The Poppy Fields

Last updated

The Poppy Fields
The Alarm 45 RPM promo.jpg
Promotional release of "45 RPM"
Background information
Also known asThe Wayriders
Origin Wales
Genres Pop rock
LabelsSnapper Music

The Poppy Fields were a fictitious teenage group, invented in 2004 by the Welsh rock band the Alarm. The Poppy Fields scored a hit with the release of "45 RPM" that would become the Alarm's first hit in over a decade. Mike Peters revealed the truth on live radio as Radio 1 was conducting a 2004 broadcast of their then current chart countdown. The story was highlighted by international news outlets with several headlines being published globally.

Contents

Immediately after exposing the hoax, the music video for "45 RPM" was replaced by an edited version that included the Alarm's members alongside the hyped members of the Poppy Fields. [1] Peters had enticed a young band called the Wayriders to lip-sync the song for the music video while posing as members of the nonexistent group. [2] The events surrounding this hoax have spawned the cinematic release of Vinyl , its soundtrack, the Alarm Vinyl Tour 2013, and the subsequent announcement of a 2013 tour by the Alarm in support of the soundtrack. [1]

Hoax

In an interview with BBC News Online, Mike Peters said The Alarm were not taken seriously by radio disk jockeys in 2004 because of their outdated image. Peters said, "The Alarm as an entity have been going for 20-odd years and history can go against you – we wanted to break the barrier down." He continued by saying that "[The Alarm members] wanted to stir up the water a little bit, break the mould" and have the song judged on its own merits and musical value, instead of judgement being based on the perception of the band. [3] Peters told The Guardian : "We noticed that a lot of bands suffer when they attempt comebacks because people generally don't believe they can ever be as good as they once were. We wanted to make sure we are judged purely on the strength of the music, and not by our old hairstyles." [4]

The Poppy Fields

With the Alarm's decision to perpetrate the hoax, Mike Peters gained the cooperation of a group of young musicians from Chester called the Wayriders [3] to lip-sync the Alarm's material and pass it off as their own. The first release by the fictitious band was promoted as a cover of the Alarm's 1983 hit, "68 Guns". [5] In fact it was the Alarm all along, and instead of a cover, it was a re-released version. The demo enticed executives in music production to record an album from the band called In The Poppy Fields which saw its advance release of the single, "45 RPM" entering Britain's top 30 chart. Critical reviews of the band echoed the promoters' official introduction of the band as a tribute to bands like Sex Pistols and the Clash, with even more modern acts like Rancid being compared. [6] The truth of the song's origin was not revealed until after the song entered the charts at number 24, [7] a credit originally earned by the Poppy Fields from unsuspecting patrons who had accepted the act as fresh and new. [8]

Vinyl

Filming for Vinyl began in the Denbighshire resort town of Rhyl in August 2010. [7] Vinyl's soundtrack features new songs by the Alarm specifically composed for the film including the cinematic anthem "Free Rock and Roll", recorded by the Alarm with Vinyl's leading actor Phil Daniels, [9] in a song with the Alarm's lead vocalist and founding member, Mike Peters. The song was released as an EP single on 28 January 2013 in tandem with a national television campaign featuring both the film's cast and members of the Alarm. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Album</span> Collection of audio recordings

An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape, or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records (78s) collected in a bound book resembling a photo album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33+1⁄3 rpm.

The Poppy Family was a Canadian psychedelic pop group based in Vancouver. They had a number of international hit records in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Smithereens</span> American rock band

The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio, Jim Babjak, Mike Mesaros, and Dennis Diken. This original lineup continued until 2006, when Mesaros left the band and Severo Jornacion took over on bass guitar until Mesaros' return in 2016. After DiNizio died in 2017, the band continued performing live shows as a trio with various guest vocalists.

Sara Sugarman is a Welsh actress and filmmaker whose work includes Disney's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004) and Very Annie Mary (2001). She has also appeared in films including Dealers (1989) and Those Glory Glory Days (1983).

<i>Double Platinum</i> (Kiss album) 1978 greatest hits album by Kiss

Double Platinum is the first greatest hits album by the American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1978. Many of the songs on Double Platinum were remixed and differed from their original versions: in the case of "Strutter," it was re-recorded with a slight disco beat and dubbed "Strutter '78." Other songs had sections completely removed, while the beginning of "Black Diamond" was repeated at the end, fading out at the start of the first verse and giving the song a "wrap around" feel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Alarm</span> Welsh rock band

The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Outfield</span> British pop band

The Outfield were an English pop and rock band formed in London in 1984. The band achieved success in the mid-1980s and are best remembered for their hit single "Your Love". The band's lineup consisted of guitarist John Spinks, vocalist and bassist Tony Lewis, and drummer Alan Jackman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Stevenson (musician)</span> British guitarist

