Who are the legendary Mudcats?

The genesis of the Mudcats began when Howard met John Foster Moore following a chance meeting with his sister at the one and only appearance of the Glyptodons at Reading University. John and Howard had a shared obsession with Bo Diddley and the Cramps. 

This led to the Teenagers from Outerspace being formed with John calling on his marginally older mentors from the Reading Rock club days, Pete Hall and Phil Harris, to complete the line-up. 

The Teenagers’ set included early rock ‘n’ roll covers, with a sprinkling of Cramps, Link Wray and a couple of their own songs. They became popular among an adoring fan base in the Reading area and many gigs ensued. 

Meanwhile John had an obsession with the high life, and hot tailed it to pursue his Rock ‘n’ Roll dream auditioning for the role of drummer in the Jesus and the Mary Chain following Billy Gillespie’s resignation from this role. 

The Teenagers continued for a while without Johnny FM (as he had then been nicknamed) but with the recruitment of John Patterson on bass and Adrian Swinburne on guitar they turned their attention to writing short, pacey, punchy, swamp rock and the Mudcats were born. 

All members had a fondness for old school rhythm and blues grooves, and for the recent American invasion by the likes of Los Lobos, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and a shared obsession with the Tailgaters. 

They continued to play some of the old Teenagers' set with the addition of a few covers from some of the aforementioned bands. They amassed a devoted following, playing mainly around Reading as well as some dates further afield, and strengthened their set with a growing number of high-tempo swampy numbers. 

Meanwhile Howard had finished his degree at Reading University and was working locally, but pastures new beckoned when he followed his girlfriend to live in Cardiff. This could have been the end of the band, however they continued to play parties and birthday celebrations, and have for the last 10 years played a regular booking at the Shouldham cider and beer festival in Norfolk UK. 

In 2017 the band decided to record tracks from their 1989 set, enlisting the help of the original recording engineer from their previous 1985 recordings.  This lead to the release of Shake it Up - comprising a mix of fourteen tracks of original material and covers. 

In 2024 Howard and Adrian felt it was time for some new material and swapped ideas, riffs, lyrics and sometimes fully formed songs. This led in November 2024 to the recording of Swamp Soup. 

Watch this space for further new material and news!