“The Bats performed at The London Town Pub on Friday 7th August. The evening was arranged as a benefit for Rusty Mulock-Bentley, ex bassist & frontman of the Cape Town band Pendulum, who through illness, has been unable to work since January 2015. Once again Paul Bothner came to the rescue, in not only lending top quality equipment to the Bats, but in also sponsoring a Fender guitar for the auction that was held during the evening. The event was a huge success, & raised R26,000, which has been a tremendous help in assisting Rusty with his rising medical bills. The Bats, who this year are celebrating 51 years in the business, remain eternally grateful to Bothners for their unwavering support over the years.”
It all started in 1964 when The Bats, Eddie Eckstein, Paul Ditchfield, the late Jimmy Dunning and the late Barry Jarman, burst onto the local scene and became, to many ardent followers, South Africa’s answer to the Beatles. They toured extensively, both locally and internationally, wowing audiences here and in the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) and Germany with their brilliant music and hilarious comedy show. More than just great musicians, they were also great entertainers, and it was this that kept them at the top of their game for 16 years, an amazing achievement for any band.
After a sabbatical of 20 years and after constant pressure from their fans to get back together again, in 2000,Eddie, Paul & Pete, minus the late Barry who had decided to retire, were joined by Derek Gordon and got back on the road for what they thought would be a short ‘come back’. Little did they know that 14 years later they would still be on the road, delighting audiences young and old, and releasing a brand new CD.
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