A DVD documentary on the Radio Rats, produced and directed by Michael Cross. Includes a companion CD compilation.
RADIO RATS
FROM 1977 TO THE PRESENT
THE MOVIE – Almost forty years ago, in late-1970s South Africa, there was a song on the radio about a spaceman called ZX Dan. It was by a noisy little band from Springs, near Johannesburg. That song and hundreds more songwriter Jonathan Handley has penned since then remain an important, if sometimes overlooked, part of South Africa’s musical landscape. The Radio Rats were to influence one fellow resident of Springs, James Phillips (aka Bernoldus Niemand) to form a band and to write songs. It was Phillips who went on to initiate the alternative Afrikaans music scene of the mid-80s, the Voëlvry “movement” and, indirectly perhaps, the Oppikoppi music festival where a stage still bears his name. Jonathan Handley remains one of the unsung heroes of South African music, a writer who continues to record and archive music relentlessly. His sharply observed characters form the basis for most of his songs and he’s funny, he’s witty and he’s dedicated. He’s disarmingly self-deprecating too. Twenty-five years in the making, this film introduces the music of Radio Rats and the words of Jonathan Handley in an attempt to afford them the place they deserve in the history of independent rock ‘n’ roll in South Africa.
THE MUSIC – 1. ZX Dan – Radio Rats 2. Rocking – Radio Rats 3. Crazy Caroline – Radio Rats 4. Erase – Radio Rats 5. Agony – Titus Groan 6. East Rand Town Called Springs – Radio Rats 7. Welcome to My Car (Live 1991) – Radio Rats 8. Turn On the Radio – Radio Rats 9. Padded Rooms – Radio Rats 10. The Day is Connected to the Night – Radio Rats 11. Jiving & Dying (Live 1995) – Radio Rats 12. Perlemoen – Jonathan Handley 13. Sugar Trade – Radio Rats 14. Cyanide Lake – Radio Rats 15. Where Does Your Love Lie – Radio Rats 16. The Key – Radio Rats 17. Flesh Temple – Radio Rats 18. Passion’s Poison – Radio Rats
Produced by Greg Cutler (1-3), Lloyd Ross (6, 8, 9, 11) and Jonathan Handley. All songs written by Radio Rats and Jonathan Handley (lyrics) except “Agony” by Titus Groan and Jonathan Handley (lyrics).
THE FILMMAKER – Durban-based filmmaker Michael Cross has spent more than twenty-five years producing, directing and editing documentaries and continues to produce films to illuminate artists and individuals. He has made films about musicians Syd Kitchen and Madala Kunene (“Bafo Bafo – What Kind?!”) which premiered at the Durban International Film Festival in 2005 and his documentary. “Rockstardom. The Journey Of A Small-Town Songwriter” premiered at the 14th Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival in 2012. He also made “Vivid Memories of Scooters” about the band Scooters Union and has created more than fifty short films for artists including Hugh Masekela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Busi Mhlongo.
Trailer
Artwork
Film Launch at The Labia in Cape Town
