Our fake bands are in the Top 25

Rolling Stone rates two Irish movie groups

MUSIC magazine Rolling Stone has published a list of its Top 25 greatest fictional movie bands – and two of them are Irish.

The punk preteens of Sing Street come in at No. 25 in the chart, while The Commitments proved a big hit at No. 7. They sit alongside other talented ‘fake’ artists including Marvin Berry & the Starlighters (Back To The Future), The Soggy Bottom Boys (O Brother, Where Art Thou?), The Barden Bellas (Pitch Perfect) and The Blues Brothers. No. 1 on the list is Spinal Tap. Sing Street’s music director Gavin Glass has revealed the secret of the band’s success. He previously told The Diary: ‘I had all the actors for six weeks before we started shooting, so my job was to teach them how to play their instruments so that it would look like they were playing as a band. With the exception of Ferdia, who played the lead, all the lads were starting from scratch so I had to teach them how to hold a guitar and look like they were playing with attitude.’

The Commitments, made in 1991, also featured an unknown cast but many of them were musicians and were cast for their musical rather than their acting ability. Dick Massey played the first of the two drummers in the movie and went on to tour with his own tribute band, Stars of The Commitments, for years after the film’s release. These days he makes his living as Coldplay’s tour manager and he spoke to The Diary from the US this week: ‘Back in 1990 when we were making The Commitments, who’d have ever thought people would still be talking about us 25 years later, not to mind being heralded as one of the best movie bands ever?

‘It’s a great accolade for everyone involved. Thank you Rolling Stone magazine! I wonder will we still be in the Top 10 for the 50th anniversary?’