The Bats
Encyclopedia
The Bats are an influential New Zealand
rock
band
formed in 1982 in Christchurch
by Paul Kean
(bass), Malcolm Grant (drums), Robert Scott
(guitar, vocals) and Kaye Woodward (lead guitar, vocals, other instruments). Though primarily a Christchurch band (Grant was a member of The Bilders
and Kean of Christchurch group Playthings), The Bats have strong links to Dunedin
and are usually grouped in with the Dunedin Sound
bands that emerged from that southern city in the early 1980s.
The quartet released two EPs (By Night and ...And here is Music for the Fireside) before releasing their first full-length album, Daddy's Highway
, in 1987.
The band took a break, with Scott joining his former band The Clean
on a reunion tour, while Woodward gave birth. When the band resumed recording, the result was 1990's The Law of Things
, which saw the quartet joined on violin
by Alastair Galbraith.
Scott is a prolific musician, and The Bats have suffered to some extent from his many musical commitments. As well as The Bats and The Clean, he has also been involved with several other bands, notably The Magick Heads, and for this reason, albums and tours by these bands have been organised largely on a rotation basis. Primarily due to this, the other members aside from Robert Scott are in a side-project band, Minisnap.
1991 saw the band switch labels, to Mammoth Records
, and then release the full-length Fear of God
. Other albums and an EP have followed: Silverbeet
(1993), Spill the Beans
(EP, 1994), Couchmaster
(1995), and two retrospective compilations, Compiletely Bats (which collected most of the tracks from the band's two early EPs and several singles) and Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres
. At the National Grid
, was released in September, 2005 on Little Teddy Records in Germany, Magic Marker in the US and Egg Records in the UK.
The Guilty Office was released in NZ on 1 December 2008 through Arch Hill
. It has since been released in the USA, UK, Europe and Australia.
Track one from the album 'Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres
' – 'North By North' – featured in the ABC TV
Series 'The Hollowmen
' as the theme from the opening and closing titles.
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...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
formed in 1982 in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
by Paul Kean
Paul Kean
Paul Kean is a New Zealand musician and music producer. He first played in the Basket Cases .When The Enemy lost Mick Dawson, Paul Kean joined as bass player along with Jane Walker on keyboards to form Toy Love in 1979...
(bass), Malcolm Grant (drums), Robert Scott
Robert Scott (musician)
Robert Scott is a New Zealand musician. He is a part of indie rock bands The Clean and The Bats, playing bass for The Clean, and guitar/vocals for The Bats.Both groups have been greatly influential beyond their limited commercial success....
(guitar, vocals) and Kaye Woodward (lead guitar, vocals, other instruments). Though primarily a Christchurch band (Grant was a member of The Bilders
The Bilders
The Bilders is the name for lineups of musicians led by a New Zealand singer-songwriter. The first Bilders sprang from the group Vacuum and is known under other names such as Kazaportico, Above Ground, Bilderbergers, Builders, Soluble Fish and Bilders Paris Sessions...
and Kean of Christchurch group Playthings), The Bats have strong links to Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
and are usually grouped in with the Dunedin Sound
Dunedin Sound
The Dunedin sound was a style of indie pop music created in the southern New Zealand university city of Dunedin in the early 1980s.-Characteristics:...
bands that emerged from that southern city in the early 1980s.
The quartet released two EPs (By Night and ...And here is Music for the Fireside) before releasing their first full-length album, Daddy's Highway
Daddy's Highway
The 1987 debut album by Christchurch, New Zealand indie rock group The Bats.-Track listing:#"Treason"#"Sir Queen"#"Round and Down"#"Take It"#"North by North"#"Tragedy"#"Block of Wood"#"Miss These Things"#"Mid City Team"#"Some Peace Tonight"...
, in 1987.
The band took a break, with Scott joining his former band The Clean
The Clean
The Clean are an influential Indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1978. Led through a number of early rotating line-ups by brothers Hamish and David Kilgour, the band settled down to their well-known and current line-up with bassist Robert Scott...
on a reunion tour, while Woodward gave birth. When the band resumed recording, the result was 1990's The Law of Things
The Law of Things
-Track listing:#"Other Side of You"#"Law of Things"#"Never Said Goodbye"#"Yawn Vibes"#"Time to Get Ready"#"Ten to One"#"Mastery"#"I Fall Away"#"Cliff Edge"#"Nine Days"#"Bedlam"#"Smoking Her Wings"...
, which saw the quartet joined on violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
by Alastair Galbraith.
Scott is a prolific musician, and The Bats have suffered to some extent from his many musical commitments. As well as The Bats and The Clean, he has also been involved with several other bands, notably The Magick Heads, and for this reason, albums and tours by these bands have been organised largely on a rotation basis. Primarily due to this, the other members aside from Robert Scott are in a side-project band, Minisnap.
