Watching this video reminded me of how fucking hilarious Bad News was. Any self respecting fan of "The Young Ones" knows full well who Bad News were.
Or they should.
Adrian Edmondson a.k.a."Vim Fuego" a.k.a. "Vyvyann", Rik Mayall a.k.a "Colin Grigson" a.k.a. "Rik", and Nigel Planner a.k.a. "Den Dennis" a.k.a. "Neil" star with "Spyder Webb" in their version of "This is Spinal Tap". But whereas "Tap" were a mock-English take on the heavy metal musician everyman, Bad News were the real deal.
Sort of...
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| Neil - "Hole in My Shoe" 7" single |
I have never found a copy of either of these (hint-hint), and believe me, I've tried.
There was at one point, a copy of the "hole in My Shoe" 7" on the wall at Hymies. When I asked how much it was gonna take to bring it home with me, the woman who was working said she had just found Neil at a recent record show, and felt it was a little too soon to part with him. And I would see him every time I was in the store. I haven't been to the new store yet, (I know, bad customer!) so I'm not sure if he still has a home on the wall.
If so, maybe now she'd be willing? Hmmmmm...
Meanwhile... when we last left our Heroes, the band (Bad News) started out as an episode of "The Comic Strip Presents",(called "Bad News Tour") in 1983. An English sort of 1/2 hour skit show (each episode was it's own different skit, as opposed to many skits per episode) and it was so popular that "The Comic Strip" did a sequel "More Bad News", which is available on video.
In the film, the band signs a record contract and plays the Festival at Castle Donnington which they did for real. In the film, they interview proper "Rock Stars", the likes of Joe Elliot, Ozzy Osbourne, even Lemmy, about their thoughts on Bad News. Some of which, are "Shit Sandwich" hilarious.
A full length album and a single was released in 1987. The single "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen went to #44 on the British charts. A second single, "Cashing In On Christmas", was also on the album. The single the band was hyping in the film "Warriors of Gengis Kahn, was awesome. In Fact, I wish a copy of the video that they show them filming for it existed. (it was part of the plot, not a real video)
"No Dennis, you've got to look MEAN..."
It took me a while to find this album on vinyl, but I did have the C.D. (which has a bunch of bonus material) at the time that I attended the world premiere of "Drop Dead Fred", a movie starring Rick Mayall, and filmed here in Minneapolis. Because of the fact that it was filmed here, this is where they had the 'World Premiere" ("Word" being probably about seven cities...) and I forget how, but I scored a pair of tickets.
Maybe I bought them...
This movie is fucking hilarious, and is worth checking out if you haven't. The event itself was a little too bourgeois for my liking, but Rick Mayall was about to put an end to the stiff discomfort I was experiencing .
I saw him from across the bar and he looked just like I thought he would. Bored, tired, and struggling to put on what were not very convincing smiles for all the weird fuckers in Minnesota who think they're king shit of the film society.
Most of which I think would would return home sticky, broke, and confused if they ever actually set foot in Hollywood, or anywhere else for that matter.
He seemed relieved, almost excited.
And what seemed to me to be, unexpectedly happy.
After a couple of beers and a thorough Q&A session about Bad News, The Young Ones, and the film we had just seen, I asked that he sign my C.D.
"Do you want me to sign it Collen Grigson?" he asked me in the same tone of the character.
"Sure." I told him.
He signed it "Colen Grigson" and Rick Mayall.
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| "Keep on Rockin Mike! Colin Grigson Rick Mayall" |
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