The band is fronted by co-founder, DJ and producer Jamie Appleby (aka James Ash), and lead singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte. Drummer Cameron McGlinchey and guitarist Tim Henwood (of The Androids & Palace of the King) complete the live line-up of the band.
Co-founder Steve Davis and Ash's wife, Melinda Appleby, often contribute to the songwriting process but choose to stay out of the spotlight. Appleby also provided lead vocals on some pre-Bassingthwaighte materiel, including the 2002 single Give Into Me.
Ash and Davis first met in London in 1989. Before forming Rogue Traders in 2002, the duo worked together on various projects, most notably dance act Union State.
In 2003, they released their debut album as Rogue Traders, titled We Know What You're Up To. Singles Give In To Me and Stay? (the latter featuring Ash on vocals) were both minor top 100 chart tracks in Australia. However their re-working of INXS' Need You Tonight, One Of My Kind, managed to achieve considerable success, peaking at #10 in the ARIA charts and scoring them an ARIA award.
After the success of One Of My Kind, Ash and Davis decided to form a fully-fledged band and returned in 2005 with their sophomore album Here Come The Drums featuring vocalist Natalie Bassingthwaighte. Bassingthwaighte had previously risen to fame in Australia as an actress on the television show Neighbours, and her roles in critically acclaimed stage musicals such as Grease, Rent and Chicago. Davis began working solely as a songwriter for the band and hid away from the spotlight.
The band went on to have major success in Australia, becoming of the biggest pop groups in the country with a string of consecutive hit singles and tours. In 2007 they released their third album, Better In The Dark. After embarking on a sold-out tour in 2008 in support of the album, Bassingthwaighte and McGlinchey, who had met in the band and been dating for quite some time, announced they would be parting ways with the group. Bassingthwaighte went on to pursue a successful solo career and married McGlinchey in 2011.
In 2009, indie pop singer/songwriter Melinda Jackson (nicknamed Mindi, so not to be confused with Ash's wife Melinda Appleby) joined the group as their new frontwoman along with Peter Marin replacing McGlinchey on drums. They released one album, Night Of The Living Drums, but failed to meet the success of previous efforts despite receiving positive reviews and the band were subsequently dropped from the label and went on an indefinite hiatus.
In 2015, it was announced that Bassingthwaighte and McGlinchey would be returning to the band for the 10th anniversary of Here Come The Drums. The band have since been performing live at various events around Australia.
In March 2017, Bassingthwaighte revealed they were writing new music, and in early April the band hit the studio for their first recording sessions. They have since performed 3 new songs live: "To The Disco", "Love Drunk" and "We Can Move Closer".
Their first new single in 12 years, "To The Disco", was released in Feburary 2023 which interpolates "On Your Way To The Disco" from their album "Better In The Dark" with the Skatt Bros 1979 cult classic "Walk The Night". "On Your Way To The Disco" was meant to be the 4th and final single from "Better In The Dark" back in 2008, but was scrapped when Bassingthwaighte left the band.
The band have confirmed "We Can Move Closer" will be released in 2024.
Voodoo Child
Rogue Traders Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Put your cards on the table baby, do I twist, do I fold?
You're like Voodoo honey, all silver and gold
Why don't you tell me my future why don't I sell you my soul?
So hear it comes the sound of drums (here come the drums here come the drums)
Baby, baby, baby. You are my Voodoo Child, my voodoo child
Don't say maybe maybe
It's supernatural I'm coming undone
You've like Voodoo Baby, Your kisses are cold
Fell your poison running threw me, let me never grow old
You're like voodoo honey, my pictures you stole
You play me like a puppet, stick in pins like a doll
So hear it comes the sound of drums (here come the drums here come the drums)
Baby baby baby. You are my Voodoo Child, my voodoo child
Don't say maybe maybe
It's supernatural I'm coming undone
It's supernatural I'm coming undone
Hear come the drums here come the drums
Baby, baby, baby. You are my Voodoo Child, my voodoo child
Don't say maybe maybe
It's supernatural I'm coming undone
Baby, baby, baby, I just take hold
Do I twist do I fold?
