The Band

Background
Rogue Traders first formed a few years ago when UK DJs Steve Davis and James Ash released dance based singles. They achieved an Aria award for their song "One of my kind". The band

has recently undergone a few changes, the biggest of which is the addition of Australian actress / singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte who joins the band as a lead vocalist. Natalie met Steve and James in December 2004 during auditions for a place with the band. The trio got on well and the existing band members were impressed with Natalie's singing ability.

With this new look the band set their sights on the charts, releasing a new single Voodoo Child which featured a electric dance backing and Natalie singing the main lyrics. The track was a hit on the club scene and was released to shops on the 30th May 2005. Initially the song charted a modest #20 but climbed to #9 in the following weeks. The success of the song and the warm reception to the band as a whole indicatated that more releases from the Rogue Traders and their record label Sony BMG were likely.

After Voodoo Child the band began a fairly intense promotional trail which saw them performing various gigs and appearing on several big Australian music television shows, such as So Fresh and Video Hits. The next single the band released was title "Way To Go!". This proved another hit for the band and talks of an album and further single releases began.

Toward the end of 2005 the band released their first album with Natalie Bassingthwaighte as the main singer. Natalie featured on most of the tracks and "Here Come The Drums" was snapped up as readily as the previously released singles. As with these singles the albums charting power came from longevity rather than instant success as the album stayed in the charts for a large period of time and benefited from the increased publicity gained from performances and appearances.

After the album came the third single which was released as the second one was gradually falling from the charts in early 2006. "Waching You" was the 6th track on the album and again proved that the Rogue Traders were popular amongst the Australian public. Following the trend set by its predecessor’s the album stayed in the charts for many weeks helped along by publicity work by the band.

With the continued success of the Rogue Traders the chances of more Australian releases look certain. The band have also expressed a desire to launch music overseas, with the United Kingdom and Europe being marked as possible targets for releases. Admist rumours of the frantic promotional schedule for the band and continuing her role as Izzy Hoyland on Neighbours it looks as though Natalie Bassingthwaighte will be continue to be part of the band with reports that she's planning to leave the Australian soap to give her more time on other projects such as her continuing success with the Rogue Traders.

U.K market
Despite charting strongly with their first release "Voodoo Child" the Rogue Traders appeared to struggle when they attempted to take their music to the global market by releasing it in the U.K. The fan base was there with many Neighbours fans keeping up to date with Natalie's post Neighbours ventures and the success she had achieved in Australia with the band. Subsequent releases after Voodoo Child did poorly though with both Here Come The Drums and Watching you entering the U.K charts a low positions. Fans remained positive though and the lack of success was linked to the marginal promotion that the band did prior to both releases.

Possible Split
Summer 2006 saw rumours begin that Natalie Bassingthwaighte was planning to detach herself from the band at some point in the near future, either to pursue a solo musical career or concentrate on acting once more. These were quickly denied by James Ash who stated that all band members remained committed to the Rogue Traders. The speculation died down however most seem to still expect Natalie to leave the band despite the success she has had as the lead singer.