The Springbok Nude Girls (or just the Nude Girls or Nudies as they are affectionately known) are one of South Africa's more popular bands. Their music is a blend of alternative, rock, ska and sonic metal with jazz and acoustic influences. Arguably South Africa's best rock outfit. The lead singer Arno Carstens has since embarked on a prolific solo career. The albums to date are: 1. Neanderthal 1 1995. Quite raw and minimally produced. 2. Afterlifesatisfaction 1997. Becoming more "international", with a number of hits. 3. Surpass the Powers 1999. Their most acclaimed and professional sounding release. 4. Relaxzor 2000. Heavy, hard and fast. A fifth album called Peace Breaker was scheduled for a March 2007 South African release. A UK release of Peace Breaker is scheduled for June 18, 2007 and will include 2 extra tracks. The band have chosen to release it in the UK under the name Nude Girls, dropping the inherently South African Springbok moniker for some reason. They also released 2 compilation albums The Fat Lady Sings preceding their break-up in 2001, and then a UK-only release as Nude Girls, called Nude Girls upon their reformation in 2007. http://www.nudegirls.co.za/ http://www.myspace.com/thenudegirls "The Springbok Nude Girls (a.k.a the Nudies, or the Nude Girls) is a rock band from Stellenbosch near Cape Town, South Africa. The band is named after the glamour models that graced compilation album covers of the old and long-since defunct local radio station, Springbok Radio. These models were fairly scantily clad and titillating for the time, and considered to be fairly shocking in the Calvinistic and conservative social climate of 1950s South Africa. An alternative rock band, the Nude Girls introduced punk, ska and metal into their songs, introducing a new world of music to the youth of South Africa in the early 1990s. The Nudies became not only favourites in South African households, but stars and influences in the South African music industry at large. They played their first big gig in September 1994 to a full house at a local venue in Stellenbosch. At the time the South African music scene was in the process of transformation, as was much of rest of post-Apartheid South Africa. They were hailed as a breath of fresh air and one of the country's most promising new bands. The Nude girls have toured extensively all over the world and recorded an international album in New York in April 1999. Minor success in Europe kept them touring but their popularity was still unequalled compared to South Africa. In 2000, the band received a South African Music Award for Best Rock Album (Surpass The Powers). The Nude Girls was voted the Best South Africa rock band in a poll conducted by South African radio station 5FM." - wikipedia
