Paul Long Talks Final CATFISH Album And More

Following the death of guitarist and singer Matt Long in October 2024, the remaining members of CATFISH are proud to announce the release of their final album, ‘Time To Fly’. Paul Long very kindly sat down with us at JLTT to talk all about the record and more: 

 

When did you begin songwriting?

In the 1970s, for my new wave band. We were at music college, and were very influenced by XTC, Talking Heads and other bands who wanted the impact of punk with slightly deeper music.

 

What is your earliest musical memory?

The music in the house when growing up was mostly musicals and Frank Sinatra. The first music that was my own was The Beatles, and I was a member of the fan club.

You have released the final Catfish album ‘Time To Fly’. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

How I would have liked to approach it and how I had to approach it are two different things. Our son Matthew, and guitarist and singer with Catfish, died in October. In the new year I found I was able to listen to the music again and sorted through our unfinished and unreleased recordings. We also found two songs demoed by Matt on his computer, and a couple of other unexpected sources turned up and we had enough music for a final album. Of the unfinished studio recordings, all the guitar work would have been guides to be replaced, and two of them had no vocal so I found live multitrack recordings and cleaned up the vocal on those. Luckily, with a little work, the tempos matched. Again, this would have been replaced by Matt but he was unable to.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

The Catfish studio tracks (Time To Fly, Change My Ways, Don’t Turn Around, Broken Halo, and Breaking Up Somebody’s Home) were recorded at Brighton Road Studios with overdubs and mixing at my studio. Say The Word, Sick Of It All, and Lost In Autumn were recorded at Safehaven Studios and mixed at my studio. Say The Word and Sick Of It All were Matt’s demos on his computer and had full guitar work and vocals from him. For Lost In Autumn, all I had was Matt’s solo – a piece he had recorded for a lockdown collaboration. I wrote a new song around the solo and its chord sequence.

Do you have any interesting or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

Most of the Brighton Road studio tracks came pretty easily in the first one or two takes as we had been playing them live. The three at Safehaven took longer as the drums, bass and keys parts had to be written by the band members, playing along to Matt’s guitar and vocals. We also had at the back of our minds what he might have wanted to hear. Working on these songs was very emotional initially, but then we all knew we had to do the best we could.

 

Who were the musicians who performed on the album with you?

The Brighton Road tracks were the Catfish band at the time: Matt Long on guitar and lead vocal, me on keyboards and lead vocal, Adam Pyke on bass, and Kev Hickman on drums. Kev left Catfish at the end of 2023. Alex Voysey came to my studio and recorded additional rhythm guitar and Chloe Josephine (who had just left Brave Rival) did some amazing backing vocals on four of the songs. For the three we recorded at Safehaven Matt was pre-recorded, I’m on keys and vocals, Adam on bass, and Phil Wilson (who played on our last tour in early 2024) is on drums. His brother Ash Wilson was also on the session and played some great additional guitar.

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

We always liked to get the basic take playing live with the drums and then replace and/or add to that afterwards. It was important to get that live feel. I run Pro Tools in my studio so it all ended up in there, and was mixed ‘in the box’ although the initial live recordings were through vintage consoles. Matt was mostly playing his PRS, plus Les Paul Studio and some Fender Stratocaster. I was playing my usual combination of Nord Stage and Hammond Organ. Adam had his trusty six string Ibanez bass.

One of the tracks is ‘Forevermore And Again’. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

Matt’s partner Sam found it on his phone in a voice note; he was sitting on her kitchen floor strumming an acoustic guitar and humming a melody. From lyrics also found on Matt’s phone I brought this song to life, using some pretty clever software to separate the guitar and Matt’s humming. I sing Matt’s melody and his lyric, and was able to keep one line of his vocal where he sang words – which happened to be the title line of the song. It’s a love song written to someone’s partner who is dying, which made it hard to sing and very special.

 

Did you have any co-written tracks on the album?

Yes, Lost In Autumn as mentioned earlier, and also Broken Halo which was written by the whole band jamming in a rehearsal studio, to a lyric of mine.

Was it a difficult album to write?

Matt didn’t write too many songs in recent years, largely due to the sheer amount of time we spent on the road, and also due to his illness. You can hear on his songs that he wrote very personal lyrics. He always wrote deeply from the heart. We would have loved to have done more, but it wasn’t to be. Matt was not able to give this album his blessing, we never had that conversation, but we felt his music should be able to be heard and played, rather than filed and lost. There is no more, this is all there is.

 

Which of the new tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

I’m not sure that there is a happy song on the album, but I’m happy that it’s done and is and good as we can make it. I think it’s a very strong collection of songs that hangs together well. The angriest song is probably Sick Of It All, lyrically and in sound. The most reflective I’d say is my song Don’t Turn Around – again for the lyric but also the music takes you through many changes of emotion. Of Matt’s songs I love Say The Word – it’s just a beautiful and majestic work that I hope we have done justice.

 

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

That we have played as well as we can, and as emotionally as we can. And that the audience feels the same way. As we always said a good gig is 50% band and 50% audience.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Matt had a whole world of pedals – too many to mention. I loved hearing his PRS and Les Paul in full flight. I’m playing the Les Paul with my new band – I wanted to feel he was there somehow. I’ve had my Hammond XK-1 for about twenty years now and love the sound it makes.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Home town is a tiny village in West Sussex: peaceful, green, pub, dog walks.

How do you look after your voice?

Not as well as I ought to, but we were lucky to get an endorsement from Vocalzone throat lozenges. Also I try to take 20 minutes to warm up properly before going on stage. This is not always possible and sometimes is done in the van on the way. And I like a mug of tea on stage.

Who designed the album artwork?

The fabulous Alice Armstrong. As well as being a great singer she is a talented designer and the first person we go to.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

I’ve not read as many novels as I should in recent years – studying with the OU whilst on the road meant lots of text books – but possibly Dickens’ Bleak House. It’s so full of characters and his description of his world and locations is amazing. It would certainly give a broad canvas.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Little Feat and Gov’t Mule are both big influences. And Genesis, although Matt was definitely not a fan! Going back further The Beatles, Elton John, Billy Joel, Tom Waits. I try to put as much effort into lyric writing as possible, although listening sometimes to daytime radio I wonder why…

You have also announced a new band called Burning Rope. How did the band formation arise, who is in the band and what do they play?

The band has come about as I slowly came to the conclusion that, despite what has happened over the past year, I wanted to carry on performing in some way. Adam felt the same, so with Mitch Weaving, who also drummed for Catfish on that last tour, and Alex Voysey – a very talented guitarist I had co-produced an album for in 2023 – we started this band. We play some of my songs written for Catfish and previous band The Riotous Brothers, along with new material I’ve been writing over the past year and a couple of covers. Adam and Alex will also take a song or two to give me a break.

 

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025?

For a new band, we have a busy 2025. A lot of venues and festivals have been kind to book as unseen before doing our first show. We just have to live up to the reputation earned by Catfish and this show of faith. Hopefully we will return to Europe next year, or sooner if an offer comes our way.

 

What makes Paul Long happy and what makes you unhappy?

That’s hard to say at the moment, as it’s been an emotional rollercoaster. I love doing my weekly radio show, watching my son James play football and being at home with my wife Fiona and new puppy Maisie. Music has away been at the centre of my life and will continue to be. Unhappy is harder to define as so much time has to be spent dealing with grief. You never know when it will tap you on the shoulder.