1991 saw the band switch labels, to Mammoth Records
Mammoth Records
Founded by Jay Faires in 1989 in Carrboro, North Carolina, Mammoth Records was one of the premiere independent record labels of the 1990s. Its roster featured such diverse talent as Antenna, Blake Babies, Chainsaw Kittens, Dash Rip Rock, Dillon Fence, Far Too Jones, Frente!, Fun-Da-Mental, Fu...
, and then release the full-length Fear of God
Fear of God (The Bats album)
-Track listing:# "Boogey Man"# "The Black and the Blue"# "Dancing as the Boat Goes Down"# "The Old Ones"# "Hold All the Butter"# "Fear of God"# "It's A Lie"# "Straight Image"# "Watch the Walls"# "You Know We Shouldn't"# "Jetsam"# "The Looming Past"...
. Other albums and an EP have followed: Silverbeet
Silverbeet (album)
-Track listing:#"Courage"#"Sighting the Sound"#"Too Much"#"Slow Alight"#"Valley Floor"#"Love Floats Two"#"Green"#"No Time For Your Kind"#"Straight on Home"#"Before the Day"#"Stay Away"#"Drive Me Some Boars"#"Halfway to Nowhere"...
(1993), Spill the Beans
Spill the Beans (EP)
Spill the Beans is a 3-track 7" and a 5-track CD-EP released in 1994 by New Zealand band The Bats.-CD-EP:# "Under The Law"# "Spill The Beans"# "Empty Head"# "Make It Clear"# "Give In To The Sands"...
(EP, 1994), Couchmaster
Couchmaster
-Track listing:#"Outside"#"Afternoon in Bed"#"Around You Like Snow"#"Work It Out"#"Train"#"Land 'o' Lakes"#"Chain Home Low"#"Supernova"#"Shoeshine"#"Crow Sing"#"Smorgasboard"#"Knowledge is Power"#"It's Happening to You"#"Lost Weekend"#"For the Ride"...
(1995), and two retrospective compilations, Compiletely Bats (which collected most of the tracks from the band's two early EPs and several singles) and Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres
Thousands of Tiny Luminous Spheres
Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres is a compilation album released in 2000 by New Zealand band The Bats.-Track listing:#"North by North"#"Courage"#"Claudine"#"Afternoon in Bed"#"Block of Wood"#"Mastery"#"Smoking Her Wings"#"For the Ride"...
. At the National Grid
At the National Grid
At the National Grid is an album released in 2005 by New Zealand band The Bats.-Track listing:#"Western Isles"#"Horizon"#"Hubert"#"Bells"#"Single File"#"Pre War Blues"#"The Rays"#"Things"#"Mir"#"Up To The Sky"#"We Do Not Kick"...
, was released in September, 2005 on Little Teddy Records in Germany, Magic Marker in the US and Egg Records in the UK.
The Guilty Office was released in NZ on 1 December 2008 through Arch Hill
Arch Hill Recordings
Arch Hill Recordings, formerly Arch Hill Studios, is a New Zealand recording studio and record label in Auckland. It was founded in 1998.Artists include David Kilgour The Clean, The Bats, Don McGlashan, Bachelorette, The Boxcar Guitars, Luke Buda, Dappled Cities Fly, Fang, Ghostplane, Grand Prix,...
. It has since been released in the USA, UK, Europe and Australia.
Track one from the album 'Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres
Thousands of Tiny Luminous Spheres
Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres is a compilation album released in 2000 by New Zealand band The Bats.-Track listing:#"North by North"#"Courage"#"Claudine"#"Afternoon in Bed"#"Block of Wood"#"Mastery"#"Smoking Her Wings"#"For the Ride"...
' – 'North By North' – featured in the ABC TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
Series 'The Hollowmen
The Hollowmen
The Hollowmen is an Australian television comedy series set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a fictional political advisory unit personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him get re-elected. Their brief is long term vision; to stop worrying about tomorrow's headlines, and focus on...
' as the theme from the opening and closing titles.
