2010-Ryan "Van" McCannVocals, Guitar2010-
Johnny "Bondy" BondGuitar2014-
Benji BlakewayBass2010-
Robert "Bob" HallDrums2010-
Catfish vocalist Ryan "Van" McCann was a test-tube baby, born to a free-spirited Merseyside couple. "It makes me feel lucky to be here," McCann told
Radio.com, "or luckier. I guess everything affects who we are and why we are that way and why we want to get massive and play stadiums. It's all this lust for life."
McCann's parents took the newborn traveling round Australia for two years. The future Catfish vocalist's first experience of live music was at Sydney harbor watching a busker called Catfish the Bottleman playing his drum kit – hence the band's name. McCann recalled to KROQ's Lauren Novik: "He's a busker from Australia- Catfish & The Bottleman, and I saw him when I was a kid- I started like the first two years of my life out there, traveling with me Mum and Dad, and he was like a busker that used to play in like Paddy's Market in Sydney, and he used to play like a washing line with like wine bottles hanging from it, and he was called Catfish & The Bottleman, and when it came to naming the band I was like let's just do that."
Van McCann was named in honor of Van Morrison. "My father took me to a Van Morrison gig when I was young," he recalled. "The way he controlled the band and worked the room, it wasn't like going to see a rock band, it was like seeing a magician. After that, I realized I wanted to be a frontman, I wanted to be hold a room in my hand."
It was The Streets' Mike Skinner who inspired McCann. "He's the reason why I started writing songs," McCann said, "the way he's so precise in his lyrics."
McCann started Catfish and the Bottlemen in 2010 in Llandudno, North Wales with guitarist Bill Bibby, the elder brother of his best friend, before recruiting bassist Benji Blakeway and drummer Robert "Bob" Hall. The vocalist recalled to KROQ "Benji was with me two years in school, Bob our drummer lived next door to me my whole life, and I never knew, so we got him in the band."
After playing hundreds of gigs up and down the UK, showcasing McCann's songs of working-class anguish, escapism and girls, Catfish won a label deal with Communion Records in 2013. The label was co-founded by Mumford & Sons' Ben Lovett.
When Bill Bibby left Catfish, he was replaced by Johnny Bind, who used to be in one of McCann's favorite bands growing up, Detroit Social Club.
Catfish's debut album The Balcony was released on September 15, 2014, debuting at #10 on the UK album chart. The theme of the record, according to McCann is, "not letting anybody else get in the way, not letting any f--king person or thing drag you down. It's about being positive, looking forward, surrounding yourself with good people. It's an album for anyone who has to put up with shit in their lives."
He added: "We grew up in a small town and my writing has come out of that small town mentality, where everyone knows your business and tries to get involved with it. The whole album is a big two fingers up to those kind of people. It's euphoric, positive, f--k the world, we've got everything we need right here."
Catfish and the Bottlemen's unusual name has helped them attract interest stateside. McCann told Rolling Stone. "On the first tour we did, people were like [American accent] 'Dude, what's your band called? You guys rock.' I say "Catfish and the Bottlemen." They've had a few drinks. 'Catfish and the what? Boobtrotters?' And we go through like twenty names. We normally get to that point where we're literally sick of repeating it."
"It's a bad band name, isn't it? The band name is the reason we got our first ever radio play. They opened the e-mail because the name looked so different. I tried to change it, but the label loved it."
McCann told Q magazine that songwriting is his instinctive reaction to most events in his life. "Some girl's broken my heart: I'm writing a song about it. Have a fight with my best mate: I'm writing a song about it. Have the best night of my life: I'm writing a song about it."
