Tell Me

Released on 25th July 2025 This is a previously unreleased, original song written in the summer of 1989 and re-recorded this year. It features the original vintage synths of the 80s, with a sound from the Stock, Aiken and Waterman era of pop mixed with a little distorted guitar. The single is available as an MP3 download from Bandcamp, SoundClick, Amazon and iTunes. Also available on Spotify, SoundCloud and all major streaming platforms.

Please vote for this in The Heritage Chart.

Previous Singles

Just A Second More

Released on 7th February 2025 This song is essentially about young love, questions about falling in love and not wanting the day to end (or being parted due to a parent's curfew). This song is dedicated to everlasting love. The song features vintage synth sounds from the Roland Jupiter 8, Yamaha DX7-IIFD, Roland Juno 60, PPG Wave 2.3, Fairlight CMI (sampled) and Roland JD-08. The single is available as an MP3 download from Bandcamp, SoundClick, Amazon and iTunes. Also available on Spotify, SoundCloud and all major streaming platforms.

First radio play by Andy Lloyd on The Independent Local Radio Network (31st January 2025)
Played by Simon Bates, Nicky Horne, Susie Mathis, David Lloyd, Andy Marriott, Judi Spiers, Gary Burton & Diana Luke on Boom Radio.
New entry at number ONE in the Chart Of Gold - Apple Radio.
Kim Smith's record of the week on Radio Northwich
Jan Bjerrum's single of the week on Sunshine Radio Online.
Dan McDonald's single of the week on 1066fm.online
Played my Mark Dezzani on Radio Caroline
Reached number one in Marco's Alternative Chart on The Online Station
Multiple plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read and others on Heritage Chart Radio
Reached No.24 in the Heritage Chart on Sunday 16th March 2025

Shadows Without Substance

Released on 11th October 2024 This slightly spooky sounding song should fit in quite well for the autumn season. It was originally written in 1993 and envisaged to be from a loved one who has passed away, essentially now a ghost. However, the song can be interpreted in different ways and while there was an obvious Halloween connection, it can also be about mental health and how bad thoughts can be like shadows without any substance behind them. The single is available as an MP3 download from Bandcamp, SoundClick, Amazon and iTunes. Also available on Spotify, SoundCloud and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.15 in the Heritage Chart on Sunday 17th November 2024
First radio play by Jan Bjerrum on Sunshine Radio Online (1st October 2024)
Played multiple times on Boom Radio.
New entry at number ONE in the Chart Of Gold - Apple Radio.
Multiple plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read on Heritage Chart Radio
Jan Bjerrum's single of the week on Sunshine Radio Online.
Played on Radio Caroline by Mark Dezzani

Bye Bye Love (Radio Edit)

Released on 26th July 2024 From the "Empty Rooms" EP, this track features and is dedicated to the late Dave Townson on lead guitar. Dave chose this song to record with the Cathodes in 2021 and the original recording was remixed in 2024 with extra keyboard parts. Originally written by Ric Ocasek from The Cars. The single is available as MP3 download from Bandcamp, Amazon and iTunes. Also available on Spotify and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.9 in the Heritage Chart on Sunday 15th September 2024
New entry at number ONE in the Chart Of Gold - Apple Radio on 28th July 2024.
Multiple plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read on Heritage Chart Radio
Jan Bjerrum's single of the week on Sunshine Radio Online (5th August 2024)
David Hughes' single of the week on Felixstowe Radio (107.5FM) (5th August 2024)
Played on Radio Caroline by Mark Dezzani

Empty Rooms

Released on 26th April 2024 From the EP of the same name containing 5 tracks which all feature and are dedicated to the late Dave Townson on lead guitar. The song was originally recorded in May 2020 but re-recorded in 2024 and also features Eddie Mooney from The Fortunes (on bass). The EP is available on a limited edition CD for £8+p&p as well as MP3 download from Bandcamp, Amazon or iTunes. Also available on Spotify and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.6 in the Heritage Chart on Sunday 30th June 2024
Multiple plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read
First play by Pete Seaton on Apple Radio 21st April 2024
New entry at number ONE in the Chart Of Gold - Apple Radio on 5th May 2024.
Jan Bjerrum's Single of the week on Sunshine Radio Online (21st April 2024)
Played on Radio Caroline by Mark Dezzani
Played by Alton Andrews on NOVUMfm going out across Germany, Belgium and Holland.

