The Flames Fataar's first childhood band was
the Flames, a band from his birthplace of
Durban, South Africa. He joined the band at the age of nine. The band made several recordings as well as touring all over southern Africa and before long they became quite popular in South Africa. By the time he was twelve years old he had already won the honour of being voted as the "Best Rock Drummer in South Africa". In 1968, the band moved to London and began touring in the United Kingdom. On one of their tours, they were spotted by a founding member of
The Beach Boys,
Carl Wilson. He was impressed by their talent and offered to sign them to the Beach Boys new record label,
Brother Records. The band moved to Los Angeles and they recorded and released their 1970 album
The Flame with Carl Wilson producing the album.
The Beach Boys The Flames disbanded in late 1970, and Fataar and his former Flame bandmate
Blondie Chaplin were recruited by the Beach Boys, in March 1972.
The Rutles In 1978, Fataar starred in
All You Need Is Cash, a
mockumentary film known more commonly as
The Rutles, a spoof on the real life history of
the Beatles, which was a follow-up to a
Saturday Night Live television sketch. The Beatlesque music for the Rutles was written by
Neil Innes, formerly of the
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and musical collaborator with
Monty Python. Fataar's character was Stig O'Hara, the band's guitarist (analogous to
George Harrison). He speaks no dialogue in the film, being sent up as "the quiet one" in it. Fataar's then wife,
Penelope Tree, also appeared in
All You Need Is Cash, as Stig's wife, Penelope. The band's two records,
The Rutles and
Archeology, featured him playing guitar, bass, sitar, drums, and singing. He would also go on to record a single with
Eric Idle as 'Dirk & Stig' titled, "Mr. Sheene" / "Ging Gang Goolie". == Collaborations ==