The Springbok Nude Girls (a.k.a. the Nudies, or the Nude Girls) is a
rock band from
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
.
An
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band, the Nude Girls introduced
punk rock,
ska,
acid jazz and
heavy metal into their songs, introducing a new world of music to the youth of South Africa in the mid-to-late 1990s.
They played their first big gig in September 1994 in Stellenbosch. Since then, the Nude girls have toured extensively. In 2000, the band received a
South African Music Award for Best Rock Album (''Surpass The Powers''). The Nude Girls were voted the Best South Africa rock band in a poll conducted by South African radio station
5FM
5FM is a South African FM radio station that follows a Top 40 music format and is owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), South Africa's public broadcaster. SABC announced the appointment of Mr. JD Mostert as Business Mana ...
.
Break up and reformation
In 2001 the band announced an indefinite hiatus. However, in 2006, a
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
entry on drummer
Francious Kruger's site informally announced their reunion. Their reunion coincided with the return of trumpeter
Adriaan Brand. Their first new album in four years, ''Peace Breaker'', was released in March 2007. The Nude Girls performed as the opening act for
U2 in Cape Town during their South African tour in February 2011.
After the split
During the band's hiatus
Arno Carstens formed a new band,
Nu Porn, and also launched a successful solo career. In 2006, he won a
SAMA award for his solo album ''The Hello Goodbye Boys'', which was named Best English Adult Contemporary Album.
Guitarist
Theo Crous
Theo is a given name and a hypocorism.
Greek origin
Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example:
*Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...
went on to form the Afrikaans alternative band
KOBUS! (also known as K.O.B.U.S!) with
Francois Breytenbach Blom, ex-vocalist of South African heavy metal band
Voice of Destruction
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...
. They have released three albums: ''kobus!'', ''100% Skuldgevoelvry'' and ''SwaarMetaal''. Crous is also the music producer for
Prime Circle
Prime Circle are a South African rock band, based in Johannesburg. The band has released 7 studio albums and achieved either gold or platinum status in South Africa. The band has expanded its audience to England and Europe where they are repres ...
,
The Parlotones
The Parlotones are a South African indie rock band from Johannesburg. Formed in 1998, the group consists of Kahn Morbee (vocals and rhythm guitar), Paul Hodgson (lead guitar), Glen Hodgson (bass guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), and Neil ...
,
aKING,
Fokofpolisiekar
Fokofpolisiekar (, ''Fuckoffpolicecar'') is an Afrikaans alternative rock band from Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. Due to the obscenity in the name, they are also commonly known simply as Polisiekar or FPK.
Band history
The band ...
,
Karen Zoid and has collaborated with many acts such as
Mafikozolo,
Malaika
Malaika is a Swahili song written by Tanzanian musician Adam Salim in 1945. This song is possibly the most famous of all Swahili love songs in Tanzania, Kenya and the entire East Africa, as well as being one of the most widely known of all Swahili ...
and
Loyiso Bala. Crous played live with
Chris Cornell
Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. ...
(of
Audioslave
Audioslave was an American rock supergroup formed in Glendale, California, in 2001. The four-piece band consisted of Soundgarden's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell with Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello (lead guitar), Ti ...
and
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Ya ...
) at
Mycoke Fest 2009.
The band got together once again in 2011 on the Isle of Wight to rehearse and record tracks for a new EP. The release appeared in December 2011 as ''Apes With Shades'' and was supported by a South African tour with Van Coke Kartel. The song ''Weekend'' was lead single and was accepted onto the 5FM playlist.
Discography
* Neanderthal 1 (August 1995) (initially on Bluegum records CDSNG1,
Epic)
* It Became A Weapon (October 1996) (Epic)
*
[email protected] (1997) (Epic)
* I Love big EP (1997-03-04) (Epic)
* ''Afterlifesatisfaction'' (Epic, 1997)
* Omnisofa (April 1998) (Epic)
* OPTI MUM (November 1998) (Epic)
* Surpass the Powers (July 1999) (Epic)
* Un-E.Z. (1999) (Epic)
* Relaxzor (November 2000) (Epic)
*
The Fat Lady Sings - Best of the Springbok Nude Girls 1995-2001 (October 2001) (Epic)
* Goddank Vir Klank 1994 - 2004 (July 2004) (Sony Music)
* Nude Girls (Exclusive UK release) (July 2006) (Golden Fairy Records/SonyBMG)
* Peace Breaker (March 2007) (Sony/BMG)
* Apes With Shades (December 2011) (Sony/BMG)
* Beautiful Evolution (April 2018) (Sony/BMG)
* Partypocalypse (September 2021) (Mongrel Records)
References
External links
Official websiteArno Carstens official website
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1994
South African alternative rock groups
Wrasse Records artists
Third-wave ska groups