Time

Released on 26th January 2024 Time was the eighth and last single to be released from the CD album - So Clear.
The song was written in the late 80s by Jon Dean, one of Dave Forward's music collaborator friends. Jon's lyrics reflect on the passage of time and possible missed opportunities with a nostalgic reflection on memories and relationships that have faded but are still held onto. This song features the late Dave Townson on lead electric guitar. This was chosen as the eighth single from the debut album "So Clear" as a dedication to Dave Townson who passed away in November 2023. Without Dave's open mic/jam nights, the members of The Cathodes might never have met! Dave was an amazing guitarist and his knowledge of music was incredible. He was always very encouraging to others and the band have great memories of performing together along with long conversations about music.
To listen or buy the digital track, go to Bandcamp, Sound Click, Amazon or iTunes. Also available on SoundCloud, Spotify and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.6 in the Heritage Chart on Sunday 3rd March 2024.
Single of the week on Sunshine Radio Online (22nd January 2024)
Single of the week on Radio Northwich (22nd January 2024)
New entry at number ONE in the Chart Of Gold - Apple Radio on 28th January 2024.
Multiple plays on Boom Radio.
Played on Radio Caroline by Adrian Skirrow.
Played by Alton Andrews on NOVUMfm going out across Germany, Belgium and Holland.

Next Christmas

Released on 17th November 2023. The song was written by Paul in 2022 but as "In From The Cold" was already scheduled for release for the latter part of the year, it was put aside. The band started looking at this again towards the end of the Summer in 2023 and an initial vocal was recorded during one of the hottest days of the year. A few changes were then made to the lyrics and the arrangement as well as some extra keyboards added. The song is basically a wish for a future Christmas where everyone can celebrate in peace, without greed.
To listen or buy the digital track, go to Bandcamp, Sound Click, Amazon or iTunes. Also available on SoundCloud, Spotify and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.9 in the Heritage Chart on Sunday 24th December 2023.
First Christmas song played by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read on Monday 20th November 2023.
Played on Christmas Day by Diana Luke on Boom Radio.
Single of the week on Radio Northwich (20th November 2023)
Christmas number ONE in the Chart Of Gold - Apple Radio.
New entry at number ONE in the Chart Of Gold - Apple Radio on 26th November 2023.
Multiple plays on Boom Radio.
Played on Radio Caroline by Mark Dezzani.
Played by Alton Andrews on NOVUMfm going out across Germany, Belgium and Holland.

Being Lonely (The Single)

Released on 1st September 2023. The band wanted to release Being Lonely as a single but felt that as the original recording needed something extra. As a result, the lead vocal was re-recorded and extra keyboard parts were added. A Roland Juno 60 pad sound was added to bring more analogue warmth and was also used for an extra lead sound alongside the existing guitar. A Synclavier sound was added on the intro and at the end.
To listen or buy the digital track, go to Bandcamp, Amazon or iTunes. Also available on SoundCloud, Spotify and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.9 in the Heritage Chart on Sunday 1st October 2023.
Multiple plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read from Monday 21st August.
New Entry at number one in the Chart Of Gold on Apple Radio on 3rd September 2023.
Played on Radio Caroline by Mark Dezzani.
Single of the week on Radio Northwich and DJ Plug Radio

Believe In Me

Re-released on 26th May 2023 (originally released on 27th August 2021). Believe In Me is essentially a song about the initial feelings and innocence of falling in love. To listen or buy the digital track, go to Bandcamp, Amazon or iTunes. Also available on SoundCloud, Spotify and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.6 in Mike Read's Heritage Chart on Sunday 16th July 2023.
Multiple plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read from Wednesday 23rd May.
Multiple plays on Boom Radio.
Played on Radio Caroline by Mark Dezzani.
Played by Alton Andrews on NOVUMfm going out across Germany, Belgium and Holland.
Single of the week on Radio Northwich (5th June 2023)
Former number one in the Chart Of Gold on Apple Radio.
8th most played song out of 27,895 by Radio Burnham during 2021.
Multiple plays on Radio Caroline by Tony Paul.

