5. Josie and the Pussycats
Another girl-power band, who have appeared in various incarnations from the Archie Comics to a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, to a 2001 film, which was notorious for its product placement. The girls are more power-pop than the hard rock of Crucial Taunt but they still rock hard, and you have to love those matching leopard-print outfits. The cartoon was also notable for featuring the first regular African-American female character on a Kids’ TV show.
Josie McCoy, Melody Valentine and Valerie Brown were not only musicians, they also solved mysteries in the style of Hanna-Barbera stablemates the Scooby Doo gang. Brains, beauty and guitars – pretty much the perfect girl band.
4. Dingoes Ate My Baby
Not all great bands can actually play their instruments. Sometimes it’s all about image. And Dingoes Ate My Baby featured the guitar talents of Daniel “Oz” Osbourne, man of few words, deep thinker and possibly one of the coolest guys ever. He may only know a few chords, but does that matter when you have a great way with one-liners? Oh, and he’s a werewolf. That helps with the elusive, cool image.
In case you didn’t know, this is a band that featured in the teen-vampire series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” at their nightclub The Bronze. As nightspots go, it was more notable for the fights and the vampire attacks than the music (which tended to be on the dull side), but it was good to have a house band who could play on through the chaos without raising an eyebrow. The music was written by real-life band Four Star Mary but it’s just not the same without Oz. And if you’re wondering about the name, it was a reference to a controversial Australian murder case where a woman claimed that dingoes had dragged her baby away and eaten it. An obvious thing to name a band after…
3. Venus in Furs
1998 film “Velvet Goldmine” was all about music, so it was inevitable that it would feature a realistic band or two. The story was based heavily on David Bowie’s career, but he refused to have anything to do with the project, so the movie centered around the fictitious band Venus in Furs instead. The band were named after a Velvet Underground song, and were fronted by Brian Slade, an enigmatic Bowie-like figure in glittery catsuits.
The music was slinky, glamorous and majestic – not surprising when it was written by British rock aristocracy, like Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. It may have all been a bit derivative, but it’s a rock band you really wish was real.
2. The Rutles
The greatest band of all time – The Beatles – inspired on of the greatest fictional bands of all times – The Rutles. Devised by Monty Python‘s Eric Idle and collaborator Neil Innes, it was an affectionate parody of the music of The Beatles, with songs like “Doubleback Alley”, a pastiche of “Penny Lane”, and “Ouch”, which was a tribute to “Help”. Beatle George Harrison was involved in the project from the start, and said “the Rutles sort of liberated me from the Beatles in a way.” The other Beatles weren’t quite so enthusiastic, with Paul McCartney giving Eric Idle the cold shoulder at an awards ceremony.
The reason the parodies work so well is the obvious affection the writers have for the source material, as well as tunes that are well-written and could pass as Beatles’ originals if you don’t listen to the lyrics too hard. The mockumentary “All You Need is Cash” examined the history of Dirk, Nasty, Stig and Barry and was very funny too. They could have been the greatest fake band in the world, but their mockumentary style was a little too inspirational and another came along six years later to take the crown…
1. Spinal Tap
And that band was Spinal Tap. Loosely based on the British metal bands like Iron Maiden, this 5-piece burst onto the rock scene in the 1984 film “This is Spinal Tap”, directed by Rob Reiner. The film focused on David St Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls with occasional appearances from crazy-eyed keyboardist Viv Savage and an ever-changing drummer. Classic ‘ Tap moments include the tiny version of Stonehenge, the band getting lost on the way to the stage and the amps that went all the way up to 11 (because sometimes 10 just isn’t loud enough). The songs rocked, the humor was keenly-observed and the outfits were …edgy. A worthy winner of the “Best Fictional Rock Band Ever” title.
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