Ratcat
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- Genres: Rock
Biography
Ratcat became the first Australian alternative, guitar-driven band to crack the big time locally during the early '90s.Beginning with singer/guitarist Simon Day and bassist Victor Levi's garage band Danger Mouse, Ratcat's following in Sydney grew thanks to several live performances among the skate-punk scene. In December 1987, the band released their eponymous debut mini-LP on the Waterfront label. Their debut full-length album, The Nightmare, followed in 1989 and led to a deal with the rooArt label. They contributed the single "You Get Me By" to the label's various-artists compilation Youngblood II.
But it was The Tingles EP, released in November 1990, that gave the band their biggest success. It raced to number one on the Australian national charts, as did the catchy single "Don't Go Now." The album, Blind Love, released in July 1991, also went to number one nationally. The band then opened for INXS' X tour as well as performed their own concerts.
In September 1991, Ratcat toured the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., supporting such acts as Ride, Iggy Pop, Teenage Fanclub, Violent Femmes, and the Wonder Stuff. Ratcat released their next album, Insideout, in 1992, which featured a duet between Day and Falling Joys' Suzie Higgie.
After two more EPs, Rain and The Smiler, were released in 1993, the Easy Rider album was finally completed and released in 1997. ~ Brendan Swift, Rovi
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Ratcat
| Ratcat | |
|---|---|
 Ratcat, 1991. L-R: Amr Zaid, Andrew Polin, and Simon Day. |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 1986–1998, 2006 |
| Labels | Waterfront Records rooArt Mercury Records |
| Members | |
| Simon Day Andrew Polin Nic Dalton |
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| Past members | |
| Amr Zaid | |
Ratcat were an Australian 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.
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Contents
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Waterfront
Ratcat formed in 1985 in Sydney, 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.
Success
In 1990, the band signed to the rooArt 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".
Line-up
- Simon Day - vocals, guitar, bass, main songwriter (1985–present)
- Trevor Wintle - drums (1986–1987)
- Andrew Polin - drums (1985-1986,1987-2011)
- Victor Levi - bass (1985–1988)
- Cathy Webb - bass (1988)
- John McAteer - bass (1988–1989)
- Amr Zaid - bass (1989–1992)
- Marc Scully - bass (1992–1996)
- Nic Dalton - bass (1998–present)
Discography
Albums
- This Nightmare (1988)
- 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 Young (1998)
References
- Where are they now? - Ratcat, bmusic news, 21 December 2002
- Ratcat's Simon Day cameos in new Bonds ad, Pedestrian TV, August 11, 2010, retrieved August 17, 2010.
- [1], A Fan Site
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