Katmandu were a five piece formed in 1978 although singer and heartbeat of the band Marty Lundy had been playing on the Belfast club circuit in bands such as Zenith since 1974. The initial line up of the band was Marty Lundy vocals,
Peter McKinney drums, Trevor Hutchinson bass, Pat ‘Fitzy’ Fitzpatrick Keyboards and Iggy Ward guitar. The band set up camp at Pat’s rented flat in the city which became their writing base for the next eighteen months. Their influences included Roxy Music, XTC, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Talking Heads and Bowie. Essentially the band were drawn to the more arty rock bands of the day rather than straight ahead punk rock, which was emanating from every dingy bar in Belfast at the time.

In 1979 they moved base to Dublin in the hope of securing that elusive record deal. By late July they had secured a regular Sunday afternoon at the Baggot Inn and after quickly building a sizeable audience, they moved to an evening slot at the same venue They also played Thursday night residences at the Sallynoggin Inn and on a Tuesday night at the The Sportsmans Inn. Their regular gigging soon established them as one of the top live acts in the Dublin scene in the early 1980’s.
 

In 1980 they released their one and only single “I Can Make The Future” c/w “Australia” on the local Spider label. They received a lot of interest from the major labels on the back of their single and made several TV appearances on RTE and on UTV north of the border but ultimately the big deal eluded them.

A follow up single was recorded in 1981 but never got released and the band returned to Belfast the following year. A glut of unreleased material remains from that incarnation of the band including songs such as “Just Trying To Get My Act Together”, “ Don’t Let Me Stop You”, “ Complicated Game”, “ I’m Glad I’m Me”, “ Gimmie The Gimmick”, “New Trick” and “Money Is The Magic Wand”.

The band reconvened in Belfast, with the exception of Fitzy who went on to become a top session player. Hutchinson later returned to Dublin to join the Waterboys and McKinney joined The 4 Of Us whilst also guesting with the Waterboys.

Marty Lundy still fronted a version of Katmandu up until his sudden death on Tuesday 14th April 2020 . He passed away peacefully, in his sleep, at his East Belfast home, aged 68.