Ex-Catherine Wheel Frontman Rob Dickinson Glad His Band Wasn't As Big As Radiohead

Listening to Rob Dickinson speak is somewhat similar to listening to television's Masterpiece Theatre, albeit with his deep British monotone somewhat lessened by a phone connection.

But that doesn't detract from his articulate thoughts on the years that have come since the hiatus of his '90s alt.shoegazer outfit, Catherine Wheel, and the product of this break: Universal's re-release of his 2005 solo album, Fresh Wine For The Horses.

"The record is a pretty good reflection and representation of where I'm at after 10 years of being in a rock band," Dickinson says. "There's a certain amount of renewed calmness in how I approach some of this music.

"It's pretty introspective and self-reflective, but really, that's what rock 'n' roll is. I think if you can put some sincerity and, dare I say it, some truth into the lyrics, and you're prepared to wear your heart on your sleeve, that's when the music starts to become interesting — if you believe in what's being sung.

"So I really wanted to make a record that meant something to me and about me, as it was my first solo record and I thought it'd be silly to make a solo record that sounded like the Catherine Wheel. But then I stopped that sort of ridiculous self-analysis, figuring instead that I'd write my songs from the heart and they'd be what they'd be."

While Dickinson realized that he couldn't escape the shadow of his old quartet — and, more or less, he didn't really want to — he also discovered how seminal the rock band was for many dedicated fans.

"After so much time away, I really had no sense of where the band stood in the hierarchy of peoples' memories," Dickinson remarks. "You have to remember, we toured America pretty solidly for 10 years, and we did make our mark at the time, but subsequently I wasn't really sure if the band was actually going to be remembered.

"But it's been wonderful to have been away for so long, and then have people who were fans of the band come and see me and embrace my stuff, then also tell me how much the Catherine Wheel's songs meant to them — which is really quite amazing, and something I just didn't realize at the time.

"These are things where, at the time, we were so buried in our own silly turmoil that we couldn't see the wood for the trees. And I think the gap has allowed me to really appreciate what we achieved, and honour it, and not sweep it under the carpet and say, 'I'm a solo artist now.' I am that, but I used to be in the Catherine Wheel as well, so I play those songs and I play my new songs. Everyone seems to leave rather buoyant."

So is there any sense of lost time after taking five years away from the music scene?

"No, quite the opposite, no. The 10 years with the band were quite difficult for me, and I wouldn't pretend that they were 10 years that I particularly enjoyed. I ended up finding that there was a lot of pressure to be the next biggest rock band in the world. It was going to be us or Radiohead, according to both our bands' managers, and luckily it was Radiohead.

"I think there was a lot of competition with those guys back in the day. They opened for us back on our first headlining U.K. tour, and there was a lot of talk between the two camps about who was going to be the next Pink Floyd. At the time, that was good fun, but those sorts of pressures from the record company to come up with the goods..."Dickinson trails off briefly before continuing sombrely:

"To be honest with you, if we had become a platinum-selling entity, it probably would have killed me. The pressures were high enough on us as we were selling modest amounts of records, but I think if we'd actually lived up to expectations of a commercially viable rock band, that probably would have killed the creativity.

"That's one thing I am really proud of: the music that the band made. We certainly did go into the studio each time to make records for us rather than other people. So after the band stopped in 2000, it was very much a 'Gee, I'm glad that's over' kind of thing. I think we all needed a rest. We'd say that we 'parked' the band, and I always thought that was a good way of saying it, because we'll probably revisit the band sometime in the future. God knows when, but it'd be too much fun not to."