Discography
| Date | Title | Label | Charted | Country | Catalog Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albums | ||||||
| 1987 1987 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... |
Daddy's Highway Daddy's Highway The 1987 debut album by Christchurch, New Zealand indie rock group The Bats.-Track listing:#"Treason"#"Sir Queen"#"Round and Down"#"Take It"#"North by North"#"Tragedy"#"Block of Wood"#"Miss These Things"#"Mid City Team"#"Some Peace Tonight"... |
Communion | - | - | COMM5 | |
| 1988 1988 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert.... |
The Law of Things The Law of Things -Track listing:#"Other Side of You"#"Law of Things"#"Never Said Goodbye"#"Yawn Vibes"#"Time to Get Ready"#"Ten to One"#"Mastery"#"I Fall Away"#"Cliff Edge"#"Nine Days"#"Bedlam"#"Smoking Her Wings"... |
Communion | - | - | COMM15 | |
| 1990 1990 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze... |
Compiletely Bats | Flying Nun Records Flying Nun Records Flying Nun Records is an independent record label formed in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1981 by music-store proprietor Roger Shepherd.-History:The label was formed in the flurry of new punk rock-inspired labels forming in the early 1980s... |
- | - | FNCD143 | |
| 1991 1991 in music See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year... |
Fear of God Fear of God (The Bats album) -Track listing:# "Boogey Man"# "The Black and the Blue"# "Dancing as the Boat Goes Down"# "The Old Ones"# "Hold All the Butter"# "Fear of God"# "It's A Lie"# "Straight Image"# "Watch the Walls"# "You Know We Shouldn't"# "Jetsam"# "The Looming Past"... |
Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove... |
- | - | R2832 | |
| 1993 1993 in music This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992.... |
Silverbeet Silverbeet (album) -Track listing:#"Courage"#"Sighting the Sound"#"Too Much"#"Slow Alight"#"Valley Floor"#"Love Floats Two"#"Green"#"No Time For Your Kind"#"Straight on Home"#"Before the Day"#"Stay Away"#"Drive Me Some Boars"#"Halfway to Nowhere"... |
Flying Nun Records | - | - | FNCD260 | |
| 1995 1995 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident.... |
Couchmaster Couchmaster -Track listing:#"Outside"#"Afternoon in Bed"#"Around You Like Snow"#"Work It Out"#"Train"#"Land 'o' Lakes"#"Chain Home Low"#"Supernova"#"Shoeshine"#"Crow Sing"#"Smorgasboard"#"Knowledge is Power"#"It's Happening to You"#"Lost Weekend"#"For the Ride"... |
Flying Nun Records | - | - | FNCD301 | |
| October 2000 2000 in music See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List.... |
Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres Thousands of Tiny Luminous Spheres Thousands Of Tiny Luminous Spheres is a compilation album released in 2000 by New Zealand band The Bats.-Track listing:#"North by North"#"Courage"#"Claudine"#"Afternoon in Bed"#"Block of Wood"#"Mastery"#"Smoking Her Wings"#"For the Ride"... |
Flying Nun Records | - | - | FNCD413 | |
| 2005 2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:... |
At the National Grid At the National Grid At the National Grid is an album released in 2005 by New Zealand band The Bats.-Track listing:#"Western Isles"#"Horizon"#"Hubert"#"Bells"#"Single File"#"Pre War Blues"#"The Rays"#"Things"#"Mir"#"Up To The Sky"#"We Do Not Kick"... |
Magic Marker Records Egg Records Little Teddy Records | - | - | MMR034 EGGREST020 | |
| 2008 2008 in music 2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such... |
The Guilty Office | Arch Hill Recordings Arch Hill Recordings Arch Hill Recordings, formerly Arch Hill Studios, is a New Zealand recording studio and record label in Auckland. It was founded in 1998.Artists include David Kilgour The Clean, The Bats, Don McGlashan, Bachelorette, The Boxcar Guitars, Luke Buda, Dappled Cities Fly, Fang, Ghostplane, Grand Prix,... Hidden Agenda/Parasol |
- | - | AHR036 AHA!095 | |
| 2009 2009 in music The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year... |
The Bats/Songs split 7" | The Spring Press | - | - | ||
| 2011 | Free All The Monsters | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FNCD513 | |
| EPs | ||||||
| 1984 1984 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's... |
By Night | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FN024 | |
| 1985 1985 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV... |
And Here is "Music for the Fireside"! | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FN031 | |
| 1986 1986 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place... |
Made Up in Blue | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FN060 | |
| 1993 1993 in music This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992.... |
Courage | Flying Nun Records | - | - | FNCD261 | |
| 1994 1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so.... |
Spill the Beans Spill the Beans (EP) Spill the Beans is a 3-track 7" and a 5-track CD-EP released in 1994 by New Zealand band The Bats.-CD-EP:# "Under The Law"# "Spill The Beans"# "Empty Head"# "Make It Clear"# "Give In To The Sands"... |
Mammoth Records Mammoth Records Founded by Jay Faires in 1989 in Carrboro, North Carolina, Mammoth Records was one of the premiere independent record labels of the 1990s. Its roster featured such diverse talent as Antenna, Blake Babies, Chainsaw Kittens, Dash Rip Rock, Dillon Fence, Far Too Jones, Frente!, Fun-Da-Mental, Fu... |
- | - | MR0070-2 | |