Fake Bands From Movies: The Ultimate Guide
How often have you seen or heard an amazing band in a movie, only to realise that they don’t even exist in the real world?
Or, how about the times you watch a fictional band in a movie and end up thinking they sound better than loads of ‘real’ bands?
It happens a lot, doesn’t it? It happens so often, if fact, that it’s high time somebody brought all of these great bands together in one place…
The Best Bands Who Don’t Really Exist
Films and music go together like fish ‘n’ chips. Salt ‘n’ pepper. Guns ‘n’ Roses. They are a classic combo, and bands appearing in movies are the best example of these worlds colliding.
Today is all about bands in movies who don’t have a career outside of this context. So, things like Skunk Anansie showing up in Strange Days or Rammstein performing in xXx do NOT count today. We want the bands that are populated by actors, extras and storylines. They have - at most - two songs to their repertoire, and no instruments are ever plugged in. Miming is fine, in fact it’s encouraged!
The Bands at a Glance
Marvin Berry and the Starlighters (Back to the Future)
The Pinheads (also Back to the Future)
Dragon Sound (Miami Connection)
Spinal Tap (This is Spinal Tap)
The Commitments (The Commitments)
California Dreams (California Dreams)
Kathleen Turner Overdrive (High Fidelity)
Sex Bob-Omb (Scott Pilgrim vs the World)
The Orange Organics (Pugwall’s Summer)
HUNTR/X and Saja Boys (K-Pop Demon Hunters)
The Oneders (That Thing You Do)
School of Rock (School of Rock)
The Blues Brothers (The Blues Brothers)
I’ve hunted high and low for the greatest Movie Bands, and I’ve collected them all right here, starting with one famous function band who were rudely gatecrashed by a certain Marty McFly…
Marvin Berry and the Starlighters (Back to the Future)
The Starlighters were a class act for a function band, operating in the mid 1950s and led by the charismatic Marvin Berry. Playing school dances whilst awaiting their moment for stardom, they chanced a show - The Enchantment Under the Sea dance - in Hill Valley in November 1955. Towards the end of the performance, their guitarist suffered a hand injury, and was replaced at short notice by a chap named Marty McFly. McFly who was in attendance, though he was mysteriously not enrolled at the school as a student. Nevertheless, he proved to be no slacker on guitar, delivering a literally show-stopping performance on his borrowed Cherry Red Gibson ES-345.
The Pinheads (also Back to the Future)
Marty McFly might have impressed the dancegoers in 1955, but the same wasn’t true in his own time of 1985. His band The Pinheads (a Hellraiser reference?) are seen trying out for a school battle of the bands, to which they dismally fail. I don’t know what’s less believable: Michael J Fox being a school kid, or any band using Huey Lewis & The News as their audition tune?!
Fun fact, Huey Lewis himself is the judge who dismisses them. Unfair!
Dragon Sound (Miami Connection)
I have Robert in guitarguitar Glasgow to thank for this recommendation. Miami Connection is an epic no-budget action movie from 1987 that puts a rock band made up of orphans - who are also ninjas, naturally - against another gang of martial arts experts who are drug dealers.
You’re hooked already, aren’t you? I won’t say too much more, because the entire movie is available on YouTube and I feel like you should go into this nice and fresh. I will say, though, that Dragon Sound’s signature tune Friends is a genuinely excellent slice of motivational 80s rock!
Spinal Tap (This is Spinal Tap)
Spinal Tap are the ultimate example of a movie band, but they almost don’t qualify because they’ve actually toured and released records! At the time of the movie’s release though, they were a joke band made up by comedians, so they fit the bill.
Spinal Tap are responsible for so many legendary moments of good-natured stupidity that it’s impossible to list them all here. We all have our favourite moments (Derek Smalls being trapped in an onstage ‘pod’ but still ‘projecting strength’) and favourite members (it’s always going to be Nigel for me) but every minute of this mockumentary is required viewing for anyone who even looks at a guitar admiringly.
The Lone Rangers (Airheads)
Today, The Lone Rangers are acting royalty, so a reunion would be a top dollar event for sure. Check it out: you’ve got Oscar winner and Mummy botherer Brendan Fraser on guitar & vocals, Coen Brothers veteran Steve Buscemi on bass and funnyman Adam Sandler on drums! Talk about an all-star lineup?
The Lone Rangers hijacked a radio station to get people to hear their music. Ironically, the film’s theme tune was not even performed by them, instead given over to Lemmy, Ice T and Whitfield Crane from Ugly Kid Joe. What an unlikely lineup. That’s the business, boys! You can hear Brendon Fraser singing some of The Lone Rangers' other songs, such as this overlooked classic...
