Rogue Traders

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Lore & Background

Rogue Traders formed as an Australian electronic, pop rock band in Melbourne in 2002 by former members of Union State, James Ash (aka Jamie Appleby) on keyboards and Steve Davis on guitar. The duo had met in 1989 in London where both were working as DJs. The pair first worked on a rap track; Ash recalled "It was a terrible song but Steve and I hit it off straight away and became fast friends". Ash relocated to Melbourne in 1992, but the pair continued to work together and formed Union State to release singles including "Out to Get You" and "Retrosexual". In 1994 Ash signed with Vicious Vinyl as a solo artist under the name Thunderchild to issue a self-named single. By 2002 the duo had formed Rogue Traders and signed with Vicious Vinyl's house music label, Vicious Grooves. The group's name comes from the 1999 drama film, Rogue Trader. They were joined in 2004 by soap opera actress Natalie Bassingthwaighte on lead vocals, Cameron McGlinchey on drums and Tim Henwood on guitar. Davis continued as a behind-the-scenes member, contributing to the songwriting process but not making any public appearances with the group.

In Their Own Story

On 11 April 2002, Rogue Traders released their debut single "Need You to Show Me" under the Vicious Grooves label, which failed to reach the top 100 on the ARIA Singles Chart but did reach No. 16 on the Top 50 Club Chart. It was originally intended to be the lead single for their debut album We Know What You're Up To, however it was cut from the album's track listing before its release. The single was recorded with Jamaica Williams providing lead vocals. Half a year later, their second single "Give in to Me" was released on 14 October, with lead vocals by Melinda Richards, peaking at No. 67. At the APRA Music Awards of 2003 it was nominated for 'Most Performed Dance Work'. The band's first top 20 success came in 2003 when "One of My Kind", a remix/cover version of INXS's "Need You Tonight", was released on 23 February, peaking at No. 10 and spending nine weeks inside the top 50. At ARIA Music Awards of 2003, they were nominated in two categories, "Breakthrough Artist – Single" and "Best Video" (by Sam Bennetts, Rising Sun Pictures), and won "Best Dance Release". On 5 May 2003, their debut album We Know What You're Up To was released, but it failed to reach the top 100 on the related Albums Chart. The third and final single from the album, "Stay?", was released on 2 June, peaking at No. 60.

Reader's Guide

Rogue Traders' most successful single "Voodoo Child" was issued in May 2005 with Bassingthwaighte's vocals. Its Australian release occurred without any mention of Bassingthwaighte in its promotion, as they wanted people to buy it because they liked the song instead of for its 'celebrity value'. The single reached number four in Australia, number seven in New Zealand, number three in the United Kingdom (in July 2006), and number fifteen in Ireland (also July 2006). In October 2005, the group performed at the NRL Grand Final shortly before the release of their second album Here Come the Drums on 23 October. The album peaked at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart and reached the top 50 on the UK Albums Chart. The second single from the album, "Way to Go!" reached number seven in Australia, while "Watching You" peaked at number five. Like many other modern mainstream music acts, Rogue Traders use elements of old songs in their music, but 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 (co-credited as Declan MacManus), "Watching You" contains re-recorded elements of "My Sharona" by The Knack (co-credited to Doug Fieger and Berton Averre) and "In Love Again" contains re-recorded elements of "Head over Heels" by Tears for Fears (co-credited to Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith).

Did You Know?

• The group's name comes from the 1999 drama film Rogue Trader.
• Their debut single "Need You to Show Me" was cut from the album's track listing before its release.
• "Voodoo Child" contains a re-recorded riff from "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello.
• Natalie Bassingthwaighte was recruited as lead singer after auditioning with "Voodoo Child".
• In 2007, Here Come the Drums was certified 4× platinum by ARIA for shipment of 280,000 copies.