North Of England

Released on 19th January 2023 - The band's Number 1 single in the Heritage Chart! This song was written in 1984/85 by Jon Dean and was the first song originally recorded by Dave Forward and Jon Dean in the late 80s. The original cassette demo received some attention from Kennedy Street Management and London Records but didn't result in a record deal. A later mix in 1993 was played on BBC Radio Manchester. It's since been rearranged and recorded by The Cathodes. For those with a more technical ear - The intro starts with a NED Synclavier sound with PPG bell sounds along with a Moog Prodigy playing a high-low note transition. This is then followed by a 'funky' keyboard riff played on a Nord Stage 3 along with a Levinson Blade Stat recorded through a Laney Cub amplifier.
To listen or buy the digital track, go to Bandcamp, Amazon or iTunes. Also available on SoundCloud, Spotify and all major streaming platforms.

It became the 100th No.1 in Mike Read's Heritage Chart on Sunday 19th March 2023.
Highest new entry into Mike Read's Heritage Chart at number 30 on 22nd January 2023.
New Entry at number one in the Chart Of Gold on Apple Radio on 22nd January 2023.
Multiple plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read from Monday 9th January.
Multiple plays on Boom Radio from 22nd January 2023.
Played on Radio Caroline by Mark Dezzani.
First song by The Cathodes to be played on the new Heritage Chart Radio station on 18th September 2023 by Kevin Tosh.

In From The Cold

Re-released on 9th October 2022 (originally released 18th April 2021). This features the late lead-guitarist Dave Townson. This song was written in 1990 and although finally recorded in 2021, it features some classic analogue sounds from the 80s including the Roland Jupiter 8 and Sequential Circuits Prophet T8 giving the track a classic 80s feel. The inspiration for the lyrics came from finishing late at college and walking to the next train station on many a dark winter's night, just to keep warm.
To listen or buy the digital track, go to Bandcamp or Amazon. Also available on SoundCloud and Spotify.

Reached No.4 in Mike Read's Heritage Chart on Sunday 24th November 2022.
Highest new entry into Mike Read's Heritage Chart top-40 at number 36 (climbing 10 places) on 9nd October 2022.
Multiple plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read from 3rd October 2022.
Played on Radio Caroline by Mark Dezzani on 11th October 2022.
Multiple plays on Boom Radio from at least 5 different presenters.
New Entry at number one in the Chart Of Gold on Apple Radio on 9th October 2022, knocking "Shipwrecked" off the top spot.

Shipwrecked

Released on 27th May 2022. Written in 2021, this song can be taken literally about someone who has been taken prisoner by a foreign power after becoming shipwrecked or stranded in a distant country and away from loved ones. A parallel to this would be the fate of the USS Pueblo. Although not shipwrecked as such, the USS Pueblo was attached to US Navy intelligence as a spy ship which was attacked and captured by North Korean forces on 23rd January 1968. This later became known as the "Pueblo incident". The subsequent abuse and torture of her crew became a major Cold War incident. Equally, the song works as a metaphor referring to someone who has a feeling of unrequited love and wanting to be "saved".
To listen or buy the digital track, go to Bandcamp or Amazon. Also available on SoundCloud and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.4 in Mike Read's Heritage Chart on Sunday 17th July 2022.
First play on Boom Radio by Elaine Durrington on 6th July 2022.
Highest new entry into Mike Read's Heritage Chart top-40 at number 31.
Selected as a Powerplay track on Powerplay Radio - plays every hour all week from 30th May 2022.
New Entry at number one in the Chart Of Gold on Apple Radio on 29th May 2022. This remained at number one for 19 weeks.
First play on German radio - Novum FM (also broadcasting into Belgium and The Netherlands) by former radio Luxembourg presenter, Alton Andrews.
Multiple Plays by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read from Friday 20th May.
Played on Radio Caroline by Tony Paul on 14th September 2022.

Dr Fell

Released on 18th February 2022 - The band's first single in the Heritage Chart!. The real Dr John Fell (1625-86) was a college dean at Christ Church, Oxford. After expelling the satirical English poet Tom Brown, he offered to take him back if he could translate a few lines of Latin. Brown twisted the translation to read "I do not like thee, Doctor Fell, The reason why - I cannot tell; But this I know, and know full well, I do not like thee, Doctor Fell". Since then, Dr Fell's name has been used to represent an unaccountably repellent person and the author Robert Louis Stevenson drew on this tradition by including a reference to Dr Fell in the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Likewise, The Cathodes song also draws on the negativity of the split personality with these historical and fictional influences. The track has a driving bass line with a massive influence of Trevor Horn's production work. There's a mix of distorted and clean electric guitar sounds as well as acoustic guitar. A mix of keyboards used includes the iconic Roland Jupiter 8 and Juno 60 along with samples from a Fairlight CMI. A separate mix for vinyl was produced on 3rd December 2020 for a compilation album released through Red Manor Records in 2021.
To listen or buy the digital track, go to Bandcamp or Amazon. Also available on SoundCloud and all major streaming platforms.

