My name is Nick Troop and I'm a psychologist, a musician and a Bowie fan.

As a psychologist, I've used the LIWC to explore psychological processes linking diary writing to health and to explore the experience of stress in women with a history of eating disorders.

As a musician, I've released three solo albums under the name, CatDesigners - Chemical Jazz and Strange Little Creature are original albums but the third, Tomorrow Never Knows, is a cover of the Beatles' Revolver album (when I decided to do a cover of an album the first album that occured to me to cover was The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars but I couldn't bring myself to do it - there was nothing I wanted to change).

As you'd expect, my songs are quite psychological and impressionistic. Most reviewers pick out the Bowie influence (amongst many others, including a cross between Jacques Brel and an acoustic Syd Barrett) and I've put a couple of sections from album reviews below but click the links for more.

Gigs: Come and see me live (check here for details). Here is a list of forthcoming gigs:

• 12th November 2008: Storm, 28 Leicester Square, London
• 14th February 2009: Acoustic Showcase, Norwich Arts Centre

Albums	Selected reviews
	Strange Little Creature One reviewer suggested this album was somewhere between Scary Monsters and Earthling but erred more towards Scary Monsters. But that must have been based on the overall sound because a LIWC text analysis shows that, of all Bowie's albums, Strange Little Creature is closest to Earthling. Selected reviews: Imagine Morrissey as the front man for The Dead one minute and David Bowie with Trent Reznor the next and you might get an idea what CatDesigners sound like. CatDesigners are the result of an English musical and cultural legacy which embraces Ray Davies, David Bowie and, equally, a decent cup of tea. Strange Little Creature is their second album, a glammy indie-pop effort which wears its history boldly on its sleeve like a badge of honour. More reviews Listen Buy
	Chemical Jazz I think musically this album is closest to Hunky Dory although a LIWC text analysis suggests that it is closest to Station to Station in terms of the psychological constructs reflected in the lyrics. Selected reviews: If you've ever struggled with a creative project, you'll probably join me in wanting to kill Nick Troop and everyone else like him. It's nothing personal; Troop is simply one of those overly-inspired folks who can crank out an entire polished, professional-sounding album on his own, seemingly with no more effort than if he was doing a load of laundry on a Sunday afternoon. And after doing so, perhaps because he's embarrassed at the mere thought of being the center of attention, he gives his "band" an implicitly plural name so we'll all think he's just one clever cog in a highly talented machine. Bastard. Chemical Jazz is one hell of a calling card. If you're a creative person in the midst of a bit of a slump, it may even make you feel a little inadequate. You've been warned. More reviews Listen Buy

I’ve been a Bowie fan since 1983 when my sister borrowed Let’s Dance, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Images from our uncle. I don’t think you can get three more diverse albums than these and that, in part, is what fuelled my fascination with Bowie.

After I became a Bowie fan I realised that I had heard him before. I remembered listening to Diamond Dogs in my uncle's car a few years earlier but I didn't know who Bowie was at the time. I thought, "who's this guy trying to sound like Gary Numan?" (the shame)

I also realised that I even had one of his albums ... his narration of Prokoviev's Peter and the Wolf. Another uncle had bought it for me to introduce me to classical music. It didn't work - classical music still does nothing for me.

On the other hand, even after all these years, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars still does strange things to my insides when I listen to it.

Bowie is also the reason I started writing songs rather than just playing other people’s.