The Lancashire Hotpots are a comedy
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
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*Nation
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Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
band from
St Helens, (
historically
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
part of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
), England, formed in 2006.
The group perform and record songs about
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, technology and British culture, such as "He's Turned Emo", "Chippy Tea" and "eBay Eck".
The group's songs make use of
Lancashire dialect
The Lancashire dialect or (colloquially, Lanky) refers to the Northern English vernacular speech of the English county of Lancashire. The region is notable for its tradition of poetry written in the dialect.
Scope of Lancashire dialect
La ...
. Their first single, "He's Turned Emo", gained over 230,000 plays on
MySpace in March 2008, and was featured on
BBC Radio One
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
by
Colin Murray.
Their debut album, ''Never Mind The Hotpots'', was a minor hit, becoming the number one
comedy album
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
on
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
in UK, and number two in the
BBC Radio 6 Music Album Charts.
The current members are Bernard Thresher (vocals, guitar, ukulele, drums), Dickie Ticker (bell tree, mandolin, melodica, hand percussion), Bob Wriggles (bass guitar, synth bass), Billy McCartney (keyboards) Kenny Body (drums), and Ron Seal (lead guitar). McCartney and Body joined following the death in May 2010 of founder member Willie Eckerslike (real name Tom McGrath), (drums, vocals), while Seal joined in 2016.
History
Thresher and Wriggles met while working at
Knowsley Safari Park
Knowsley Safari is a safari park and tourist attraction near Prescot, England. It is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). It contributes to conservat ...
and subsequently formed their first rock band together, Korova. Whilst working at
St Helens College, Wriggles met Dickie Ticker who was producing electronic music and light-hearted remixes under the name 'Diffusion'. The three became interested in working together and, after Korova disbanded, Thresher and Wriggles joined forces with Ticker to create electronic dance music under the new name Emmet.
They first dabbled with comedy music producing a remix of the
Coldplay song "
Clocks" for Radio One DJ
Chris Moyles in the style of the German dance group
Scooter. In a play on words they named the side project Moped. The track proved popular with listeners of the show and they went on to produce several more remixes as well as playing live in clubs around the country. On the request of Moyles, they produced a remix of songs by Norman Cook aka
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...
in order to perform them at an outside broadcast in a pub in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
. Cook was a guest on the show and Moped performed the remix live on the show for him. Whilst being interviewed on the show he said he 'felt as though his whole life had flashed before him.'
Ticker then had the idea of a folk band who write songs and tell stories about modern life: not about orchards and craft fairs but online dating and modern technology. Originally intended to be called the Bolton Weavers (after folk band the
Houghton Weavers
The Houghton Weavers are an English folk music band formed in 1975, in Westhoughton, Bolton, Greater Manchester ( historically part of Lancashire), England. The current band members are David Littler ( acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, banjo ...
), the band was instead named the Lancashire Hotpots. They made their first recordings in Thresher's front room in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, after an Emmet gig at a comic convention in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, where they had played to an empty room.
McCartney was in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
band Lyons and Tigers which supported the Hotpots numerous times around the North West of England. Body was in several
St Helens-based bands including Jessica's Ghost, The Ups and Giant Root Attack. Both were enlisted to play in the band following death of original drummer, Willie Eckerslike.
Incidentally, Kenny Body briefly appeared as an audience member in their "Carry You Home" video.
Influences include the Oldham Tinkers,
George Formby,
hip hop and
John Cooper Clarke, as well as the Houghton Weavers.
Festivals
As well as touring nationwide, the band play at major music festivals playing events such as
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
,
Kendal Calling
Kendal Calling is a music & arts festival, held annually at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, Cumbria in the North West of England. It has grown from a two-day, 900 capacity event in 2006 to a 25,000 capacity 4-day music festival. Kendal C ...
,
Y Not Festival
The Y Not Festival is an annual music festival held in Pikehall, Derbyshire, United Kingdom. It first took place in 2005, at a disused quarry site as a party for around 120 people organised by Ralph Broadbent who was planning a party in the ga ...
,
Carfest
CarFest is an annual family music and motoring festival held in Cheshire and Hampshire, England. It was founded by the radio presenter Chris Evans in 2011, and raises funds for Children in Need, a British charity. The festival presents a variet ...
and
Beat-Herder Festival.
Television
Television appearances for the group have included a performance of their song "Dibnah", live on BBC2's ''
Too Much TV
''Too Much TV'' is a British television programme, that has aired on BBC Two between 29 February and 1 April 2016. It was broadcast on weeknights at 6:30 pm and is presented by Emma Bunton, Aled Jones, Sara Cox and Rufus Hound.
Presenters
Th ...
'', in March 2016.
Olympic controversy
The group were contacted by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
in August 2016 over their 2008 song "The Beer Olympics". The IOC claimed
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
rights over the word Olympics stating that Hotpots' use of the word was a breach of their trademark. To avoid further problems, the band subsequently retitled the song "The Beer International Non-Profit, Non-Governmental Sporting Quad Yearly Event".
Discography
Albums
*''Never Mind the Hotpots'' (2007)
*''Pot Sounds'' (2008)
*''The Lancashire Hotpots' Christmas Cracker'' (2009)
*''Criminal Record'' (2010)
*''Achtung Gravy'' (2011)
*''A Hard Day's Pint'' (2012)
*''Crust for Life'' (2013)
*''Golden Crates'' (2014)
*''A Fistful of Scratchcards'' (2015)
*''Now't Like the 80's'' (2016)
*''Sing-A-Longa Knees Up Jamboree'' (2018)
*''The Lancashire Hotpots Save Christmas!'' (2020)
Live albums
*''Never Mind the Hotpots – Live at the Citadel'' (2007)
*''Live at the Manchester Academy'' (2017)
DVDs
*''Never Mind the Hotpots – Live at the Citadel'' (2008)
*''Live at the Lowry'' (2014)
*''Live at the Manchester Academy'' (2017)
Singles
*"He's Turned Emo" (2007)
*"Chav" (2008)
*''The Beer Olympics'' (
EP) (2009)
*"Carry You Home" / "Chippy Tea" (2009)
*"You Could Get Hit by a Bus Tomorrow" (2011)
*"The Beer Olympics 2012" (2012)
*"The Beer Festival" (2012)
*"The Baking Song" (2013)
*"The Flappy Bird Song" (2014)
*"Mum's for Tea" (2014)
*"Cheer Up
Thom Yorke
Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...
" (2015)
*"Lancashire's for Me" / "Black Friday" (2015)
*"Dibnah" (2016)
*"Has the Bin Man Bin Mon?" (2018)
*"The Austerity Blues" (2018)
*"Lean Forwards, Lean Backwards" (2019)
*"Egg, Sausage, Chips and Beans (Ricardo Autobahn Mix)" (2020)
*"O'reet Owdoo Sithee Latter Cocker" (2021)
*"Gravy" (2021)
*"Breakfast Dinner Tea" (2022)
*"Non Competitive Football Song" (2022)
References
External links
Official websiteTracks on SoundCloudOfficial Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancashire Hotpots, The
Culture in Lancashire
British comedy musical groups
English folk musical groups
Parody musicians
British parodists
Musical groups from Lancashire
Musical groups established in 2006
People from St Helens, Merseyside