Ratcat

Ratcat
File:Ratcat.jpg Ratcat, 1991. L-R: Amr Zaid, Andrew Polin, and Simon Day.
Background information
Origin	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres	Indie rock
Years active	1986–1998, 2006–present
Labels	Waterfront Records rooArt Mercury Records
Members	Simon Day Nic Dalton
Past members	Amr Zaid Andrew Polin

Ratcat are an Australian indie rock band formed in Sydney in 1985, fronted by vocalist and guitarist Simon Day. Their combination of indie pop songwriting and energetic punk-style guitar won them fans from both the indie and skate-punk communities. Their popularity peaked in 1991, finding mainstream success with their album Blind Love and the single Don't Go Now, which both reached #1 on the Australian charts that year. The band released two subsequent albums, however they never matched the popularity and success of 1991. The band ceased regular live shows in the mid 1990s, however they have continued to play sporadic shows since that time, with Day as the only continuing original member. The band will be playing as part of the 'A Day On The Green' concert series in March 2016.

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 successful A-side "That Ain't Bad" combined with their cartoon like 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 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 (ex-The Plunderers, 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 from the Tingles EP). Day makes a brief appearance in the advertisement. Simon has also appeared 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".

The band will be playing as part of the 'A Day On The Green' concert series in March 2016, with Hoodoo Gurus, Sunnyboys, Violent Femmes and Died Pretty.

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) (Recorded live in June 1991 at the Metro Club, Melbourne)
• 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) #1
• Don't Go Now (1991) #1
• Baby Baby (1991) #21
• Candyman (1992) #38
• Holiday (1992) #41
• 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

• Ratcat's Simon Day cameos in new Bonds ad, Pedestrian TV, August 11, 2010, retrieved August 17, 2010.
• [1], A Fan Site