The Bats

There are at least three artists called The Bats: Approaching a quarter century of recording and performing, Christchurch, New Zealand's The Bats have survived seven albums and five world tours with the original line-up of Kaye Woodward, Malcolm Grant, Paul Kean and Robert Scott intact. With a sound at the jangle/indie end of the pop spectrum, the band made significant headway in the States in the 80s alongside Flying Nun label-mates The Chills and The Clean. The 90s saw tours of the US and Europe, supporting the likes of Radiohead, Belly, and R.

Approaching a quarter century of recording and performing, Christchurch, New Zealand's The Bats have survived seven albums and five world tours with the original line-up of Kaye Woodward, Malcolm Grant, Paul Kean and Robert Scott intact. With a sound at the jangle/indie end of the pop spectrum, the band made significant headway in the States in the 80s alongside Flying Nun label-mates The Chills and The Clean. The 90s saw tours of the US and Europe, supporting the likes of Radiohead, Belly, and R.E.M.. Paul, Kaye, and Malcolm form side-project Minisnap; Bob has released solo work and can also be found in The Clean and The Magick Heads.

The other group called The Bats formed in the early 80's and featured Jon Brion, Don Riff and Bill Murphy. They released the album How Pop Can You Get? on Gustav records in 1982. They disbanded after critical acclaim, but little commercial success. To differentiate, tag "The Bats (US)".

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South African The Bats

Dubbed South Africa's answer to the Beatles, the pop group The Bats was formed in October 1964 and consisted of group members Eddie Eckstein (drums/vocals), Barry Jarman (guitar/trumpet/concertina), Jimmy Dunning (guitar) and Paul Ditchfield (keyboard/guitar/bass/vocals). Paul, Barry and Eddie knew each other well and had wanted to form a group for a long time, but had been prevented from doing so by their respective contracts with various bands.

Barry suggested they form a beat trio with the express purpose of making records. Jimmy Dunning, who had played with them before, was unanimously nominated to fill the gap of lead guitarist. After finally getting together, they arranged an audition with Matt Mann, then A & R Manager at G.R.C. (and later owner of RPM Record Company), who signed them to the CBS label and produced their first single, All I Got. The group were quibbling with each other about an appropriate name. In an attempt to restore order, Matt Mann yelled "You're All Bats!" and so "The Bats" was born.