Review - Ratcat - Blind Love - By Claire Issac

Well, the rise of Ratcat has been quite amazing, hasn’t it viewers? What with the extreme catchiness of That Ain’t Bad and Don’t Go Now, not to mention the new single Baby Baby, all of Australia has been warbling away with Simon, Amr and Andrew and enjoying every minute of it too! And now, the big test - an album full of songs!

Will it be a hit? (Yes!) Will they be around for quite a while? (Yes!) Do they write good songs? (Yes, they do!) Well, good! Blind Love’s only real downfall is its cover, a cartoon drawn by Simon Day which is a bit odd! The actual music is great - lots of jangly pop rock songs with sing-a-long choruses and great guitar riffs! The songs are so simple it’s a wonder no-one has done it before!

Ratcat - Blind Love review - by J.O’D - Rolling Stone

”Run and Hide” and “Strange” were two of the most brutal, atonal pieces of sludge released this year. “The End” and “Hopeless Mind” were haunting scarescapes to match the best. And coaxed by the candy fuzz of “That Ain’t Bad” and “Don’t Go Now,” thousands of Australian kids were exposed to these deliciously corrupting sounds, courtesy of the out-of-the-box smash of the year : Ratcat’s Blind Love. The Sydney trio, with it’s scruffy good looks and penchant for garish imagery, turned the biz arse-up holding radio airwaves to ransom with its simple, noisy charms; knocking its share of old farts off as it topped the album and singles charts; and helping usher the Clouds, The Falling Joys, the Baby Animals et al into the big time. So if Blind Love had its throwaways (“Pieces”; the derivative “Yes I Wanna Go”) and lyrics took a backseat to noise, well, what the hey.

Juke magazine article

Don’t tell Ratcat they only attract teenies. At a show at Harold Park in Sydney, a very old guy in a checked dressing gown and slippers was seen grooving to their music, while in Paris a 40-year old drunk got into the groove on their set. Speaking of fans, one solemnly told guitarist, Simon Day, “I’ve seen a real ratcat walking down from my place. It goes ‘Squeow!’”

Rolling Stone article

Let’s look at the year from the upside first. 1991 will be remembered for the year of the second generation garage bands. A year ago Ratcat released the Tingles EP which shot to the top of the charts. They followed this with their major label debut, Blind Love, and for a period had a stranglehold on both the singles and album charts. Ratcat took the industry pundits by complete surprise, proving that there was a youth audience looking for new stars. Ratcat’s rooArt labelmates, Screaming Jets also punched out of Newcastle with big mouthery and booming hard rock on their debut album All For One and if nothing else they were responsible for one of the year’s most undeniable singles, “Better”. There followed in Ratcat’s wake a whole range of new music, artists with their own vision and fierce sense of individuality. Chief among these acts were the Falling Joys, Club Hoy, the Clouds and the Baby Animals; each different from the others and each with a powerful debut album. No doubt they’ll be up for “New Artist” awards next year, despite the fact many of them have been recording for some years now, but such is the aegis of the mainstream music industry.

Hit songwords letters page question

Dear letters,

I like the cute lead singer of Ratcat, he is so cute, but I don’t know which one is the lead singer.

Ratcat lover, Tas.

[reply]

Well, if you don’t know which one he is, how do you know you love him? If you mean that you don’t know his name - its Simon Day. He’s the one with the short dark hair. (Oh God! Sometimes it’s all too much!)

Mollys melodrama - TV Week magazine

Ratcat have brought new vitality and freshness to the Australian music industry - and in the past few weeks both groups have made some major steps forward. For Ratcat, touring with INXS is giving them fantastic exposure and they’re not letting anybody down! Reaction from audiences is probably the best I’ve seen to a supporting act for as long as I can remember! In fact, I heard Michael Hutchence ask (with a big grin) after the Brisbane show : “Who’s supporting who?” he’s as pleased as anyone, because Ratcat are all part of the “family” recording for the label run by INXS’ managers Gary Grant and Chris Murphy! Ratcat have amazing confidence on stage - talking to Simon and the other boys after the show, I can also tell you they’re very modest.

Review - Ratcat - Tingles

Ratcat are a great three piece guitar band who relish in the beauty of the distorted guitar sound. “That Ain’t Bad” is the “Single” off this mini-LP, though you can’t buy it separately and it’s also the song which has a video clip for it that you might have seen. Excellent buzz-saw guitar and an insanely memorable chorus, this is fantastic, and you should drop this magazine, rush out and buy it now!

Review - Ratcat - Blind Love

This may be Ratcat’s second album but it might as well be their debut as far as most punters are concerned. Those who liked That Ain’t Bad and Don’t Go Now won’t be disappointed as Ratcat serve up a barrage of three minute, upbeat guitar pop songs in a style that owes much to many bands (like The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, The Monkees etc) but remains resolutely their own. You can’t help wondering though, just how long we can all remain beguiled by Ratcat’s version of the three chord trick, and the B-side of Don’t Go Now suggests that their next album will be a lot more interesting.

