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The Datsuns.
 "Are
you familiar with the term 'chinese whispers'?" is Christian
de Datsun's response to my query as to the well being of lead
singer Dolf who reportedly suffered a head injury during the
filming of a recent video clip. "He just hit himself in the
head with his bass and had a little cut. They put a sticking
plaster on it and some makeup and he was fine. Next thing we
know he's fallen off a building and it's on the TV in New Zealand
and it's headlining the papers in Sweden! It just got out of
control, but he was completely fine."
Australia has embraced New Zealand rock act The Datsuns as their very own, and with guitar solos running rife on their new album 'Outta Sight/Outta Mind' the kids look set to take on the world.
"Australia was the first place in the world that really liked us. You know Australia has claimed you as their own when they give you a nickname, and we're called 'The Dattos,' like 'Acca Dacca,'" he laughs.
The Dattos have recently moved to London as a base for touring - and tour they will with two Australian jaunts planned as part of a year and a half long tour around the world.
"It's far easier to tour the world from England compared to Cambridge, NZ because it's not a 27 hour flight to the rest of the world. The last three and a half years we've been living out of suitcases. We had no home until we started renting this flat in London. It's nice to have somewhere to come home to."
The boys are all living together, something they're used to after being on the road together for so long. "We're just like The Monkees! We all know each other's quirks and nasty habits so we're willing to put up with them."
Like many bands playing AC/DC style rock, The Datsuns have been around since the '90's and it is only recently that the music press have picked up on them as the flavour of the month as part of the 'rock revolution'.
"I didn't even realise there was a rock revolution till I started reading about it," Christian smirks. "To me rock'n'roll never went away. There's always been great bands playing it, but now more people are writing about it. It's good because it gives bands in that genre more opportunity to do things they might not have been able to do, us included. But in England everything moves so fast that the rock revival is so yesterday. I don't pay attention to fashion either 'cause it changes so fast I can never keep up.
"We're a band that's always been doing what we wanted regardless of what other people thought. At the start in the early '90's what we were doing was very unfashionable. I hated the music of the time, like grunge and the Top 40."
Despite Christian's claim that he doesn't pay attention to fashion, The Dattos put on a rather splendid display of tight pants and flares during their shows. "I'd like to have a white suit but if you play one show in white pants they get too dirty and you have to wash and bleach them. We have one rule - no shorts on stage. Shorts aren't rock 'n' roll. No sandals either, we're not into the professor look."
The unfortunate part of touring according to Christian is that it takes the fun out of travelling. "Now travelling is just something I have to do. I don't get to see the countries and I feel like I live in airports, but if you want to tour you have to travel to get there. We went from no air points to gold cards in the space of months: I could be an air hostess by now. I can walk down and aisle and say, 'Chicken or beef?'"
Being on the road so often, Christian also hasn't been able to take his much beloved vinyl collection with him. "My vinyl is being looked after by my mother in NZ. There's Zeppelin, Deep Purple, David Bowie, Queen, Blondie, The Cars, T-Rex, The Who...," he lists. I suggested the collection sounded perfect for a garage sale. He laughs. "She knows it's not worth her life."
Cassie Hilditch
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The Datsuns' 'Outta Sight/Outta Mind' is out now through In-Fidelity/Shock.
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