Hangman’s Joke (The Crow)
Before he was brutally thrown from his apartment window, resurrected by a crow and turned into an avenging ghost, guitarist Eric Draven was frontman of a band called Hangman’s Joke. Their music plays sporadically throughout this powerfully spooky vengeance flick, with extra weight added to their Joy Division-esue sound (itself an emotional hook) by the real-life tragedy that dogged the production.
Trivia: It is Brandon Lee’s voice and guitar playing that you hear in the Hangman’s Joke songs. The jury is out about the guitar playing on the rooftop scene though!
The Commitments (The Commitments)
The hardest working band in Ireland. Definitely! The Commitments took a fairly routine scenario - that of a soul music cover band in late 80s Dublin - and made it a vital and magical experience. The film was an adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s novel, itself the first part of a trilogy.
It’s a big cult movie, and loads of cover bands based on The Commitments sprang up for years afterwards, but never the original stars of the movie. Seems like a missed opportunity! Commitments guitarist Glen Hansard is a successful singer-songwriter these days, and also appeared in busking movie Once. Also, keep your peepers peeled for cameos by none other than Irish musical treasures The Corrs!
California Dreams (California Dreams)
The California Dreams were exactly what their name suggests: a dreamy group of beach-loving Californians who played soft rock amongst surf boards and sand. It was idyllic stuff, and the trials and tribulations of early 90s coastal living were always solved by the group ending each episode with a tune that summarised the storyline.
Ahh, simpler times.
Kathleen Turner Overdrive (High Fidelity)
Whilst fictional rap duo The Kinky Wizards are definitely worth a listen for the ten seconds you hear them in the movie, I reckon Jack Black’s early potential as an actor-rockstar demigod can be seen clearly towards the end of High Fidelity. The movie really has not aged well (go and watch it again if you don’t believe me), but there’s no denying Black at his most wild-eyed and gestural, performing an inspired cover of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get it On.
Sex Bob-Omb (Scott Pilgrim vs the World)
Full points for the cultural referencing here (Super Mario band name, Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt, BOSS Fuzz pedal, adversary played by Superman actor etc), with Scott Pilgrim’s film adaptation. Whether you prefer the manga over the movie is a matter of taste, but there’s no denying the fun beat-em-up video game parallels to the narrative, and of the fun that Michael Cera and co are obviously having in this hyperactive, day-glo movie that is entirely nothing like real life! Why should it be?
Citizen Dick (Singles)
Grunge-era urban romance flick Singles was achingly hip when it was released in 1992. Matt Damon fronted a Seattle band Citizen Dick, which just happened to feature some familiar faces from the current scene. Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament were Dillon’s band members, who are of course in Pearl Jam. You might have heard of them?
The Orange Organics (Pugwall’s Summer)
Younger (and older, I suppose) readers may have missed out on the Aussie phenomenon that was Pugwall’s Summer, but for those lucky souls who caught it on repeat every single summer holiday throughout childhood, it’s a gem to behold.
Pugwall’s Summer was a late 80s thing, but we didn’t get in in the UK until 1992. Pugwall (the character’s name is Peter Unwin George Wall, which explains the mad nickname) and his pals spent their idyllic summers rocking moderately in his drummer’s family garage, trying to make a go of it.
Fronted by Pugwall’s missus Jenny, The Orange Organics were made up of Bazza, Orfo and Stringbean. Pugwall had a little sister called ‘Marmaloid’ and said he “wanted to make a million dollars before breakfast”. Why these people are not living legends today is quite beyond me.
Crucial Taunt (Wayne’s World)
We all remember Wayne’s World, but how many people knew the name of Cassandra’s band? Wayne had his work cut out for him, trying to steer Cassandra away from the likes of Rob Lowe and Christopher Walken whilst still putting on his public access TV show live from Aurora, Illinois. Garth wasn’t much of a help, frankly.
Wayne’s World is filled with pretty iconic stuff: Mirth Mobiles, white Stratocasters, Bohemian Rhapsodies, Waynestock, dreams about Jim Morrison and a weird naked Indian…and it’s all about great rock tunes, too. Crucial Taunt play three songs in the movie, with the most memorable one being their cover of Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz.
HUNTR/X and Saja Boys (K-Pop Demon Hunters)
K-Pop Demon Hunters is a recent animated movie about a K-Pop group who…guess what?... secretly battle demons. Making a very tenuous reference to Miami Connection, the combo of musical groups and martial arts is clearly a potent one. In this story, HUNTR/X are the goodies, whilst the Saja Boys appear to be a wholesome boyband but are in fact nefarious demons.
Each have immense tunes, of course.
