Rogue Traders
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- This article is about the band Rogue Traders. For the BBC television programme, see Rogue Traders (television).
| Rogue Traders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Australia |
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| Genre(s) | Dance Electro pop Pop Rock |
|
| Years active | 2002 - present | |
| Label(s) | Vicious Grooves (Australia, 1999–2003) Sony BMG (Australia, 2004–) |
|
| Website | Rogue Traders Official Site | |
| Members | ||
| Performing Members: James Ash Timothy Henwood Cameron McGlinchey Natalie Bassingthwaighte Contributing Members: Steve Davis (Songwriting, Original Member) |
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Rogue Traders are an Australian electro pop band consisting of James Ash (keyboards), Timothy Henwood (guitars), Cameron McGlinchey (drums) and Natalie Bassingthwaighte (lead vocals). The group's original members (James Ash and Steve Davis) met in London in 1989. Before forming Rogue Traders, Ash and Davis worked together on many projects, most notably as dance act Union State. Davis still contributes to the band and is still an active part of the songwriting process. The band's name came from the movie Rogue Trader.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Debut album: 2002-2003
In 2003 Rogue Traders (James Ash, Steve Davis) released their debut album We Know What You're up To. Their debut single did not enter the Top one hundred, but reached number sixteen on the ARIA Top forty Club Chart.
The second single released from the album, "Give in to Me", was a minor Australian ARIAnet top one hundred chart single peaking at number sixty-seven. Their third single was a lot more successful. They remixed/covered INXS's "Need You Tonight", renaming it "One Of My Kind". The track peaked at number ten in Australia -- giving them the recognition they needed. A fourth single, "Stay?", gave them another minor top one hundred chart single peaking at number sixty.
The Rogue Traders won an ARIA award for Best Dance Track for the song "One of My Kind". They were nominated for two APRA awards in 2003 for "Give in to Me" and in 2004 for "One of My Kind" but lost in both years.
[edit] Here Come the Drums: 2005-2006
The Rogue Traders returned in 2005, with their new album Here Come the Drums, a new record contract with Sony BMG along with new band member Neighbours' Natalie Bassingthwaighte. The first single “Voodoo Child”, reached number four in Australia, number seven in New Zealand and number three in the UK. The second single from the album, "Way to Go!" reached number seven in Australia, while "Watching You", which was their second single to reach the top five, peaked at number five in Australia. Like many other modern music acts, the Rogue Traders use elements of old songs in their music. However, rather than sampling the original songs, they re-record the relevant parts. "Voodoo Child" contains a re-recorded riff from "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello. "Watching You" contains re-recorded elements of "My Sharona" by The Knack.
2006 saw the Rogue Traders' continuing success in Australia as released singles and their second album continued to do well in the Australian charts. Amongst rumours of Natalie Bassingthwaighte planning to leave her role as Izzy Hoyland in Neighbours, the band revealed a deal with the UK arm of Sony BMG, intending to release music in the country in the summer of 2006. They also won the 2006 MTV Australian Video Music Award for Best Dance Video for "Voodoo Child".
In June 2006 the Rogue Traders won their first APRA Award, with "Way to Go!" taking out the "Most Performed Dance Work" category. They have previously been nominated for two APRA awards in the same category, in 2003 for their single "Give in to Me" and in 2004 for "One of My Kind", which also won an ARIA award. Also in June 2006, the Rogue Traders announced they were releasing their second album Here Come The Drums again, as a Limited Edition two CD remix set. The second CD contained remixes from all their smash singles and the album included new artwork. It was released on June 10, the same day of their fourth single "We're Coming Home". On June 18, 2006, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and James Ash announced on Video Hits that the band are currently in the process of writing their third studio recorded album.
The Rogue Traders announced early 2006 that they have signed with the European division of Sony BMG and were to be releasing their second album Here Come the Drums and singles from the album later in the year. It was later announced that Voodoo Child was to be again the first single in the UK as it was in Australia. Voodoo Child was then given a UK release of July 10 and the album July 24. A gig was also announced for the UK at Shepherds Bush Empire in London for July 11th - one day after the release of Voodoo Child, which was for hopes to get the debut of Voodoo Child high in the charts. Numerous radio stations across the UK started to play Voodoo Child 6 weeks before its release.
