Pre-history (1975–1980) The band's earliest incarnation was as
the Waves, a group that played in and around
Cambridge, from 1975 to 1977. The Waves featured guitarist
Kimberley Rew and drummer Alex Cooper. This incarnation of the Waves did not issue any recordings, and broke up when Rew left to join The
Soft Boys. By late 1980, Alex Cooper had joined the band on drums, with Bob Jakins on bass. Mama's Cookin' proceeded to gig steadily in England over the next two years, specialising in covers of songs by American acts such as
Heart,
Foreigner,
Linda Ronstadt and
ZZ Top.
Early days as The Waves (1981–1982) When The Soft Boys broke up in 1981, Rew contacted his old Wave-mate Cooper to see about renewing their musical partnership. Cooper convinced Rew to join Mama's Cookin', and the five-piece group (Leskanich/Rew/Cooper/de la Cruz/Jakins) was quickly renamed the Waves after the band Rew and Cooper had been in together in the mid-1970s. The Waves were initially fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Rew, who brought a wealth of original material to the band. Leskanich, meanwhile, originally only sang lead vocals on the cover tunes in the band's repertoire. However, over the first year of the Waves' existence, Rew began to write material for Leskanich to sing, and she was soon the primary vocalist. The Waves made their initial recorded appearances on a 1982 single ("The Nightmare"/"Hey, War Pig!"); both tracks were included on the 1982 Rew solo album called
The Bible of Bop. Consequently, although they were based in England, Katrina and the Waves' first album
Walking on Sunshine was released only in Canada. whilst their song "
Going Down to Liverpool" was covered by
the Bangles, which added to their profile. Although the band had nearly forgotten about the song, never releasing it on an album because it "felt too Eurovision-y", the band eventually submitted it last-minute. The song won the contest by a then-record margin of 70 points over the Irish runner-up. "Love Shine a Light" became Katrina and the Waves' biggest-ever UK hit, peaking at no. 3 in the
UK Singles Chart. Leskanich had moved to the UK in 1976, at the age of 16, and had lived in the UK for more than two decades by the time of her Eurovision appearance.
Dissolution (1998–1999) Despite their return to the public eye in the UK, Katrina and the Waves were not able to follow up "Love Shine a Light" with another hit, and Leskanich left the group in 1998 after several disagreements within the band. She also stated that she hoped that "Walking on Sunshine" would become an anthem for the Gulf Coast's recovery.
Later years (2010–2013) 2010 marked the 25th anniversary of the release of "Walking on Sunshine" and a series of back-catalogue reissues and a re-recorded version of the track were released. A free download of one of the tracks from Kimberley Rew's solo album
The Bible of Bop was given away in March 2010 from the band's website. Katrina Leskanich released
The Live Album in July 2010 – a mix of Katrina and the Waves hits and new songs recorded in London and Germany. In June 2011, the group threatened legal action against U.S. presidential candidate
Michele Bachmann for playing their music on her campaign trail. A statement on the group's official website reads: "Katrina and the Waves would like it to be known that they do not endorse the use of "Walking on Sunshine" by Michele Bachmann and have instructed their lawyers accordingly." Leskanich stated that she wants to ban the
Republican party from using the track because she does not agree with their politics. In July 2013, Leskanich performed at the
San Fermín festival in Spain for the penultimate gig of the season on Plaza del Castillo. == Members ==