The lyrics of Rogue Traders' song "Voodoo Child" are packed with references to the mysterious and alluring qualities of voodoo magic. The verses identify the singer's lover as a "Voodoo Baby" with the power to take hold of their destiny and even manipulate their soul. The feeling of being under the spell of this person is compared to being the subject of a voodoo doll, with the lover playing the role of the puppeteer.
The chorus, with its repetition of "Baby, baby, baby, you are my Voodoo Child," underscores the allure of this mysterious and otherworldly power, which has become an essential part of the singer's identity. They can't resist their lover's spell, and they're coming undone as a result. The entire song has a supernatural and seductive energy that is impossible to resist.
Overall, "Voodoo Child" is a haunting and hypnotic ode to the power of love, seduction, and voodoo magic. The lyrics brilliantly capture the sensation of being under someone's spell, and the sense that the world has become a mystical and unpredictable place as a result.
Line by Line Meaning
You're like Voodoo baby you just take hold
You have a powerful hold over me like Voodoo magic.
Put your cards on the table baby, do I twist, do I fold?
Tell me what you want so I can either comply or make a decision.
You're like Voodoo honey, all silver and gold
You possess an irresistible allure and charm.
Why don't you tell me my future why don't I sell you my soul?
You have the power to predict the future, and I am willing to give up anything for your insight.
So hear it comes the sound of drums (here come the drums here come the drums)
The ominous sound of drums represents the foreboding nature of our situation.
Baby, baby, baby. You are my Voodoo Child, my voodoo child
I am under your spell and cannot resist your charms.
Don't say maybe maybe
Do not be coy, tell me what you want.
It's supernatural I'm coming undone
The power you hold over me is beyond natural explanation, and it is causing me to unravel.
You've like Voodoo Baby, Your kisses are cold
Your touch is chilling, yet I still crave it like an addictive spell.
Fell your poison running threw me, let me never grow old
Your influence is toxic, but I want to remain under it forever and never age.
You're like voodoo honey, my pictures you stole
You took something dear to me and are using it as leverage in our relationship.
You play me like a puppet, stick in pins like a doll
You have complete control over me and can manipulate me as you wish.
Hear come the drums here come the drums
The foreboding drums of our situation once again signal our impending doom.
Baby, baby, baby, I just take hold
You hold all the power, and I am powerless against you.
Do I twist do I fold?
How can I please you? Should I follow your lead or make my own decisions?
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAMIE GRAHAM APPLEBY, ELVIS COSTELLO, STEVEN JOHN DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mia Borel
SPOILER ALERT
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Missy is sooooooo fantastic, stunning, clever, funny, evil... My perfect Queen of Evil. I miss John Simm though. But Michelle Gomez is amazing. She's definitly my favorite regeneration of the Master.
Hey Missy you so fine, you so fine, you blow my mind, hey... MISSY !
She said it Hmmm
Voodoo Child"
You're like Voodoo baby,
You just take hold.
Put your cards on the table baby,
Do I twist do I fold?
You're like Voodoo Honey
All silver and gold?
Why don't you tell me my future?
Why don't I sell you my soul.
[Bridge]
So here it comes - the sound of drums.
Here comes the drums, here comes the drums ?
[Chorus]
Baby, baby, baby!
You are my Voodoo Child - my Voodoo Child
Don't say maybe, maybe
It's Supernatural - I'm coming undone?
[Verse 2]
You're like Voodoo baby,
Your kisses are cold!
Feel your poison running through me?
Let me never grow old.
You're like Voodoo honey,
My pictures you stole?
You play me like a puppet.
Sticking pins in a doll!
Andrew Pitts
I guess you could say this is a MASTERful song
sopcannon
careful, people have lost their head over less.
WENDY BANDURSKI-MILLER
ha!!! YEP
official gryo zeppeil
Doctor who?
Aled Davies
Golden age of Dr who
Pagan Forge
I see what you did there๐
Crystal Fier
I love this song...first heard it on Doctor Who..here come the drums!
Explode-a-soda
13 years in the future and it still slaps. The episode and the song.
John Not Real Name
@Explode-a-soda Dear God 2009 or 2010! David John Tennant was the Doctor...although the new one looks like him.
Skerry 91
honestly its the same for me