The video clip for Voodoo Child started to receive airplay on programs across UK such as The Box, The Hits and MTV Dance. The clip stayed the same as the Australian version. It reached top 5 positions on the programs and number-one on some Radio Stations as well. The song received a lot of positive reviews from Radio Stations, TV Programs and music critics. Some called it a 'Summer Anthem for 2006' and some named it either 'Record of the Week/Month.' The video and single was then put onto iTunes UK for buy. The video reached number two on the iTunes Video Chart and stayed in the top five for a few days, while the single was selling itself into the top ten and days later into the top five.
Voodoo Child was released on July 10th in the UK but debuted in the chart the week before at number eighteen due to download sales. After its official release, Voodoo Child rocketed into the top ten at number three with sales of over 21,000. Due to its success Voodoo Child is due to be released in several European countries including the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. "Watching You" was released in the UK as the bands second single released from the album on October 16, 2006 and peaked at number thirty-three on the singles chart.
Rogue Traders were also a surprise inclusion to the 2006 season of Big Brother Australia. Entering the house and playing a "concert" for housemates. The event was also streamed to Big Brother audiences from the programs website.
[edit] Third studio album: 2007-present
On their official forum, James Ash commented saying that work on their third album had started. "Shout Out" and "Better in the Dark" are expected to be on the new album. Also Ash confirmed that Bassingthwaighte will have writing credits on this album. In January 2007, Rogue Traders performed at the opening of the Australian Jamboree at Elmore, Victoria in front of a crowd of over 10,000.
Rogue Traders announced on February 11th, 2007 that they will support British girlband Girls Aloud on their The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits Tour in May 2007. [1] New tracks for the album include:
- Shout Out
- Better In The Dark
- What You're On
- On The Way To The Disco
On February 11, 2007, The Sunday Telegraph reported that "The group's management confirmed the band had been in discussions with a major US label."
The Rogue Traders will fly to the US in July 2007 where they will launch their first single into the American music scene. The group have been signed with major US label Universal Music.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Cover | Album information |
|---|---|
 |
We Know What You're up To
|
 |
Here Come the Drums
|
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | Australia | Ireland | New Zealand | United Kingdom | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Need You to Show Me" | — | ||||
| "Give in to Me" | 67 | We Know What You're up To | ||||
| 2003 | "One of My Kind" (with INXS) | 10 | We Know What You're up To | |||
| "Stay?" | 60 | We Know What You're up To | ||||
| 2005 | "Voodoo Child" | 4 | 15 | 7 | 3 | Here Come the Drums |
| "Way to Go!" | 7 | Here Come the Drums | ||||
| 2006 | "Watching You" | 5 | 46 | 33 | Here Come the Drums | |
| "We're Coming Home" | 14 | Here Come the Drums | ||||
| "In Love Again" (Digital release) | 20 | Here Come the Drums |
NOTE: A blank box indicates the song was not released in the country.
NOTE:— means the song never charted
[edit] Awards and recognition
| Year | Award-giving Body | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | ARIA Award | Breakthrough Artist - Single (One of My Kind) | Nominated |
| 2003 | ARIA Award | Best Dance Release (One of My Kind) | Won |
| 2003 | ARIA Award | Best Video (One of My Kind) | Nominated |
| 2005 | ARIA Award | Best Dance Release (Voodoo Child) | Nominated |
| 2005 | ARIA Award | Engineer of the Year (Voodoo Child) | Nominated |
| 2005 | ARIA Award | Best Video (Voodoo Child) | Nominated |
| 2006 | MTV AMVA Award | Spankin' New Aussie Artist | Nominated |
| 2006 | MTV AMVA Award | Best Dance Video (Voodoo Child) | Won |
| 2006 | ARIA Award | Breakthrough Artist - Album (Here Come the Drums) | Nominated |
| 2006 | ARIA Award | Best Pop Release (Here Come the Drums) | Nominated |
| 2006 | ARIA Award | Highest Selling Album (Here Come the Drums) | Nominated |
| 2006 | ARIA Award | Best Group (Here Come the Drums) | Nominated |
| 2007 | MTV AMVA Award | Best Dance Video (In Love Again) | Nominated |
