Spiderbait

Australian alt-rockers Spiderbait formed in Finley, New South Wales in 1991 and are known best for their 2004 cover of the 1930s Lead Belly song, "Black Betty," which shot to Number 1 on the ARIA Charts. Comprising Janet English on bass guitar and lead vocals, Mark Maher (better known as Kram) on lead vocals and drums, and Damian Whitty (or "Whitt") on guitar, the trio laid the foundations for their rock career while still at school, cutting their teeth at gigs at band practices in their rural homeland. A move to Melbourne in 1990 led them to the city's fertile punk scene, where they began playing on the gig circuit as Spiderbaby, before landing a deal with Melbourne's Au-Go-Go Records and re-christening themselves as Spiderbait. A debut single, "Circle K," arrived in 1991, followed by the P'tang Yang Kipper Bang Uh! EP in January 1992. The band's thrash-edged first album, Shashavaglava, was released in May 1993 and two years later they secured a major-label deal with Polydor. Their second album, The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley Lake – which harnessed the energy of punk-pop – emerged that year and made it to Number 14 on the ARIA Albums Charts. Their third album, Ivy and the Big Apples, topped the albums chart as well as picking up the 1997 ARIA Award for Best Alternative Release, while in 1999 the band switched into the pop lane for their fourth album Grand Slam. Spiderbait's 2001 dance-inspired album The Flight of Wally Funk made it into the Top 40, and their sixth studio album, Tonight Alright (2004), peaked at Number 14 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Following a hiatus, Spiderbait returned in 2013 with a self-titled album, which marked their first since 2005's Greatest Hits compilation, and first studio album since Tonight Alright.

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