Andrew Derek Cocup (born 11 December 1972), known professionally as Andy Cato, is an English musician, record producer, DJ, and farmer who is currently one half of the

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

band

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles " At the River", " I See You Baby" and " Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of ...

, the other half being Tom Findlay. He was also involved with Rachel Foster in Weekend Players, another electronic dance group, between 2001 and 2004. His stage name of Cato derives from Cato Road in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

, South London, where he lived.

Early life

Cato grew up in Badsworth, near

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

, and played the

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

in the

Grimethorpe Colliery Band The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band. Along with the Bl ...

, as well as the Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra and won the Young Jazz Musician of the Year Award in 1996. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for boys in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

, followed by

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, where he read Modern History. At school, he was a prolific musician, frequently performing and leading school shows such as the Carol concert or as a pianist at school assembly. He often wrote his own songs e.g. "Christmas means to me - presents round the tree", from an early age.

Groove Armada

After Oxford, he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he began acting as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

at nightclubs such as

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

where he started in the upstairs bar, and composing music. He set up the label Skinny Malinky, which produced records under various aliases included Big C, Mother's Pride, Vadis, Beat Foundation, Fatback Boogaloo and Qattara (with Alex Whitcombe). He formed the successful

after he met Tom Findlay in 1994 in Cambridge, through a common friend who was his girlfriend (and now his wife), Jo, whom he met at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. In London they had a dance night called ''Captain Sensual at the Helm of the Groove Armada''. In 2003 they started the

Lovebox Festival Lovebox is a three-day music festival. In 2018 the event moved to Gunnersbury Park, London. The move came after Tower Hamlets turned down its application to continue in Victoria Park and Lambeth residents objected to its move to Brockwell Park ...

, named after the club night they started in London venue 93 Feet East in 2002.

Personal life

In 2008, Cato moved with his family to

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

in France. In 2013, using the proceeds of selling the rights to his Groove Armada songs, they acquired a 100-hectare farm, where they now grow organic no-till crops and raise livestock in pasture. Cato is now a full-time farmer, but he still finds time to DJ, with occasional gigs in the UK and Ibiza and regular DIY releases. In 2022, Cato took on the 25 year lease of a National Trust Farm in Oxfordshire, using the techniques and non-intrusive farming skills used in France. Cato appears alongside his Wildfarmed business partner

George Lamb George Martin Lamb (born 20 December 1979) is an English former radio and television presenter, farmer and businessman. In 2012, he presented the Channel 4 game show ''The Bank Job''. He is the son of actor Larry Lamb. Education Born in Hammer ...

in series 3 of '' Clarkson's Farm''. Groove Armada performed a farewell tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2022.

References

External links

Groove Armada website

Making ringtones for O2 in 2005

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cato, Andy Living people People from Pontefract Musicians from Wakefield English keyboardists English record producers British club DJs Big beat musicians People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Alumni of Merton College, Oxford English electronic dance music DJs 21st-century trombonists 21st-century British male musicians 1972 births