Spratleys Japs

Now officially "Tim Smith's Spratleys Rats" to distance the band from the slur meaning of 'Japs', Spratleys Japs is a British psychedelic rock band formed by Cardiacs leader Tim Smith and Joanne Spratley.

The band’s original lineup was Tim Smith (bass guitar, vocals, Mellotron), Joanne Spratley (vocals, flugelhorn, Theremin), Heidi Murphy (electronics devices and synthesisers), Mark Donovan (guitar) and Viv Sherriff (drums). Murphy, Donovan and Sherriff were allegedly members of a band called the Rev-Ups, which initially formed near Mexico but subsequently moved to the New Forest area of England. (As the Rev-Ups members have not been seen in public, it’s possible that both they and the original band are fictional).

Spratleys Japs first appeared live with a new line up in November 2016.