Catatonia - Dead From The Waist Down

What this video is

Released 29 March 1999 as the lead single from Catatonia's third album 'Equally Cursed and Blessed', this video arrives at a pivotal cultural moment: the tail-end of the Britpop boom, with Welsh acts such as Catatonia, Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, and Stereophonics carrying the movement's momentum into the post-Cool Britannia period. The single reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart, becoming…

Why it matters

An exemplary late-Britpop music video artefact, 'Dead From The Waist Down' documents the aesthetic codes of Welsh alternative rock at its commercial apex: warm-toned, fast-cut, performance-centred promo filmmaking under major-label production values. Its chart success (UK #7) and…

The director

Patricia Murphy is a multi-award winning director and producer specialising in music videos, TV commercials, and documentaries, operating through Patricia Murphy Films Ltd. Her work spans major label music video commissions as well as award-winning…