This group of superlatives is set to go even higher with a new national tour. AXN meets the chart-topping and mega-platinum Rogue Traders. 

It would be fair to say that in a few short years the Rogue Traders have become our favourite electro-pop rockers.

Their sophomore offering, Here Come the Drums, sold four-times platinum in Australia alone and spent over 80 weeks in the ARIA Hot 100. Their latest long player, Better in the Dark, was unleashed to a doting populace in October, and is set to cement their status as a fresh household name.

This is no mean feat considering that vampish singer Natalie Bassingthwaite is one of the busiest personalities in the country at the moment as host of Channel 10’s runaway success So You Think You Can Dance.

“But she always has been,” fellow ‘Roguie’ James Ash tells AXN. “When we were making Here Come the Drums she was shooting Neighbours four or five times a week, and she was doing Grease: The Musical! So it’s just business as usual really. We’re incredibly proud of her achievements and I’mprobably her biggest fan on that TV show. I watch it all the time!”

Better in the Dark is the result of a more collaborative songwriting process. Whereas previously James and his wife Melinda penned the tracks, Natalie, Danny Spencer (guitars) and Cam McGlinchey (drums) all entered the creative fray this time around.

“I find writing excruciating,” James says. “Half the time you’re regurgitating other people’s melodies and you don’t even realise it.   But from what I’ve read that has happened to every songwriter from John Lennon to Alex Lloyd! I’ll call the guys and go, ‘Guess what, I’ve got this great melody’, and they’ll go, ‘Do you know what? That’s Duran Duran!’

“So it’s good having other people around because it’s a vetting process! Everyone rips each other off but you want to do it with your integrity in tact.”

The latest single, ‘What You’re On’, is a song very close to James. “Normally I’m quite happy to discuss specific things about a song, but it’s a personal song for me,” he reveals. “You don’t need to be a genius to realise what it’s about – the dangers of giving into temptation and the price you have to pay for that.”

The Rogue Traders will commence an Australian tour at the end of this month. This is perhaps appropriate because Better in the Dark owns a sound that’s more gutsy, more anarchic and more raw than their previous albums – it’s built for stadiums.

“It’s going to be the biggest show we’ve ever done and we’re going to be able to draw in three albums’ worth of material, which is really exciting,” James says. “It’s about putting together the finest set we can.” AXN

Better in the Dark tour, April 29-May 29. For dates and locations, visit roguetraders.com.au.