The Bats are back and celebrating fifty years
Yes, The Bats are well and truly back with their latest show, All Rocked Out.
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa can boast many achievements over the last few years and one has to be the return of a band who, exactly 50 years after its inception, is back on the road and still pulling in the crowds.
It all started in 1964 when The Bats, Eddie Eckstein, Paul Ditchfield, the lateJimmy Dunningand the lateBarry Jarman, burst onto the local scene and became, to many ardent followers, South Africa’s answer to the Beatles.
They toured extensively, both locally and internationally, wowing audiences here and in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) and Germany with their brilliant music and hilarious comedy show. More than just great musicians, they were also great entertainers, and it was this that kept them at the top of their game for 16 years, an amazing achievement for any band.
Jimmy Dunning returned to England and the lead guitar spot was filled by Pete Clifford. Pete toured South Africa with Dusty Springfield in 1964 and it was on that tour that a friendship with The Bats started.
In the early 70’s they won a Sarie award for Song of the Year with ‘Who’s that girl’, and in 1972 Paul’s composition ‘Oh God it’s beautiful’ was chosen to represent South Africa at the Tokyo World Song Festival. Paul took Eddie with him to Tokyo to perform the song with a 40 piece Japanese orchestra and they were placed tenth in the finals out of 45 countries.
It was about that time, they joined forces with another top South African band called The Sounds Of Brass (which includedPeter Hubner- brass and keyboards, Neville Whitmill lead vocal and percussion andDenny Lorenvocals and percussion) to form a band called IMPI.
An IMPI album was recorded for the sole purpose of trying to break into the American market with an original sound. “Unfortunately we could not get the financial backing needed, so we decided to disband and go back to The Bats with the addition of Gerald Stockton(trombone, bass guitar, drums),” said Eddie Eckstein.
The Bats were then approached by Joan Brickhill and Louis Burke to perform and act in a musical comedy they were producing called I Love My Wife. The Bats auditioned and almost immediately found themselves in legit theatre. They toured with this show for 12 months all around South Africa.
Paul had decided to go solo in 1978 and was replaced by Bobby Louw(vocals and bass Guitar) and Marcus Kleyweg(vocals and keyboard).
In 1980, with many hit singles, including In a Shabby Little Hut and Vat hom Dawie and a whole bunch of long playing vinyls under their belts, Eddie, Pete and Barry decided to go their separate ways to pursue solo careers.
So, after a sabBATical of 20 years and after constant pressure from their fans to get back together again, in 2000, Eddie, Paul and Pete, minus the late Barry who had decided to retire, were joined by Derek Gordon and got back on the road for what they thought would be a short come back.
Little did they know that 14 years later they would still be on the road, delighting audiences young and old, and releasing a brand new CD.
This production by Dennis East and engineer, Keith Forsyth, is their first major studio production in 25 years! Due to the versatility of The Bats, and because they are predominantly a performance band, they decided to specifically aim this CD at the retail market. They have included some favourite songs they have performed over the years such as Manfred Mann’s, The Mighty Quinn, some great new originals like the catchy, Cheeky Face and because they were one of the first bands to write Afrikaans pop songs they had to include Bez Valley Breeker and Hoender Jive.
They have also recently released their first DVD called The Bats Live at The Victory Theatre.
So, if the live performance CD sales are anything to go by, The Bats are certainly right on track.
Let’s celebrate The Bats, a great South African product! Who would not be proudly South African hearing this!
The Bats will be appearing at Foxwood Theatre on October 10, 11 and 12 and October 17, 18 and 19. Fridays and Saturdays at 20:00 and Sundays at 12:00. Tickets cost R145 per person and are available by phoning 011 486 0935 or 073 447 9148 or admin@foxwood.co.za
