The Datsuns
Encyclopedia
The Datsuns are a hard rock
band from Cambridge
, New Zealand
, formed in 2000. To date they have released four album
s and several singles
, most of which have charted
in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom
. Their projected fifth album is currently in the production stage.
.
By 2000 the band had renamed themselves 'The Datsuns'. In August 2000 they released their first single, "Super Gyration!," on 7 inch vinyl
only. In July 2002, after featuring several times on John Peel
's programme on the UK's
BBC Radio 1
and being hailed as "the future of rock" by the British music press, the band signed with the V2
record label. Their self-titled debut album
made a strong impression in the UK, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. The Datsuns toured Australia in 2002 with Melbourne band The Specimens and The Casanovas
as well as playing a live to air on PBS radio.
The Datsuns won numerous awards over this period, including NME
's 'Best Live Band' and New Zealand Music Awards for 'Best Album', 'Best Group' and 'Breakthrough Artist'.
They played Ozzfest
in 2003 on the mainstage alongside the likes of Ozzy Osbourne
, Marilyn Manson
, Korn
and Disturbed. They also played the main stage of the 2004 and 2009 Big Day Out
festival and opened for Metallica
in their Australian tour in 2004. Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich
had previously praised The Datsuns on the revival debut of Headbangers Ball
before playing their video
for "In Love." Their second album, Outta Sight, Outta Mind, was produced by Led Zeppelin
's John Paul Jones
. It did not receive the same praise as the first, as critics gave it only a lukewarm response.
In October 2006, the Datsuns came back with Smoke & Mirrors, heralded as a return to form in Australia and New Zealand. The album was met with generally positive reviews, although it was not reviewed as widely as the band's first two efforts. After the release of the third album, drummer Matt Osment was replaced by Ben Cole.
The Datsuns went on a New Zealand tour with Shihad
during the Christmas/New Year's period 2006/07.
The band then completed a tour of Europe to promote Smoke & Mirrors. Although playing mostly locations the band had not previously visited, The Datsuns still managed to sell out the majority of the European dates.
The band's fourth album, Head Stunts
(an anagram of The Datsuns), was released on 6 October 2008. The band recently toured New Zealand, Australia and America to try out new songs such as "Eye Of The Needle", "Human Error", "So Long", "Hey Paranoid People What's In Your Head", "Your Bones" and the limited edition single "Highschool Hoodlums".
To coincide with the release of Head Stunts, the quartet embarked on a tour of the UK and Europe.
The Datsuns are currently mixing their fifth studio album, which was produced by former Hellacopters frontman Nicke Andersson. The yet-to-be-named album was recorded at Gutterview Recorders in Stockholm
, and is due for release by end of 2011.
|2011
| "Gods Are Bored" (UK)
|align="center"| -
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band from Cambridge
Cambridge, New Zealand
Cambridge is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated 24 kilometres southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions".In the 1840s Cambridge had a Maori population but in the 1850's missionaries and...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, formed in 2000. To date they have released four album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s and several singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, most of which have charted
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in New Zealand and/or the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Their projected fifth album is currently in the production stage.
History
In 1995, while still at school, Dolf de Borst (vocals, bass), Phil Somervell (guitar), and Matt Osment (drums) formed a band under the name Trinket. Christian Livingstone joined the band in 1997 as a second guitarist. They entered and won the 1999 89FM Battle of the Bands competition in Hamilton, New ZealandHamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
.
By 2000 the band had renamed themselves 'The Datsuns'. In August 2000 they released their first single, "Super Gyration!," on 7 inch vinyl
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
only. In July 2002, after featuring several times on John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's programme on the UK's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
and being hailed as "the future of rock" by the British music press, the band signed with the V2
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
record label. Their self-titled debut album
The Datsuns (album)
The Datsuns is the self-titled debut album of the New Zealand hard rock band The Datsuns. It was released in 2002 and had three songs which had previously appeared on 7" singles: "Sittin' Pretty", "Fink For The Man" and "Lady"....
made a strong impression in the UK, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. The Datsuns toured Australia in 2002 with Melbourne band The Specimens and The Casanovas
The Casanovas
The Casanovas are an Australian rock band, based in Melbourne. They were formed in 1999 by brothers Tommy and Patrick Boyce, along with Jimmy Lewis.-About the Band:...
as well as playing a live to air on PBS radio.
The Datsuns won numerous awards over this period, including NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
's 'Best Live Band' and New Zealand Music Awards for 'Best Album', 'Best Group' and 'Breakthrough Artist'.
They played Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
in 2003 on the mainstage alongside the likes of Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
, Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
and Disturbed. They also played the main stage of the 2004 and 2009 Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
festival and opened for Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
in their Australian tour in 2004. Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
had previously praised The Datsuns on the revival debut of Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball is a music television program consisting of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV2, MTV Australia, MTV Two , MTV Adria , MTV Brand New, MTV Portugal, MTV Finland, MTV Arabia, MTV Norway, MTV Sweden, MTV Denmark, MTV Greece, MTV Türkiye, MTV...
before playing their video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "In Love." Their second album, Outta Sight, Outta Mind, was produced by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
. It did not receive the same praise as the first, as critics gave it only a lukewarm response.
In October 2006, the Datsuns came back with Smoke & Mirrors, heralded as a return to form in Australia and New Zealand. The album was met with generally positive reviews, although it was not reviewed as widely as the band's first two efforts. After the release of the third album, drummer Matt Osment was replaced by Ben Cole.
