Spratleys Japs

Spratleys Japs^[a] are an English psychedelic rock band formed by Cardiacs leader Tim Smith and Joanne Spratley in 1998.^[11] The band changed their name to Tim Smith's Spratleys Rats in 2021 to distance themselves from the negative connotations of the derogatory term Jap.^[10]

Spratleys Japs
Spratleys Japs 1999 From left to right: Joanne Spratley, Tim Smith, Mark Donovan, Heidi Murphy, Viv Sherrif
Background information
Also known as	Tim Smith's Spratleys Japs (2016–2021) Tim Smith's Spratleys Rats (2021–present)
Origin	Hampshire, England
Genres	Psychedelic rock experimental
Years active	1998–1999 2016–present
Labels	All My Eye and Betty Martin The Confinement Tapes
Spinoff of	Cardiacs Rev-Ups
Members	Joanne Spratley Jesse Cutts Adrien Rodes Étienne Rodes Damo Waters
Past members	Tim Smith Heidi Murphy Mark Donovan Viv Sherriff
Website

History

Original line-up (1998-1999)

The band were known to have been inspired by the sound of a malfunctioning Mellotron loaned to Tim Smith by Planet Mellotron coordinator Andy Thompson. The Mellotron is used extensively on the original Spratleys Japs recordings. (It has since been repaired).^[12][13]

The band's original line-up was Tim Smith (bass guitar, vocals, Mellotron), Joanne Spratley (vocals, flugelhorn, Theremin), Heidi Murphy (electronics devices and synthesisers), Mark Donovan (guitar) and Viv Sherriff (drums). Murphy, Donovan and Sherriff were allegedly members of a band called the Rev-Ups, which initially formed near Mexico but subsequently moved to the New Forest area of England.^[12] Since the original Spratleys Japs and the Rev-Ups have never played live, it has been suggested that both they and the original band were fictional.

Spratleys Japs released one album—1999's Pony—and one single, 1999's "Hazel". Both of these were released on Smith's own All My Eye and Betty Martin Music label. The album sold several hundred copies and the band never performed its material live before the split-up.^[11]

Joanne Spratley went on to work with Christian Hayes' project MIKROKOSMOS.

Revival (2016–present)

In 2016 Joanne Spratley's son Jesse Cutts suggested they should form a band together and in autumn that year she organized a Spratleys Japs concert in Brighton. It took place on 19 November and was billed as "Spratleys Japs Performed Live". The concert did not feature Tim Smith, who remained unable to perform following his 2008 stroke and heart attack (although he attended as an audience member) but did feature Spratley plus musicians drawn from various Brighton bands including Clowwns, Crayola Lectern, Muddy Suzuki and Heavy Lamb.^[14]

The concert led in turn to a full revival of Spratleys Japs featuring the new lineup, which includes, alongside Joanne and the bassist Cutts, Adrien Rodes (keyboards), Étienne Rodes (guitars), and Damo Waters (drums). They did assorted concerts in England during 2017, including a small tour. Tim Smith's Spratleys Japs made their live london debut in a double-header with Guapo, and Kavus Torabi made a cameo appearance for their encore, joining the band for a cover of Cardiacs' "Flap off You Beak".^[15]

On 18 December 2018, the single "Her/Hands" was released,^[16] Tim Smith credited as its executive producer,^[17] followed by a Christmas gig at the Garage club to celebrate an Honorary Degree as Doctor of Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Smith had received in October. In 2019, Tim Smith's Spratleys Japs performed an almost full performance of Pony, although Spratley was suffering from a throat infection.^[18] On 4 February 2019, the band had a session with Marc Riley. On 17 May 2019, they supported Gong at Oslo (Hackney) and planned to release the new album by the end of the year.^[11]

On 5 June 2021 Joanne Spratley announced on Facebook that the band would be changing its name to Tim Smith's Spratleys Rats after discovering the offensive nature of the term Japs to some people.^[19] The original name had innocent origins, as Joanne Spratley explained, "When we named the band we thought [japs] sounded like some sweets that you got in a paper bag when you was a kid weighed out by the man behind the counter from one of them big dusty jars."^[20] "Spratleys Rats" was a suggestion from Marina Organ,^[21] with the addition of Tim Smith's name by Joanne Spratley to commemorate the band's original composer, who died in July 2020.^[7]

Members

According to Eric Benac:^[22]

Original line-up Tim Smith – bass, vocals, Mellotron Joanne Spratley – vocals, flugelhorn, theremin Heidy Murphy – electronic devices and synthesizers Mark Donovan – guitar Viv Sherriff – drums

2016 Revival Joanne Spratley – vocals Jesse Cutts – bass Adrien Rodes – keyboards Étienne Rodes – guitars Damo Waters – drums

Discography

Albums

• Pony (1999)

Singles and EPs

• Hazel EP (1999), AME CD002
• "Odd Even" (2017)^[23]
• Her/Hands 7" (2018)
• Confinement/release6 (2020)^[24]

Notes

1. Alternative spellings:
   • Spratley's Japs^[1][2][3][4]
   • Spratleys' Japs^[5][6][7]
   • Spratley Japs^[8][9][10]

References

1. Kane, Jack (April 2003). "Label of Love". Record Collector. from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2023 – via Cardiacs.org.
2. Kitching, Sean (3 July 2013). "A Little Man & A House & The Whole World Window By Cardiacs Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
3. Reed, Nick (20 May 2014). "Once In A Lifetime: On Land And In The Sea By Cardiacs Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
4. Kitching, Sean (18 March 2023). "The Strange (Parallel) World of… Tim Smith Of Cardiacs". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
5. Kitching, Sean (8 January 2018). "Tim Smith Of Cardiacs Talks About His Illness". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
6. Kitching, Sean (9 November 2018). "INTERVIEW: Cardiacs' Tim Smith". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
7. "Tim Smith, singer with influential rock band Cardiacs, dies aged 59". BBC News. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
8. Kitching, Sean (20 December 2018). "Spratley Japs For Show At London's The Garage". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
9. Petrella, Martino (11 June 2021). ""Sing To God": la guida galattica dei Cardiacs". ImpattoSonoro (in Italian). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
10. Sgrignoli, Marco (20 July 2022). "Cardiacs - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto". Ondarock [it] (in Italian). Retrieved 30 July 2022.
11. . www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
12. . www.anyware.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 March 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
13. "L'auteur". Planetmellotron.com. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
14. "Spratleys Japs performed LIVE". Facebook.com. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
15. Lester, Paul (16 February 2017). "Spratleys Japs live review - The Lexington, London". Prog. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
16. Spratleys Japs (18 December 2018). "Her/Hands". Bandcamp. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
17. "Spratleys Japs - Her / Hands (2018, Lathe Cut)". Discogs.com. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
18. Mackenzie, Gary (1 February 2019). "Spratleys Japs". Prog. Retrieved 9 April 2023 – via PressReader.
19. "Jo Spratley". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
20. "Jo Spratley". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
21. "Marina Organ". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
22. Benac, Eric (27 August 2021). The Cardiacs: Every Album, Every Song. On Track. Sonicbond Publishing. p. 128. ISBN 9781789521313.
23. "Spratleys Japs / Stephen EvEns – Odd Even / Two Bites Of Cherry". Bandcamp. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2022 – via Discogs.
24. . The Confinement Tapes. Bandcamp. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

External links