Skulker

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Skulker
OriginSydney
GenresRock
Years active1994–2005
LabelsChatterbox Records
Past membersGreer Skinner
Annette Harada
Angela Blackshaw
Naomi "Batti" Battah
Gregory Boulting

Skulker was an ARIA Award-nominated[1] rock band from Sydney[2] that formed in 1994.[3] After two albums, the group parted ways in 2005.

History[edit]

The group's original members met at Cheltenham Girls High School in northern Sydney in 1994 and decided to form a band. The original line-up consisted of Greer Skinner on lead vocals and guitar, Annette Harada on bass guitar, Naomi "Batti" Battah on guitar and occasional lead vocals and drummer Angela Blackshaw.[4]

After an initial period establishing itself on the Sydney live circuit the band came to the attention of independent label Chatterbox Records[5] and in 2000 Skulker released the album Too Fat for Tahiti. The title was apparently inspired by the band being rejected for a gig as a house band at a resort in Tahiti because they were "too fat".[6]

Too Fat for Tahiti spawned the singles "Hëj" and "Naughty" which received considerable support from the national youth radio station Triple J and both were voted into the network's annual listeners' poll, the Triple J Hottest 100, 2000,[3] at number 50 and 80 respectively. The album was subsequently nominated for ARIA Award for Best Independent Release and Best New Live Act at the Australian Music Awards.[citation needed]

In 2003, the band released their second studio album, The Double Life.[7][8][9][10] A free download-only single "Rock Nugget" was released. It was downloaded over 20,000 times and received high rotation on Triple J. The band also played alongside one of their major music influences, Veruca Salt, in Sydney's The Metro Theatre in July that year. The band released the singles "Coming Home" and "In Your Arms" and played the Big Day Out tour in 2004. Early 2004 also found the band opening for Pink in Sydney and Newcastle and touring nationally supporting The Superjesus.

At this point Batti decided to depart the band and moved to Canada to pursue other interests. Following the replacement of Batti with new guitarist Gregory Boulting, Skulker toured the east coast of Australia and recorded extensive demos of new material that have never been released. The band members have since decided to go their own ways and pursue further interests.

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[11]
Too Fat for Tahiti
  • Released: February 2000[12][13]
  • Label: Chatterbox (CB009)
  • Format: CD
The Double Life
  • Released: March 2003[14]
  • Label: Chatterbox (CB026)
  • Format: CD
79

Extended play[edit]

Title Details
Morgan to the Moon
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Skulker
  • Format: CD

Singles[edit]

Title Year Album
"Bittersweet" 1998 non-album single
"Hëj" 2000 Too Fat for Tahiti
"Naughty"
"Newport Nightmare"/"Strawberry Deluxe"
"Coming Home" 2003 The Double Life
"In Your Arms"

Awards and nominations[edit]

ARIA Music Awards[edit]

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2000 Too Fat for Tahiti ARIA Award for Best Independent Release Nominated [15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Q&A With Skulker", The Newcastle Herald, 1 April 2004
  2. ^ Williams, Sue (13 July 1997), "Not So Spicy Aphrodite", Sun Herald
  3. ^ a b Kent, Melissa (6 June 2003), "Party girls they ain't", The West Australian
  4. ^ Moore, Chris (29 June 2000), "Skulker Happy With Progress", Illawarra Mercury
  5. ^ Lawrence, Elissa (26 March 2000), "Beached wails", Sunday Mail
  6. ^ Watson, Chad (9 March 2000), "Slim Excuse", Newcastle Herald
  7. ^ Baker, Tiffany (16 May 2003), "Metro – Frill seekers", Adelaide Advertiser
  8. ^ McMenemy, Lauren (29 May 2003), "Rough play for Skulker", Adelaide Advertiser
  9. ^ Simonot, Suzanne (8 May 2003), "Skulking it!", Gold Coast Bulletin
  10. ^ Chalmers, Emma (16 May 2003), "Skulker keep their day jobs", The Courier-Mail
  11. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 255.
  12. ^ "Too Fat For Tahiti review", The Sunday Telegraph, 13 February 2000
  13. ^ Buchanan, Matt (7 April 2000), "Too Fat For Tahiti review", The Sydney Morning Herald
  14. ^ Nahrung, Jason (4 April 2003), "The Double Life review", The Courier-Mail
  15. ^ "ARIA Awards Best Independent Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2021.