EXCLUSIVE: Whenever Natalie Bassingthwaighte hears her voice come through the speakers at her local shopping centre, her first instinct is to drop everything and get as far away as she can.
It’s happened more often than you would think for the multi-hyphenate artist and lead singer of the Australian electro-pop band Rogue Traders.
“Don’t get me wrong, if I’m in a shop and a song of mine plays, I literally want to run out of there,” she tells nine.com.au.
It’s been 20 years since Bassingthwaite’s first album with the band titled Here Come the Drums was released.
The hit album was launched on October 23 2005, a year after she joined the band in 2004, and led to a highly successful period for the band.
Their song Voodoo Child became an instant hit reaching the top 10 in charts across Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Other songs from the album, including Way to Go, Watching You and We’re Coming Home, also became popular.
READ MORE: One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson reveals the one celebrity he ‘despises’
READ MORE: Alec Baldwin’s daughter blasts ‘lonely’ childhood in scathing post
READ MORE: Jamie Oliver reveals secret of 25-year marriage success
Now 20 years on, those songs no doubt inspire nostalgia for many and, while she may cringe at the sound of her voice on those popular records sometimes, Bassingthwaighte counts herself among them.
“I feel nostalgia with it all,” she says.
“It’s really fun to look back and reflect. To be honest, it’s all beautiful. The memories are great and yeah, [I] wouldn’t change it for the world.”
At the time, Bassingthwaighte and her bandmates found themselves navigating a whirlwind of success and fame which she says was “crazy”.
Looking back, she admits that they became so swept up in the chaos that they didn’t truly appreciate their success.
“I had so much gratitude then but to be able to look back now – I wish we all took stock of how amazing and how great it was at the time because it was pretty extraordinary,” she says.
“I think you get lost in how busy you are and you don’t really appreciate the gravitas of it.
“We had a number three single in the UK and we were on the top of the charts and [our song] was on the bloody Doctor Who finale – it was some crazy-ass stuff we’d do.”
She might not have been able to have “stop to smell the roses” at the time but now Bassingthwaigthe is looking back at it all with gratitude.
“The beautiful thing about getting to this age and looking back [is appreciating] just how amazing [it was],” she says.
Bassingthwaighte was the frontwoman for Rogue Traders between 2004 and 2008 when she left to pursue her solo career.
The band later reunited in 2015 and now perform on sporadic occasions and while those early years were a whirlwind, now Bassingthwaighte says they’re able to lap it all up.
“Now whenever we perform together it’s just such a thrill because there’s this appreciation and love for it,” she says.
“Now it’s just fun. We do gigs now and we just have an absolute ball.”
Away from her career, Bassingthwaighte recently had some other big news to celebrate after proposing to her partner Pip Loth.
“Pip has changed my life in so many beautiful ways,” Bassingthwaighte says of her partner, who uses they/them pronouns.
“The way they handle me and my life and what comes along with that. They’re so grounded and sweet and loving in the way that they support and nurture my kids and animals.
“It felt like a no-brainer, but leading up to it I was absolutely so nervous.”
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
