Skatt Brothers

The Skatt Bros. (or Skatt Brothers) were a band from Los Angeles, 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]

The Skatt Brothers
OriginLos Angeles, California
GenresDisco, rock
Years active1979–1983
LabelsCasablanca Records
Polygram
Past membersSean Delaney (keyboards)
Pieter Sweval (bass)
Richard Martin-Ross (guitar)
Richie Fontana (drums, guitar)
Danny Brant (guitar)
David Andez (guitar)
Craig Krampf (drums)

History

Sean Delaney, who had worked closely with KISS, 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 Andez and Fontana [4]), on the Strange Spirits album. "Walk the Night," considered a cult classic and the band's most famous release,[5][6] reached No. 9 in the Dance/Disco list of the U.S. Billboard charts.

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) who hired dancers/actors to lip-sync the song in the video, thus regarded as a total misrepresentation of the band by their management (Aucoin Management), their fans, and anyone who has seen them perform live in concert. No members of the Skatt Bros. appeared in the video, verified by former band member Richie Fontana.

"Life at the Outpost" managed to sell over 50,000 copies in Australia, earning it an Australian Gold Record award.[7]

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".

The band's classic "Walk the Night" appeared on the official soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, released in 2008. 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 surviving relatives (he had died in 2003) and secure the rights to include it.[6]

"Walk the Night" is heard in M3GAN during the titular robotic doll's infamous dance.[8] The song was used under the credits in The Righteous Gemstones Season 1 Episode 7 "And Yet One of You is a Devil". The song was again used in the Netflix series "The Andy Warhol Diaries" (Season 1, Episode 2). It was also used in the FX series “American Horror Story: NYC” (Season 11, Episode 2).

"Life at the Outpost" is often played by the morning podcast Daywave radio.

The North Queensland Cowboys play "Life at the Outpost" through the stadium when they have a win at North Queensland Stadium in Townsville. It also serves as an unofficial victory song for the team.[9]

Their song "Life At The Outpost" is the official song for the popular Twitch stream Perry Caravello Live.

"Life At The Outpost" appeared in the fourth episode of the second season of Euphoria and appeared in multiple episodes of Welcome to Chippendales.

Discography

Albums
Year Title AUS[10] Label
1979 Strange Spirits 71 Casablanca Records
1981 Rico and the Ravens - Polygram
2010 Strange Spirits (Re-Issue) - Premium Series

Singles
Year Title USD[11] AUS[10] Label
1979 Life at the Outpost - 13 Casablanca Records
1980 Walk The Night 9 95 Casablanca Records
1980 Dancin' For The Man - - Casablanca Records
1981 Rain - - Mercury Records
1981 Oh, Those Girls - - Mercury Records

References
  1. Lawrence, Tim. "I Want to See All My Friends At Once" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-05-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Jasper, Tony; Oliver, Derek (January 1, 1985). The international encyclopedia of hard rock & heavy metal. Facts on File. pp. 87.
  3. Jasper. p. 255. {{cite book}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "Richie Fontana, Retro: Skatt Bros". Richiefontana.com. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  5. Lawrence, Tim (January 2004). Love saves the day. Duke University Press. pp. 386. ISBN 0-8223-3198-5.
  6. "GTA IV the next step in selling music too". Stuff.co.nz. 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  7. Kent Music Report, 5 Jan 1981
  8. Daly, Rhian. "The Skatt Bros' 'Walk The Night' Soundtracks Hit New Horror Movie 'M3GAN'". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  9. Roots, Chris (3 October 2015). "Give your love to a Cowboy man: The pride of North Queensland". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 276. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. "Skatt Bros. Songs • Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography • Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
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