Spiderbait announce “Black Betty” 20th anniversary Australian tour

Spiderbait are hitting the road from August through October to mark the 20th anniversary of their most successful single, “Black Betty.” The trio of Janet, Kram and Whitt will visit ten cities across the country, including Newcastle, Wollongong and Gold Coast and all capital cities except Darwin. Polish Club will support Spiderbait on the majority of dates, while Adalita, Private Function and Abbe May will jump on board for one or two shows each.

UPDATE 31/05: A second Perth show has been announced after the first show sold out. UPDATE 11/06: A second Melbourne show has been announced after the first sold out. Find all the details below.

Spiderbait released their cover of “Black Betty” in March 2004. The song – which builds on the 1977 Ram Jam version of the 1930s African American folk song – topped the ARIA singles chart in May 2004 and later earned double-platinum accreditation.

“Since then,” said Kram, Spiderbait’s drummer and co-lead vocalist, “the song has become a bit legendary for us and has racked up over a hundred million streams on Spotify and 75 million views on YouTube, which is nuts. The whole ride has been so awesome and was so unexpected.”

The band are promising to play all their biggest hits on the forthcoming tour, which would include the ARIA top 20 single “Calypso” and the number one song in triple j’s Hottest 100 of 1996, “Buy Me a Pony.”

“Nothing beats seeing live music,” said bass player and co-lead vocalist Janet English. “I’m really excited to bring everyone along with us and leave them with a big smile.”

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Spiderbait – Black Betty 20th anniversary tour

with guests Polish Club*, Abbe May^, Private Function#, Adalita°

Tuesday 13 August – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD*
Friday 16 August – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide, SA*
Saturday 17 August – Odeon Theatre, Hobart, TAS*
Friday 30 August – Bar On The Hill, Newcastle, NSW*
Saturday 31 August – Waves, Wollongong, NSW*
Saturday 14 September – The Astor Theatre, Perth, WA^ – sold out
Sunday 15 September – The Astor Theatre, Perth, WA^ – new show
Thursday 19 September – Forum, Melbourne, VIC# – new show
Friday 20 September – Forum, Melbourne, VIC# – sold out
Saturday 21 September – Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW*
Sunday 20 October – Miami Marketta Laneway, Gold Coast, QLD°
Friday 25 October – UC Refectory, Canberra, ACT°

Tickets on sale Weds 22 May via Frontier