After finding a drum kit in a junk-yard, Carl Puttnam on vocals, Steve Goodwin on drums, Mike Dunphy on guitar and William Potter on bass, formed the band Cud in the English city of Leeds in 1987. Within two years, their quirky humour and complete disregard for self-respect had attracted a large cult following in Leeds, Sheffield, Doncaster and other northern England bastions of style and taste.
Early Critical Acclaim
In late 1987 they released their first single, 'Mind the Gap', on Reception Records (owned by Wedding Present front-man, David Gedge) to critical acclaim. In February of 1988, British DJ John Peel invited the band to record a session for his radio show. A move to the Imaginary label enabled the band to blossom, creating their own groovy mix of kitsch and noise - the singles 'Hey!Wire' and 'Only (A Prawn in Whitby)' embodied this style, and proved firm favourites with the audience.
The band's first album When in Rome, Kill Me was released on Imaginary in 1989, and received favourable reviews from the music press. Subsequent singles released on Imaginary were also well received by the music establishment. It has subsequently been mooted that Cud would have achieved mainstream success if Imaginary had been able to afford to splash out on publicity in the early days.
Chart Success
Eventually, with the band members feeling they were destined for bigger and better things, Cud signed with A&M in 1991, leaving Imaginary to disappear into insolvency. The greater spending power at A&M enabled Cud to make their first foray into the charts with the singles 'Rich & Strange', 'Purple Love Balloon' and 'Neurotica'. All three made it into the British Top 40 charts.
This initial success wasn't to be maintained however, and their 1994 album Showbiz was poorly received. During work on what would have been their sixth album, A&M dropped them, due to a 'problem with attitude'.
'Artistic Differences'
This signalled the end for Cud, and William Potter left1, shortly before the band break-up due to artistic differences between Potter and Mike Dunphy2
For the remainder of Cud's existence, the bassist was Mick Dale, who has since enjoyed success with the band Embrace.
Cud Discography
Singles
| 'Mind The Gap' | Sep 1987 | UK Reception REC 007 |
| 'The Peel Sessions: Cud' | Jun 1987 | UK Strange Fruit SFPS045 |
| 'Under My Hat' | May 1988 | UK Ediesta CALC049 |
| 'Slack Time' | Sep 1988 | UK Dug/Nightshift DUGNI 001T |
| 'Lola' | Apr 1989 | UK Imaginary MIRAGE007 |
| 'Only (A Prawn in Whitby)' | May 1989 | UK Imaginary MIRAGE010 (08-024823-20) |
| 'Hey!Wire' | May 1990 | UK Imaginary MIRAGE018 |
| 'Robinson Crusoe' | Sep 1990 | UK Imaginary MIRAGE021 |
| 'Backdoor Santa'3 | Dec 1990 | UK Sunflower FLX996 |
| 'Magic' | Mar 1991 | UK Imaginary MIRAGE027 |
| 'Oh No Won't Do' | Oct 1991 | UK A&M AMB 829 |
| 'Through the Roof' | Mar 1992 | UK A&M AM 857 |
| 'Rich & Strange' | May 1992 | UK A&M AM 871 |
| 'Purple Love Balloon' | Aug 1992 | UK A&M AM 0024 |
| 'Once Again' | Sep 1992 | UK A&M AM 0081 |
| 'Cud's Ode To Christmas Joy (Weirdy Beardy)'4 | Dec 1992 | UK A&M CUDXMAS |
| 'Neurotica' | Jan 1994 | UK A&M 580 516-7 |
| 'Sticks and Stones' | Mar 1994 | UK A&M 580 546-7 |
| 'One Giant Love' | Aug 1994 | UK A&M 580 729-1 |
Albums and EPs
| When In Rome, Kill Me | May 1989 | UK Imaginary ILLUSION 500 |
| Elvis Belt (Only You Can Take Me There)5 | Jun 1990 | UK Imaginary ILLUSION 013 |
| Leggy Mambo | Oct 1990 | UK Imaginary ILLUSION 021 |
| The Cud Band EP | Oct 1991 | US A&M 75021 5380 1 |
| Asquarius | Jun 1992 | UK A&M 395 390 1 |
| Showbiz | Apr 1994 | UK A&M 540 211 1 |
1 The rest of the band say he was kicked out.
2 If you count Dunphy saying that all of Potter's songs were 's**t' to be 'artistic differences'.
3 Free Flexi-disc available only at the Cud Christmas Ball.
4 Limited Edition Flexi-disc for Fan Club.
5 Compilation of Singles, B-Sides, Remixes, etc.
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