Rogue Traders

This article is about the band Rogue Traders. For the BBC television programme, see Rogue Traders (television).

Rogue Traders

Rogue Traders are an Australian electro pop band consisting of James Ash (keyboards), Danny Spencer (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.

The Rogue Traders are best known for their hits "Voodoo Child", "In Love Again" & "Watching You". The group is currently adding the finishing touches to their 3rd studio album Better in the Dark which will be released on October 13.

History

We Know What You're up To: 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.

Here Come the Drums: 2005-2006

Natalie Bassingthwaighte performing live with the band at an Australian university in 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 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 mainstream 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. Lots of 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. The song Voodoo Child was played diegetically in the Doctor Who episode The Sound of Drums. A new video clip was filmed, along with a new remix track, and the 3rd single to be released in the UK from "Here Come The Drums" was "Way To Go!" Unfortunately, at the last minute it was decided that it would only be released as a digital download track. The reasons for this are still unknown. The release was however successful, peaking at number 12 on the UK charts.

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.

In 2006, Rogue Traders went on a national tour around Australia, playing at various cities around the country. They performed songs off their album Here Come The Drums, kicking off each show with "Belevier" and ending with an encore of "Voodoo Child". It also previewed songs, including "Better in the Dark", "What You're On" and "Shout Out" from their third album, Better in the Dark (2007).

2006 We're Coming Home National Tour Dates

• September 17- Brisbane Convention Centre
• September 20- Newcastle Entertainment Centre
• September 22- Wollongong Entertainment Centre
• September 23- Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
• September 24- Royal Theatre, Canberra
• September 27- Derwent Entertainment Centre
• September 29- Palais, Melbourne
• September 30- Palais, Melbourne
• October 1- Geelong Arena
• October 3- Adelaide Entertainment Centre
• October 5- Challenge Arena, Perth

Better in the Dark: 2007-present

On their official forum, James Ash commented saying that work on their third album had started. "What You're On" and "Better in the Dark" are expected to be on the new album, and are currently included in the latest gig set lists. Also Ash confirmed that Bassingthwaighte will have writing credits on this album. Rogue Traders performed at the Melbourne Crown Casino in April, previewing new songs.

New tracks for the album include:[1]

• Better in the Dark
• What You're On
• On Your Way to the Disco
• I Never Liked You
• Candy Coloured Lights
• Don't You Wanna Feel?
• Childlike
• Price We Pay

The song called 'Shout Out' was performed as one of their new songs on the 2006 'We're Coming Home' Tour but was soon after pulled from future gigs as James advised it wasn't as strong as their other new songs. It will not be included on the 'Better in the Dark' album although it could possibly be a B-side to one of the singles.

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. [2]

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.

Old Navy, a division of Gap, Inc. in North America, has featured "Believer", "Watching You", and in the most recent ad campaign, "World Go 'Round" for their "Summerland" commercial (May 2007).

In the 24th June edition of The Sunday Telegraph, it is said that the Rogue Traders have just completed touring the UK and are now back in Australia finishing up their new album, with a new single out in September 2007 and the album should hit stores in October 2007.

It was announced on 2nd August 2007 that the first new single off the new album would be "Don't You Wanna Feel?" and released on 29 September 2007. On 8th August it was revealed that their 3rd studio album would be called "Better in the Dark" and released on 13 October 2007. It is to be released in two forms; the standard form and a limited addition, cd/dvd edition.

"Don't You Wanna Feel?" premiered at 7am Friday 7 September 2007 on Nova radio station. On 13 September 2007, "Don't You Wanna Feel?" reached a peek of number 2 on the "Hot 30 Countdown," less than a week after its debut on radio. "Don't You Wanna Feel?" is already proving a great success for the Rogue Traders 3rd studio album.

Discography

For a complete list of releases, see Rogue Traders discography.

Studio albums

• 2003: We Know What You're up To
• 2005: Here Come the Drums
• 2007: Better in the Dark

Selected Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions				Album
		AUS	NZ	UK	IRL
2003	"One of My Kind" (Rogue Traders vs. INXS)	10	—			We Know What You're Up To
2005	"Voodoo Child"	4	7	3	15	Here Come the Drums
	"Way to Go!"	7	—	D	—
2006	"Watching You"	5	—	33	46
	"We're Coming Home"	14	—
	"In Love Again"	D
2007	"Don't You Wanna Feel?"					Better in the Dark

• D- Digital Download release only

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
2007	The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Fave Band

External links

• roguetraders.com.au – official website