Ratcat
Encyclopedia
Ratcat were an Australia
n indie rock
band of the late 1980s and early 1990s fronted by vocalist Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop
songwriting and energetic punk
-style guitar won them fans from both the indie
and skate-punk communities.
, and were a mainstay of that city's live music scene until they were eventually signed to Waterfront Records
, where they released a self-titled EP
, several singles ("I Think I Love You", "Baby's Got A Gun"), and their debut album, This Nightmare in 1989. Another EP, Killing Joke, and another single, "Saying Goodbye" followed.
label. Their first release for their new label was a 6-track EP called Tingles. The extremely catchy A-side "That Ain't Bad" combined with their strong, cartoon-y artwork (which featured heavily on their releases and in their videos), saw the Tingles EP reach #1 on ARIA
's alternative charts, and shortly afterwards, the top of the Australian national chart.
The band's subsequent album, Blind Love, and the single "Don't Go Now" both reached #1 in 1991. Their fans, many of them young girls, had begun to react with hysteria, screaming and proposing to Day from the crowd. This is evident when listening to their live recordings where the audience nearly drowns out the band with their screaming and singing along to every word.
Their next single "Baby Baby", and a follow-up album Insideout sold well, but not to the extent of their previous successes, which had been bolstered by their tour with another of Australia's most famous musical groups, INXS
. The band sporadically played live shows over the next few years, and released another album Easyrider in 1997.
Ratcat reformed in 1998 to play at the Homebake
Festival with new bassist Nic Dalton
(of Sneeze
, The Lemonheads
among others). They played a few shows in 2002 including a spot at the Big Day Out, and in 2006 Ratcat held the support slot on the Psychedelic Furs Australian tour. They did a further gig at The Jack Daniel's music awards and played in early June 2006 at the Come Together festival at Luna Park. In 2011 they performed a show at The Factory, Marrickville, to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of 'Blind Love'.
Much of the artwork for the band was done by singer/guitarist Simon Day.
A 2010 television advertisement for Bonds brassieres features a cover version of Ratcat's "That Ain't Bad" (originally rom the Tingles EP). Day makes a brief appearance in the advertisement. Simon has also appreared in recent years with Sydney bands including The Art and The Glimmer (formerly The Mansons), and in 2011 Ratcat were confirmed for Sydney's 2011 Homebake
festival, subtitled "The Classic Edition".
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band of the late 1980s and early 1990s fronted by vocalist Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
songwriting and energetic punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
-style guitar won them fans from both the indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and skate-punk communities.
Waterfront
Ratcat formed in 1986 in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, and were a mainstay of that city's live music scene until they were eventually signed to Waterfront Records
Waterfront Records
Waterfront Records was an independent record label based in Sydney, that released recordings by some of Australia's most influential bands of the 1980s and 1990s.-History:...
, where they released a self-titled EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, several singles ("I Think I Love You", "Baby's Got A Gun"), and their debut album, This Nightmare in 1989. Another EP, Killing Joke, and another single, "Saying Goodbye" followed.
Success
In 1990, the band signed to the rooArtRooArt
rooArt was an Australian independent record label, founded in 1988 by INXS's then-manager, Chris Murphy. The label's roster included several well-known Australian bands and artists such as Crow, Ratcat, Screaming Jets, You Am I, Wendy Matthews, The Hummingbirds, The Trilobites and Amanda Brown...
label. Their first release for their new label was a 6-track EP called Tingles. The extremely catchy A-side "That Ain't Bad" combined with their strong, cartoon-y artwork (which featured heavily on their releases and in their videos), saw the Tingles EP reach #1 on ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
's alternative charts, and shortly afterwards, the top of the Australian national chart.
The band's subsequent album, Blind Love, and the single "Don't Go Now" both reached #1 in 1991. Their fans, many of them young girls, had begun to react with hysteria, screaming and proposing to Day from the crowd. This is evident when listening to their live recordings where the audience nearly drowns out the band with their screaming and singing along to every word.
Their next single "Baby Baby", and a follow-up album Insideout sold well, but not to the extent of their previous successes, which had been bolstered by their tour with another of Australia's most famous musical groups, INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
. The band sporadically played live shows over the next few years, and released another album Easyrider in 1997.
Ratcat reformed in 1998 to play at the Homebake
Homebake
Homebake is an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup . The festival was first held on 4 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New South Wales...
Festival with new bassist Nic Dalton
Nic Dalton
Nic Dalton is an Australian musician, best known as the bass guitarist for American band The Lemonheads at the height of their popularity...
(of Sneeze
Sneeze (band)
Sneeze is a music group from Sydney, Australia consisting primarily of Nic Dalton and Tom Morgan from Smudge. They have had many extra band members including drummers Lara Meyerratken, Russell Hopkinson from You Am I, Simon Gibson from Half Miler, Evan Dando from The Lemonheads and Andy Calvert...
, The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member....
among others). They played a few shows in 2002 including a spot at the Big Day Out, and in 2006 Ratcat held the support slot on the Psychedelic Furs Australian tour. They did a further gig at The Jack Daniel's music awards and played in early June 2006 at the Come Together festival at Luna Park. In 2011 they performed a show at The Factory, Marrickville, to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of 'Blind Love'.
Much of the artwork for the band was done by singer/guitarist Simon Day.
A 2010 television advertisement for Bonds brassieres features a cover version of Ratcat's "That Ain't Bad" (originally rom the Tingles EP). Day makes a brief appearance in the advertisement. Simon has also appreared in recent years with Sydney bands including The Art and The Glimmer (formerly The Mansons), and in 2011 Ratcat were confirmed for Sydney's 2011 Homebake
Homebake
Homebake is an annual Australian rock festival, featuring an all-Australian lineup . The festival was first held on 4 January 1996 at Belongil Fields in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New South Wales...
festival, subtitled "The Classic Edition".
Line-up
- Simon Day - vocals, guitar, bass, main songwriter (1986–present)
- Trevor Wintle - drums (1986–1987)
- Andrew Polin - drums (1987–present)
- Victor Levi - bass (1986–1988)
- Cathy Webb - bass (1988)
- John McAteer - bass (1988–1989)
- Amr Zaid - bass (1989–1992)
- Marc Scully - bass (1992–1996)
- Nic Dalton - bass (1998–present)
Albums
- This Nightmare (1989)
- Blind Love (1991)
- Alive (1991)
- Insideout (1992)
- Easy Rider (1997)
Singles and EPs
- Ratcat EP (1987)
- Baby's Got A Gun (1988)
- I Think I Love You (1988)
- Saying Goodbye / Tura Satana / Overdrive (1989)
- I Love Ratcat To Death EP (1989)
- Tingles EP (1990)
- Don't Go Now (1991)
- Baby Baby (1991)
- That Ain't Bad (1991)
- Holiday (1992)
- Candyman (1992)
- The World (In A Wrapper) (1993)
- Rain EP (1994)
- The Smiler EP (1995)
- Laughing Bag and Other Funny Stories EP (1997)
- I Hate The Music with John Paul YoungJohn Paul YoungJohn Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"...
(1998)