Catfish and the Bottlemen are back!
Written by Katie Davison on 20th December 2023
Catfish and the Bottlemen performing live on stage. Credit: Alamy
After a two-year hiatus, Catfish and the Bottlemen have announced that they are headlining Leeds and Reading Festival 2024.
In November, the first ten artists who will be headlining Leeds and Reading Festival, during the August Bank Holiday next year, were announced. Within them was the announcement that Catfish and the Bottlemen would be reuniting after their break-up.
The band formed in 2007, and split in 2021, after guitarist Johnny Bond quit after claiming the band as being “dysfunctional”. During that period, they produced three hit albums, all of them reaching within the top ten in the official charts. They have previously performed at the Reading and Leeds, headlining in 2021.
A spokesperson for Instagram fan page vanmccansfridge said: “It was very surprising even though there were rumours about them coming back, I didn’t expect them to be back headlining at all!”
Hugh Harris from ‘The Rock Revival’ said: “We’re all incredibly excited by their comeback! I certainly feel like this hiatus has helped build hype and demand for the band where perhaps it was tailing off beforehand – I think this can be the case with a lot of bands who tour so much, their festival slots sometimes don’t reflect how big they are, without that element of exclusivity.”
Harris also said: “Catfish are a notoriously strong live outfit and have certainly got to headliner status from their own merits.”
Both have hopes that a new album and tour dates will follow this announcement.
