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The Datsuns are a
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band from
Cambridge, New Zealand Cambridge (Māori: ''Kemureti'') is a town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions" ...
, formed in 1998. Founding mainstays are Rudolf "Dolf" de Borst on vocals and bass guitar, and Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell, both on guitar. They have released seven albums, with their debut self-titled album from October 2002 peaking at No. 1 in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and reaching the top 20 on the United Kingdom's
Official Charts The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...
. They had relocated to London in 2002. Their second album, ''
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". The album ...
'' (May 2004), appeared at No. 7 in New Zealand and top 60 in the UK. '' Smoke & Mirrors'' (October 2006), peaked in the top 20 in New Zealand. Early drummer Matt Osment was replaced by Ben Cole after that album. Their top 40 singles in the UK are "In Love" and "Harmonic Generator" (both in 2002). In New Zealand, their highest-charting single, "Stuck Here for Days" (2006), reached the top 30.


History

In 1995, while still at secondary school in
Cambridge, New Zealand Cambridge (Māori: ''Kemureti'') is a town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions" ...
, Rudolf "Dolf" de Borst on vocals and bass guitar, Matt Osment on drums, and Phil Somervell on guitar formed a hard rock band, Trinket. Christian Livingstone joined in 1997 as their second guitarist and they entered a Battle of the Bands competition. In 1998 they changed their name to the Datsuns, and initially each member used the band's name as their last name; de Borst performed as Dolf D. Datsun. As the Datsuns they won a Battle of the Bands. They supported Swedish band,
the Hellacopters The Hellacopters are a Swedish garage rock band that was formed in 1994 by Nicke Andersson (vocals and guitar), Andreas Tyrone "Dregen" Svensson (guitar), Kenny Håkansson (bass) and Robert Eriksson (drums). Andersson (sometimes known as Nick R ...
, at a concert in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
in October 1998. The group secured another support slot in May 2000, behind Canadian visitors,
the Smugglers ''The Smugglers'' is the completely missing first serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 10 September to 1 October 1966. In this serial ...
. In August of that year the Datsuns released their first single, "Super Gyration", on 7-inch vinyl only. They supported
the White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...
in November that year. Their early material was issued on their own label, Hellsquad Records. They toured Australia in March 2001 and then relocated to London to try the United Kingdom market. In 2002 after appearing on
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
's programme on the
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, the Datsuns were lauded by the UK music press, including in a front cover article in ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''. The band signed with the
V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...
in July of that year. Their self-titled debut album appeared in October, which reached No. 17 in the UK and number-one in New Zealand. Its third single, "In Love" (2002), peaked in the top 30 in the UK. The band toured Australia in 2002 with Melbourne bands the Specimens and
the Casanovas The Casanovas are an Australian hard rock band, which formed in 1999 by Patrick Boyce on drums, his brother Tommy on lead vocals and lead guitar, and Jimmy Lewis on bass guitar. They have released four albums, ''The Casanovas'' (2004), ''All N ...
, as well as playing a live to air on PBS radio. The group won numerous awards including ''NME''s 'Best Live Band' and New Zealand Music Awards for 'Best Album', 'Best Group' and 'Breakthrough Artist'. The Datsuns performed at
Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...
in 2003 on the main stage supporting
Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
,
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
,
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...
and
Disturbed Disturbed may refer to: Books * ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author) Film and TV * ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell * "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs'' * "The Disturbed", a 2 ...
. They also played the main stage of the 2004 and 2009
Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...
festivals and opened for
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
on their Australian tour in 2004. Metallica drummer
Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...
had previously praised the Datsuns on the revival debut of ''
Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...
'', before playing their
video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
for "In Love." Their second album, ''
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". The album ...
'' (May 2004), was produced by Led Zeppelin member,
John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
. It reached No. 7 in New Zealand, top 50 in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and top 60 in the UK. Australian music journalist,
Ed Nimmervoll Edward Charles Nimmervoll (21 September 1947 – 10 October 2014) was an Australian music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock and pop magazines ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974) and ''Juke Magazine'' (1975–92) both as a journalist a ...
, compared the first two albums, where during their studio sessions "
hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
just pressed record and played the songs they'd been playing live. The lyrics for the first album were stream of consciousness, the lyrics for the second album eremore considered having been refined while on the road." In October 2006 the Datsuns released their third album, '' Smoke & Mirrors'', which peaked in the top 20 in New Zealand. The album was met with generally positive reviews, although it was not reviewed as widely as the band's first two efforts. Its lead single, "Stuck Here for Days" (2006), appeared in the top 30 in New Zealand. After the album's release Osment was replaced on drums by Ben Cole – also from Cambridge. The Datsuns toured New Zealand with
Shihad Shihad are a rock band formed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1988. The band consists of founders Tom Larkin (drums, backing vocals, samplers), Phil Knight (lead guitar, synthesiser, backing vocals) and Jon Toogood (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), ...
during the Christmas to New Year period in 2006 to 2007. The group relocated to Germany and completed a tour of Europe to promote ''Smoke & Mirrors''. Although they mostly played in locations they previously had not visited, they managed to sell out the majority of their European dates. The band's fourth album, '' Headstunts'' (an anagram of "the Datsuns"), was released on 6 October 2008. They toured New Zealand, Australia and North America, showcasing new material, "Eye of the Needle", "Human Error", "So Long", "Hey Paranoid People What's in Your Head", "Your Bones" and released a limited edition single, "Highschool Hoodlums". The quartet then embarked on a tour of the UK and the rest of Europe. The Datsuns' fifth studio album, ''Death Rattle Boogie'', appeared in October 2012. It had been recorded in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
at Gutterview Recorders, with additional work at Roundhead Studios in New Zealand, and was produced by former Hellacopters frontman
Nicke Andersson Nicke Andersson (born 1 August 1972), also known as Nick Royale, is a Swedish musician best known for his work as the singer and guitarist for the rock band The Hellacopters and drummer for the death metal band Entombed. He was also briefly the ...
. Their sixth studio album, ''Deep Sleep'', was issued in October 2014, which reached New Zealand's top 30. The group toured Japan for the third time in March 2016. Following a long period of inactivity, in February 2021 the band released the single "Brain To Brain": their first new music in seven years and a lead single for the album ''Eye To Eye'', which was released on 28 May 2021.


Discography


Albums


Extended plays


Singles


Notes


References


External links

*
"Interview with the Datsuns about ''Head Stunts''"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Datsuns New Zealand rock music groups New Zealand garage rock groups Cambridge, New Zealand Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups disestablished in 2016