Ratcat on the rise - Mollys melodrama - TV Week

Ratcat, supporting INXS on their forthcoming national tour, are quickly shaping up to become one of the major bands in Australia in the Nineties. They roared into the national Top 10 with their superb single, Tingles, and everything seems to be going their way right now. Ratcat are one of those classic cases of a band which, to many people, seem to have simply popped up out of nowhere. But believe me, there’s been a lot of hard work by the boys to get to the position they’re now enjoying. They first surfaced about four years ago, with the release of a mini-album which included songs such as Time Bomb Of Hate and Daughter Darling. The record received critical acclaim, and an album was released in 1989, This Nightmare, received accolades too, winning a lot of support from the music press and radio stations such as JJJ-FM. Now they’re very much in the mainstream and their spots on the INXS tours should be worth catching.

Simon Day - Countdown article

Born : 6.6.66, Sydney NSW
Star Sign : Gemini

Simon rocketed from obscurity to major heart-throb status virtually overnight when his band Ratcat, had two No.1 singles (‘Tingles’ & ‘Don’t Go Now’) and a No.1 album (Blind Love) in a row. A graphic artist and a comic freak, Simon not only does all the artwork and merchandising design for Ratcat, as well as writing most of the songs, but somehow finds the time to moonlight with other performers in one-off bands (He has performed with Margaret Urlich among others, in a country-flavoured cover version band). Simon is the most requested pin-up here at Countdown!

The night Margaret Urlich joined Ratcat (sort of…) - Smash Hits

In a dark and dingy Sydney club, an eager crowd recently gathered to witness a strange event : New Zealand’s Queen of Pop, Margaret Urlich teamed up with Ratcat’s Simon Day to croon a few country and western tunes! The pairing is not so odd when you consider that Margaret had already helped out on Ratcat’s “Blind Love” album…which her hubby just happened to produce! But on this night there was no sign of “Baby Baby” or any other Ratcat hits. Instead, the crowd was treated to renditions of those old faves “Ring Of Fire”, Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”, “King Of The Road” and “Stand By Your Man.”

The Ratcat plague (letters in Rolling Stone magazine in relation to Ratcat articles)

Q. What do you call the Ramones without the credibility?
A. Ratcat (“Hot Band” RS460)

- Rohan ‘Pinhead’ Quale
Melbourne, Victoria

Thanks for more Ratcat (“Performance RS461). I just can’t get enough.

Michelle Turner
Ballarat, Victoria

Ratcat isn’t the only exciting independent pop band in the country. How about some coverage for the Clouds, the Underground Lovers, You Am I and the Moles. Also, Ride blew them right away on their recent tour.

Peter Dodd
Stanmore, NSW

Finally, some serious coverage for Ratcat - thanks. I’ve had enough of these cheap and nasty teen-pop magazines superficially reporting on this great band. The fact that Simon Day is a “spunk” shouldn’t deny their fantastic music. Ratcat is to be congratulated for breaking through the radio barrier and dragging some other good young bands with them. I still think they’re cool.

William Pratt
North Sydney

Simon Day - top cat in music’s rat race

When Ratcat stunned critics with a number one song, then backed it up with a number one album, Blind Love, no-one was more surprised than the three members of the band. From being regulars on Sydney’s independent music circuit, they became instant teen idols - with the title of top idol falling to dark-haired, boyish-looking, lead singer/guitarist, Simon Day. A graphic artist by trade (he designs Ratcat’s artwork), Simon formed his first band, Danger Mouse, in his final year at Mosman High School. In 1985 the band made its debut performance as Ratcat, and in 1989 the current line-up was consolidated - Simon, Andrew Polin and Amr Zaid. For Simon, Ratcat isn’t his first spotlight experience. As a boy, he won a paper aeroplane flying contest and went on a TV midday show; at 16 he appeared in an ad for seafood sauce, then a Phillips commercial; and just over a year ago, the band appeared in an episode of A Country Practice. With the sweet taste of their Australian success still fresh, Ratcat is currently in the UK trying for a repeat performance. Let’s hope the Brits love them as much as we do, but don’t forget to come back guys!

Ratcat article - Juke magazine

While waiting in the lobby of his New York hotel before driving with the rest of Ratcat to the airport to catch a plane to New Zealand where they were doing a show, guitarist Simon Day soon discovered being a nice guy doesn’t always pay. A girl approached him saying she was in trouble - and while he was talking to her, the lady’s accomplice snatched Day’s bag containing his passport, wallet, jewellery, and a video camera with souvenir footage of Ratcat’s overseas tour. The loss of the passport meant that he couldn’t leave the country, and Ratcat had to cancel their NZ performance while they re-routed to Los Angeles and spent three days obtaining a new passport. Ratcat are currently midway through an Australian round of shows with a live album tucked under their belt, and will soon go into the studios to start work on a followup to their successful debut LP Blind Love

Ratcat/Margaret Urlich article - Rolling Stone - 10/90

After six months as the hottest unsigned trio in Sydney, Ratcat have finally signed on the dotted line and concurrently finished their second album. According to singer/guitarist Simon Day, the larger budget hasn’t altered the band. “I personally don’t think it’s much different,” he says, “we haven’t changed the way we do anything.” They have had a bit of help from singer Margaret Urlich. “She is engaged to our producer Nick Mainsbridge and she was listening to us and said ‘do you need any help?’” Day is however a little astonished by the amount of interest they have received from record companies. “I don’t know,” he says of their music. “There’s a lot of energy, it’s up to date, it’s pretty accessible to young people who don’t want to worry too much about the responsibilities of life.”