The Oneders (That Thing You Do)
The Oneders’ clever name - it’s meant to be pronounced ‘wonders’ but everybody keeps saying ‘The Oh-Needers’ - is more of a stumbling block to their success than their tunes. Indeed, this fictional band has an authentic ring of the mid 60s about them, with their one hit wonder (oh-needer?) status also accurate to the times.
Cast members were miming throughout but practised hard to at least get their hands to the correct parts of their instruments, which I know you appreciate as much as I do.
That Thing You Do isn’t exactly Citizen Kane, but this Tom Hanks starrer (he also directed it) is something of a hidden gem, and well worth checking out if you get the chance.
Drive Shaft (Lost)
Those who managed to make it through bonkers drama-marathon Lost will be well versed in the music of Drive Shaft. The fictional band - fronted by character Charlie Pace (ex-Hobbit Dominic Monaghan) - were on the verge of success with hit song You All Everybody before the Oceanic 815 aircrash stranded Chaz on a desert island, presumed dead by everyone back home.
A posthumous Greatest Hits record was released (not in real life) and a band website was set up by the showrunners (in real life) featuring cancelled tour dates. Very cool, and very on-brand for such a reality-bending TV experience.
School of Rock (School of Rock)
Jack Black’s second appearance on today’s list shows his apotheosis from actor to rock legend. In School of Rock, his character Dewey Finn does briefly have his own band (No Vacancy) until he gets the boot for being an attention seeking over-performer.
His special talents find a better home amongst a bunch of well-to-do school kids, whom he moulds into the band School of Rock after falsely impersonating their teacher.
The high point of the movie is their battle of the bands performance, playing a song written by the teenage guitarist. ‘Triumphant’ doesn’t even begin to explain it.
Rhet and Polly (Teen Witch)
If you haven’t seen this one yet, get ready for an incredible mixture of cringe and epic. This is from 1987, when Hollywood had definitely not figured out how to represent rap and hip hop culture in movies. It didn’t stop them from trying though, and this sensationally bad rap scene from Teen Witch (which was actually added in after the movie was done & tested, incredibly) stands tall as a singular moment in time.
“I’m HOT! You’re NOT! If you want to hang with me, then I’ll give it one SHOT! Top That!”
The scene is performed by actors Noah Blake and Mandy Ingber, but Noah’s voice is actually somebody else. I bet he could’ve managed fine.
The Wombles (The Wombles)
Even back in the 70s, (late 60s if you go to the books) people understood that we were slowly ruining our beautiful planet, and needed to do better at conservation. This manifested in an interesting way: via a stop motion kid’s TV show that featured animals that were…part badger, part bear? Who spoke and wore hats? And kicked about Wimbledon Common, picking up rubbish?
The Wombles were a message to reuse your stuff, appreciate nature and generally stop being a waster. They sang their own theme tune, which was written by Mike Batt, who also heroically dressed up in a homemade wobble costume when he performed on Top of the Pops. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.
The Blues Brothers (The Blues Brothers)
Finally, to the one band who inspired more rip-off tribute acts than The Commitments: the Blues Brothers. Despite being a massive cliche nowadays (heavy guy, skinny guy, suits, hats, shades, no smiling), the pair were fairly original for their 70s heyday.
Jake and Elwood were actually comedians Dan ‘Ghostbusters’ Ackroyd and James ‘Animal House’ Belushi. Now, they did have a movie of course (1980’s Blues Brothers, which is a fairly bonkers watch these days) but prior to that, they were sort of a real band. I know I’m stretching my own criteria here, but let’s be fair: they only ever performed in character during Saturday Night Live skits, so it’s not like they were out touring dive bars and selling merch!
Anyway, they are an iconic pair of movie musicians and they didn’t really exist as real people, so I reckon they belong here!
I bet you’re already humming their theme tune. Admit it!
So Many Great Fake Bands
These are some of the best examples of movie bands that I came across, but there are loads more. From the Cheetah Girls to Pink Slip from Freaky Friday, to even Zack Attack, Zack Morris’ brief band from Saved by the Bell, the list goes on - brilliantly - for ages.
There will be more to come in the future too, no doubt. This is because fictional bands are awesome, and are often more fun than the real thing. There’s no disappointment at bad albums or bust-ups, because they are never in focus long enough to develop real careers or identities.
Still, great music is great music, and at least most of these phoney bands have delivered that and more.
Was your favourite movie band on here? Who did I miss? Next time, folks! But until then, remember the words of Dragon Sound:
“Friends through eternity, loyalty, honesty/ We'll stay together through thick or thin/ Friends forever, we'll be together/ We're on top 'cause we play to win”
Words to live by indeed.
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