Skatt Brothers
| The Skatt Brothers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | pop, dance, disco, R&B |
| Years active | 1979–1983 |
| Labels |
Casablanca Records Polygram |
| Members |
Sean Delaney (keyboards) Pieter Sweval (bass) Richard Martin-Ross (guitar) Richie Fontana (drums, guitar) Danny Brant (guitar) |
| Past members |
David Andez (guitar) Craig Krampf (drums) |
The Skatt Bros. (or Skatt Brothers) was a band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1979. At first they were compared to bands like the Village People for parallels in music on their first album, but later returned to their more rockish roots with the release of their second album titled "Rico & The Ravens", issued in Australia only. [1]
History
Sean Delaney formed the band in 1979.[2] Signed to Casablanca Records by Neil Bogart, the original lineup consisted of Delaney himself as well as Peter Sweval, Richard Martin-Ross, David Andez, Richie Fontana[3] and Craig Krampf. Andez and Krampf were later replaced with Danny Brant.
In 1979, the band released "Walk the Night" (written by Fontana and Andez[4]), on the Strange Spirits album. "Walk the Night" was widely popular, reaching No. 9 in the Billboard charts and No. 1 on various national charts. "Walk the Night" is considered the band's cult classic and most famous release.[5][6]
In 1980 the band obtained gold record status in Australia for their hit single “Life At The Outpost”. The video for "Life At The Outpost" was generated by their distributing record company in Australia (Polygram/Mercury), and is regarded as a misrepresentation of the band. No members of the Skatt Bros. appeared in the video. The Skatt Bros. were real musicians who wrote the songs, played the instruments, performed the vocals and co-produced their recordings.
In 2010, European music company Premium Series reissued the Strange Spirits album. The reissue claimed to be "24 bit digitally re-mastered from original master tapes".
Popular culture
The band's classic "Walk the Night" appeared on the official soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. According to Rockstar Games, the company thought the song so important to have on the soundtrack that they hired a private investigator to locate Delaney's (who died in 2003) surviving relatives and secure the rights to include it.[6]
Discography
Albums:
- Strange Spirits - 6 November 1979, Casablanca Records No. 71 Australia (peaked August 1980)
- Rico and the Ravens - 1981, Polygram (Australia only)
- Strange Spirits - 2010, Premium Series - re-mastered reissue
Singles:
- "Life At The Outpost" (1980) No. 13 Australia (peaked early October 1980)
- "Walk The Night" (1980) No. 95 Australia (peaked early November 1980)
References
- ↑ Lawrence, Tim. "I Want to See All My Friends At Once" (PDF).
- ↑ Jasper, Tony; Oliver, Derek (January 1, 1985). The international encyclopedia of hard rock & heavy metal. Facts on File. p. 87.
- ↑ Jasper. p. 255. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Richie Fontana, Retro: Skatt Bros.:". Richie Fontana. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ↑ Lawrence, Tim (January 2004). Love saves the day. Duke University Press. p. 386. ISBN 0-8223-3198-5.
- 1 2 "GTA IV the next step in selling music too". stuff.co.nz / Reuters. 06/05/2008. Retrieved 2009-08-12. Check date values in:
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