announced fourth studio album.
When Catfish and the Bottlemen announced their return to the top of the Reading & Leeds Festival mainstage with a high-energy performance clip, the band were met with a frenzied reaction from the fans. Throughout the last week, anticipation reached an extreme high when mysterious ‘Showtimes’ were flypostered globally, prompting Catfish and the Bottlemen’s ‘Showtime’ instagram teaser to receive over 100,000 likes in under 24 hours. Speculation surrounded the cryptic messages as their audience wondered if the teasing indicated a gig, new music, or something else, and excitement rose even further as postcards simply reading “Back To The Graft Again” were delivered to fans.
Revered for their incendiary live performances, the release of ‘Showtime’ is matched by the news of two massive open air headline shows. Announced exactly 900 days since the band last played in front of a live crowd, they will perform a headline show at Cardiff Castle on 19th July, and Edinburgh Summer Sessions on 24th August. The dates land amongst their must-see return to headline the Reading and Leeds Festival main stage. Tickets will go on general sale at 10:00 GMT on Friday 1st March here.
Catfish and the Bottlemen’s arena-filling sonic outlook has cemented their place amongst Britain's most successful bands of the 21st Century. Signing to Island Records in 2014 after years of relentless touring, their debut LP The Balcony surged into the UK Top 10 and helped them scoop British Breakthrough Act at the BRITs before scoring their landmark #1 album with The Ride. Since then they’ve amassed over one billion streams, two million album sales and are closing in on 10 million single sales. On stage Van McCann possesses unique magnetic energy, and is considered one of modern rock’s great live frontmen. In the five years since releasing their debut album, they’d sold over half a million tickets, and have played to over 2 million people.
Van McCann is back where he’s meant to be: headlining festivals, finishing a brand new album, and beginning a dynamic, exciting new era for Catfish and the Bottlemen. ‘Showtime’ provides the only explanation:
“Back to the fields again
When I’ve headlined Leeds I’ll be back my friend.”
