Chrome (Catherine Wheel album)

Chrome is the second full-length album by the U.K. band Catherine Wheel, released in 1993 (see 1993 in music). Chrome, produced by former Pixies producer Gil Norton, has a more metallic musical edge (hence the title) than the band's previous album Ferment and EPs. Peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, the album was supported by the single "Crank", a top five Modern Rock track. Music videos were filmed for singles "Crank" (Quicktime excerpt: http://www.catherinewheel.com/crank.mov), "Show Me Mary" (Quicktime excerpt: http://www.catherinewheel.com/mary.mov), and "The Nude" (Quicktime excerpt: http://www.catherinewheel.com/nude.mov). The video for "Crank" featured the band playing in a hotel's elevator and lobby to a motley cast of hotel guests; "Show Me Mary" had the band being driven around in a taxi; "The Nude" featured the smearing of wet clay across a topless woman's torso. The cover photo was shot in an indoor swimming pool by Storm Thorgerson of the Hipgnosis design company. In 1999, the cover of this album appeared as the cover of the Hipgnosis/Thorgerson retrospective book Eye Of The Storm: The Album Graphics Of Storm Thorgerson (Sanctuary Publishing, 190 pgs.). The CD version was also available in a limited-edition version with a shiny chrome-looking cover with embossed writing on it.

The track "Ursa Major Space Station" was named after an obscure guitar effects pedal, but it is not known if the band used that pedal on the album. "Fripp" was named after King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. "Strange Fruit" is not a cover of the famous Billie Holiday song of the same name.

Catherine Wheel embarked on tours with Slowdive, Chapterhouse, and INXS, among others, to promote this album.