Born 59 Years Ago Today in Wales, the Rock Guitarist Who Helped Turn ‘The X-Files’ Into a UK Top 3 Hit

On this day (November 3) in 1967, Mark Roberts was born in Llanrwst, Wales. He started his music career as a founding member of Y Cyrff, which has been hailed as one of the greatest Welsh rock bands of all time. After that group split, he formed Catatonia with vocalist Cerys Matthews. The band had several hits, including the X-Files-themed “Mulder and Scully.” The band dissolved in the early 2000s. Roberts continued his career with multiple bands. Most recently, he launched a solo project.

Roberts formed the Band Y Cyrff with Barry Cawley, Emyr Davies, and Dylan Hughes while they were in high school. Influenced by bands like The Clash, they sang in their native Welsh and played many of their earliest gigs at their school. The band released five albums before they split in 1991 after deciding that they wouldn’t find mainstream success while only singing in Welsh. Three more albums came later. The most recent, Atalnod Llawn, dropped in 2005.

Mark Roberts and Catatonia

Mark Roberts met vocalist Cerys Matthews in late 1991. Before long, they were in a romantic relationship while also writing songs and busking together. Their first solid lineup included Roberts, Matthews, Dafydd Ieuan, Paul Jones, and Clancy Pegg.

Catatonia released their first EP, For Tinkerbell, in 1993. A year later, they followed it with Hooked. Finally, in 1996, they released their debut full-length Way Beyond Blue. It landed in the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart. Their next release, International Velvet came two years later. It reached the top of the UK Albums Chart and put them on the map in Australia and New Zealand, as well. The popularity of “Mulder and Scully,” a No. 3 hit in the UK, helped propel the album up the charts. The LP also produced the hit singles “Road Rage” and “Strange Glue.”

While the band was at its commercial peak, things were beginning to fall apart behind the scenes. According to the BBC, Roberts and Matthews’ relationship ended. Many of the songs on International Velvet dealt with their breakup. However, they chose to keep the band together. They released two more albums and scored another top 10 hit with “Dead from the Waist Down” in 1999. Two years later, Catatonia dissolved.

Roberts Continued Making Music

Mark Roberts didn’t walk away from music after Catatonia split. Instead, he spent some time working as a producer. Then, he formed Sherbet Antlers with his former bandmate Paul Jones, Kevs Ford, and John Griffiths. Later, he and Jones formed Y Ffyrc.

In the early 2010s, Roberts formed The Earth, a soul band fronted by Dionne Bennett.

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Most recently, Roberts embarked on a solo project called MR. He released his first album, Southern Soul Lover, in 2011. His seventh and most recent album, Haenau, dropped in November 2025.

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