The Datsuns went on a New Zealand tour with Shihad
Shihad
Shihad is a New Zealand hard/alternative rock band, currently based in Melbourne, Australia. During Shihad's recording career, they have produced four number-one studio albums and three top-ten singles in their home country of New Zealand....
during the Christmas/New Year's period 2006/07.
The band then completed a tour of Europe to promote Smoke & Mirrors. Although playing mostly locations the band had not previously visited, The Datsuns still managed to sell out the majority of the European dates.
The band's fourth album, Head Stunts
Head Stunts
Head Stunts is The Datsuns' fourth studio album, released on 6 October 2008. It was recorded in early 2008 in Sweden and was self-produced...
(an anagram of The Datsuns), was released on 6 October 2008. The band recently toured New Zealand, Australia and America to try out new songs such as "Eye Of The Needle", "Human Error", "So Long", "Hey Paranoid People What's In Your Head", "Your Bones" and the limited edition single "Highschool Hoodlums".
To coincide with the release of Head Stunts, the quartet embarked on a tour of the UK and Europe.
The Datsuns are currently mixing their fifth studio album, which was produced by former Hellacopters frontman Nicke Andersson. The yet-to-be-named album was recorded at Gutterview Recorders in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, and is due for release by end of 2011.
Discography
| Date | Title | Label | Charted | Country | Catalog Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albums | ||||||
| 2002 | The Datsuns The Datsuns (album) The Datsuns is the self-titled debut album of the New Zealand hard rock band The Datsuns. It was released in 2002 and had three songs which had previously appeared on 7" singles: "Sittin' Pretty", "Fink For The Man" and "Lady".... |
Hellsquad Records, In-Fidelity Recordings, V2 Records V2 Records V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI.... |
#1 #17 |
New Zealand UK |
IF001CD | |
| 2004 | Outta Sight, Outta Mind | Hellsquad Records, V2 Records V2 Records V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI.... |
#7 #58 |
New Zealand UK |
IF011CD | |
| 2006 | Smoke & Mirrors | Hellsquad Records, EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... , V2 Records V2 Records V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI.... |
#16 #189 |
New Zealand UK |
3733542 | |
| 2008 | Head Stunts Head Stunts Head Stunts is The Datsuns' fourth studio album, released on 6 October 2008. It was recorded in early 2008 in Sweden and was self-produced... |
Hellsquad Records, Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases... |
3733542 | |||
| EPs | ||||||
| 2006 | Stuck Here for Days Stuck Here for Days Stuck Here for Days is a 4 track EP released on May 8, 2006, by New Zealand band, The Datsuns. The EP was self-produced and written by the Datsuns in a limited run of 1500 in Digipak form.... |
Hellsquad Records, EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... , V2 Records V2 Records V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI.... |
- | - | - | - |
| Harmonic Generator (Japan) | Hellsquad, V2 Records V2 Records V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI.... |
- | - | - | - | |
Singles
| Year | Single | Album | Charted | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Supergyration" | - | - | |||
| 2001 | "Fink for the Man" | The Datsuns The Datsuns (album) The Datsuns is the self-titled debut album of the New Zealand hard rock band The Datsuns. It was released in 2002 and had three songs which had previously appeared on 7" singles: "Sittin' Pretty", "Fink For The Man" and "Lady".... |
- | |||
| 2001 | "Lady" | The Datsuns The Datsuns (album) The Datsuns is the self-titled debut album of the New Zealand hard rock band The Datsuns. It was released in 2002 and had three songs which had previously appeared on 7" singles: "Sittin' Pretty", "Fink For The Man" and "Lady".... |
- | |||
| 2002 | "In Love" | #25 (UK) | ||||
| 2002 | "Harmonic Generator (Intermodulator)" | #33 (UK) | ||||
| 2003 | "Mother Fucker from Hell" | #55 (UK) | ||||
| 2004 | "Blacken My Thumb Blacken my Thumb "Blacken My Thumb" is a single by New Zealand rock band The Datsuns in 2004. It charted in the UK, peaking at number 48.-Track listing:CD#"Blacken My Thumb"#"Good Luck ... You're Gonna Need It"#"Burst Your Bubble"Vinyl#"Blacken My Thumb"... " |
Outta Sight/Outta Mind Outta Sight/Outta Mind Outta Sight/Outta Mind is the second album by New Zealand rock band The Datsuns, released on 7 June 2004. It was preceded by the release of the single "Blacken My Thumb". This was followed by one more single, "Girls Best Friend"... |
Smoke & Mirrors | #23 (NZ) | ||
| 2006 | "System Overload System Overload "System Overload" is a garage rock song by New Zealand Rock and Roll band The Datsuns. It is the second single off the album Smoke & Mirrors.It was released on both Vinyl and Compact Disk in 2006.It is typical of The Datsuns style... " |
- | ||||
| 2008 | "High School Hoodlums High School Hoodlums "High School Hoodlums" was released as a promotional single for The Datsuns' fourth album, Head Stunts. It was released on vinyl at their live shows in their New Zealand tour during March 2008.... " |
Head Stunts Head Stunts Head Stunts is The Datsuns' fourth studio album, released on 6 October 2008. It was recorded in early 2008 in Sweden and was self-produced... |
- | |||
| 2008 | "Human Error" | - | ||||
| 2009 | "So Long" (UK) | - |
|2011
| "Gods Are Bored" (UK)
|align="center"| -