Reached No.3 in Mike Read's Heritage Chart on Sunday 17th April 2022 after entering the chart on 20th February.
Reached No.1 in the 365 Radio PowerPlay Chart on 25th March 2022 and remained at No.1 for two weeks.
Former number one in the Chart Of Gold on Apple Radio twice.
Played by former BBC Radio One DJ Mike Read on high rotation since Friday 4th Feb 2022 for at least 8 weeks.
Played on Radio Caroline by Peter Antony on 5th Feb 2022.

Spies

released on 29th May 2021 with the video originally pubished 8th July 2020.
Spies was probably the first song Dave wrote and dates back to the late 80s. Only close family had heard it and more recently, his brother Simon requested it to be played by the band at his birthday party in April 2020 as part of a set of songs. The band started practicing the song in January 2020, tested it on a small audience at a local 'open mic' event in February but in March, the party was cancelled due to the lockdown.
To buy or listen to the digital track, go to Bandcamp or Amazon. Also available on Spotify and other streaming platforms. Click below to view the video on YouTube or listen via SoundCloud.

Has been played on Radio Caroline by radio presenter - Peter Antony.
Quote from radio presenter Mike Read (via twitter on 6/9/2020) - "I listened twice. Love the song & the video. This should be on the radar for Radio Two & the Commercial Networks but I fear it won't be. We play 7 decades & have the Heritage Chart...but always room for a good song!"
Former number one in The Chart Of Gold on Apple Radio three times.
Most voted for track in 2021 for The Chart Of Gold on Apple Radio.
Top in the Festive 50 for 2021 in The Chart Of Gold.
In the Chart of Gold Hot-100 every week for two years.

Other Tracks

Tonight's All Mine

Published 15th March 2024. This was originally written for a musical with the setting of last drinks at a party. The musical was never finished, but we're sure the drinks were! "In the early 90s, I was writing music with a friend - Jon Dean and another of my friends suggested writing a musical. He came up with the basic outline while Jon and I wrote the songs. The musical was set around 1905 and the idea was that "Tonight's All Mine" would be sung by the heroine at her hen party where she'd be swept off her feet (perhaps literally) for one last fling before she gets married. I've always loved playing the piano sequence and happened to play a little of it to the band one evening. They suggested the song should be included on our album, perhaps as the last track. I also felt it would fit in well for a certain late night radio presenter who happened to be looking for a song to finish on so it was recorded. I sang the vocal kneeling down and very close to the mic to get a really intimate sound. The piano part was recorded live to keep it as real and human as possible. Paul later added a fretless bass part onto the track." Click below to view the video.

So Clear

Published 4th August 2023. This is the video-only release of the title track from our debut album So Clear. This originally dates back to the early 90s and was written to see how a new acoustic guitar would sound recorded. The same guitar and vintage keyboards were used to record this new version.

Light My Fire (cover)

Published 17th June 2021. The classic track by The Doors is a track that we enjoy playing. We decided it would be quite a good exercise to try and capture the original 60s sound as much as possible with our version. Click below to view the video.

White Wedding (cover)

Published 12th March 2021. Our version of Billy Idol's classic track from 1982. Click below to view the video.

Life In Make-Believe

Published 5th February 2021. Although sounding like a lullaby, it's about someone in a failing relationship who's hiding in their own make-believe world of magical innocence. Click below to view the video or listen via SoundCloud.

The More You Live, The More You Love (cover)

Published 30th October 2020. The members of the band had been playing at an 'open mic' event in 2019 arranged by Darren Poyzer in Lymm, Cheshire when Dave Townson and Paul Cargill started playing this track. Originally written by A Flock Of Seagulls, it had been one of Dave Forward's favourite tracks back in 1984 so he suggested adding Barbara's keyboards and his vocals to the track. During the lockdown, Dave Townson started work on recording the track and this was mixed by Paul on 3rd September 2020. Click below to listen to the track.

Mad World (cover)

Published 2nd May 2020. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the band have not been idle and decided to record their own cover version of Mad World (originally recorded by Tears for Fears). It seemed very appropriate for the time and this was quickly followed up by an original song called Being Lonely. Click below to see the video on YouTube.