Melody Maker Magazine 20 March 1999 Catatonia Cerys Matthews Stereophonics Blur NP001

Original Melody Maker Magazine dated 20 March 1999, with Catatonia as the main front-cover feature and Cerys Matthews pictured prominently performing with a microphone.

The main cover headline reads:

“Drop ‘Dead’ Gorgeous! CATATONIA”

with the accompanying line:

“On the road with Cerys’ barmy army”

This gives the issue strong appeal for collectors of Catatonia, Cerys Matthews, Britpop, Welsh music and late-1990s Melody Maker memorabilia.

The cover also promotes a particularly strong selection of contemporary bands and artists, including:

• Stereophonics – “A week in the life of Kelly and co”
• Manic Street Preachers – “Take on the world”
• Blur – analysed by people who know the band
• Cast – John Power discusses their new album
• Skunk Anansie
• Hurricane #1
• Stereolab
• Travis
• GusGus
• Steps
• Babs Windsor

The top of the cover also promotes V99 / T In The Park line-ups, adding extra late-1990s festival interest.

The supplied interior contents page identifies this as Issue 11, Volume 76 and confirms a broad range of features throughout the issue.

Major contents visible include:

• Underage Gigs – pages 14–15 – investigation into difficulties faced by under-18s attending favourite bands.
• Travis – page 16 – Fran Healy featured in a light-hearted interview.
• Campag Velocet – page 17
• Blur Album Analysis – pages 20–21 – Blur’s new album reviewed track-by-track by a range of commentators.
• GusGus – page 22
• Velocette – page 23
• Catatonia – pages 24–25 – major feature following Cerys Matthews and the band on the road.
• Hurricane #1 – page 39 – Andy Bell and the group reviewing singles.
• Regular sections covering News, The Knowledge, Orbit, Charts, Live, Out!, Albums, The Works and Mr Agreeable.

The contents image also references artists including Kula Shaker, Skunk Anansie, Stereolab, Amanda Van Helden, Syposium and others.

This is a particularly strong 1999 UK alternative and indie issue, capturing Catatonia during their peak period alongside major Britpop and post-Britpop names including Blur, Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, Cast and Travis.

Magazine / Item Details

• Publication: Melody Maker
• Item Type: Magazine
• Full Date: 20 March 1999
• Issue: Issue 11, Volume 76
• Main Cover Feature: Catatonia
• Main Cover Star: Cerys Matthews
• Main Cover Headline: “Drop ‘Dead’ Gorgeous! Catatonia”
• Other Major Cover Features: Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, Blur, Cast
• Additional Cover Names: Skunk Anansie, Hurricane #1, Stereolab, Travis, GusGus, Steps, Babs Windsor
• Festival Feature: V99 / T In The Park line-ups
• Cover Price: 95p
• Era: 1990s
• Music Focus: Britpop, indie, alternative rock and pop
• SKU: NP001

Condition

Pre-owned vintage condition with noticeable age-related handling and storage wear.

The front cover shows visible creasing, surface rippling and waviness, particularly around the outer borders and through the lower section. There are several handling lines across the paper consistent with a heavily handled music magazine of this format.

The left-hand edge/spine area shows noticeable wear, including creasing, compression and some slight roughness along the fold.

The right-hand edge is uneven and visibly worn, with some light fraying and waviness to the thin paper stock.

The bottom-right corner has a particularly noticeable large diagonal fold/crease, with the corner turned upwards in the photograph. The lower-left corner also shows light softening and wear.

The top edge and upper corners show some waviness and light bending. The pale outer border has general age toning/discolouration, minor marks and handling wear.

The supplied interior contents page also shows creasing, edge wear, waviness and age-related paper toning. The right-hand edge appears slightly rough and uneven. Despite this, the printed photographs, colours and text remain clear and readable.

No obvious major staining or writing is visible in the supplied photographs. Condition assessment is based on the two supplied images, so pages and areas not shown cannot be fully assessed.

Packaging & Postage

The magazine will be carefully and safely folded and packed inside a protective cardboard box for posting.

It will be packed securely to help reduce the risk of bending, crushing and general transit damage while on its way to the buyer.