Founded: 2000
Location: New Zealand
The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, 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 and reaching the top 20 on the United Kingdom's Official Charts. They had relocated to London in 2002. Their second album, Outta Sight/Outta Mind (May 2004), appeared at no. 7 in New Zealand and top 60 in the UK. Smoke & Mirrors (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.
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With their brand new album 'Eye To Eye' out now, we asked The Datsuns frontman Dolf de Borst to reflect on some of the most influential groups that made them the band they are today.
New Zealand's The Datsuns electrifying sound was literally too big for Astor Lounge.
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"I think the experiment was pretty successful, creatively anyway."
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The New Zealanders will be here in the summer
"We have never had a plan as such; it’s always instinctive, it’s just the shit we do when it’s the four of us bashing things out.”
Little has changed over the years, but with shows like this, do we really want it to?
“Not that this is our last record, but we always make records like they could be our last.”
Extensive reconditioning and new spark plugs transmitting fresh inspiration are what’s required to make this motor run again.