James Stevenson is an English punk/alternative rock guitarist, at one time a member of the Alarm, Gene Loves Jezebel, Gen X, the Cult, Holy Holy, the International Swingers and Chelsea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Peters (musician)</span> Welsh musician

Michael Leslie Peters is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer of the Alarm. After the band split up in 1991, Peters wrote and released solo work, before reconstituting the Alarm in 2000. Additionally, he is co-founder of the Love Hope Strength Foundation. Between 2011 and 2013, Peters was the vocalist for Big Country as well as the Alarm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Light Up My Life (song)</span> 1977 single by Debby Boone

"You Light Up My Life" is a ballad written by Joseph Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack album to the 1977 film of the same title. The song was lip synced in the film by its lead actress, Didi Conn. The best-known cover version of the song is a cover by Debby Boone, the daughter of singer Pat Boone. It held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks in 1977 and topped Record World magazine's Top 100 Singles Chart for a record 13 weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boogie Oogie Oogie</span> 1978 single by A Taste of Honey

"Boogie Oogie Oogie" is a song by the American band A Taste of Honey from their 1978 self-titled debut album. Released as their debut single in the summer of 1978, the song became an extremely popular crossover disco hit. It topped the American pop, soul and disco charts, and it became the first certified platinum single in the history of Capitol Records for selling over two million copies. It also became one of the most recognizable songs from the disco era. The lyrics call out to listeners to "boogie oogie oogie, till you just can't boogie no more".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You</span> 1998 single by NSYNC

"(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You" is a song by American boy band NSYNC. It was released as the third single from their self-titled debut album in the U.S. While some of the previous singles were released in Europe, this one was not, and subsequently only charted in Australia and the US, reaching number 46 and number eight respectively. The single included a live version of Christopher Cross song "Sailing", as well as a limited edition postcard. Some versions of the single included the track's video. The radio version of this song was featured on both their first and third compilation albums: Greatest Hits (2005) and The Essential *NSYNC (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echo & the Bunnymen discography</span>

The discography of Echo & the Bunnymen, an English post-punk band which formed in 1978, consists of thirteen studio albums, ten live albums, nine compilation albums, eight extended plays (EP), and thirty singles on Zoo Records; WEA and its subsidiaries, Korova, Sire Records, London Records and Rhino; Cooking Vinyl; and Ocean Rain Records, as well as five music VHS/DVDs, and twenty-two music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">45 RPM (song)</span> 2004 single by The Poppy Fields (The Alarm)

"45 RPM" is a song written by Mike Peters and Steve Grantley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixty Eight Guns</span> 1983 single by The Alarm

"Sixty Eight Guns" is a song by Welsh rock band the Alarm that was released as a single in August 1983 and later appeared on the group's debut album Declaration in February 1984. It was written by Alarm members Mike Peters and Eddie MacDonald.

<i>Declaration</i> (The Alarm album) 1984 studio album by The Alarm

Declaration is the debut studio album from The Alarm. It was released on February 13, 1984 by IRS Records. The album was released initially on vinyl and cassette. A CD version was released in the U.S. by June 1984. An extended re-master version was released in 2000, including extra tracks.

<i>Eye of the Hurricane</i> (The Alarm album) 1987 studio album by The Alarm

Eye of the Hurricane is the third studio album by the Welsh band the Alarm, released in October 1987 on I.R.S. Records. The album was initially released on vinyl LP and cassette, reaching number 23 in the UK charts and number 77 in the US charts. A CD version was released later the same year and in 2000 an extended re-mastered version was released, including extra tracks.

<i>The Owl and the Pussycat</i> (soundtrack) 1970 soundtrack album by Barbra Streisand, George Segal, and Blood, Sweat & Tears

The Owl and the Pussycat is the soundtrack album to the 1970 American film of the same name. Released by Columbia Records, it features film dialogue by Barbra Streisand and George Segal recorded over music performed by American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. The album's five tracks were all written by Buck Henry, produced by Thomas Z. Shepard.

Vinyl is a 2012 British comedy film written and directed by Sara Sugarman. It is based on the true story of Mike Peters and The Alarm who in 2004 released the single "45 RPM" under the name of a fictitious band "The Poppy Fields".

This is the discography of Welsh rock band the Alarm.

References

  1. 1 2 The Alarm's rock n roll scam coming to cinemas soon, Music-News.com, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  2. ↑ The Alarm - Music Biography, Credits and Discography, AllMusic.com, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  3. 1 2 Ageing punks' single stunt a hit, BBCNews.com - Entertainment, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  4. ↑ The Alarm - In The Poppy Fields, BBCNews.com, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  5. ↑ The Poppy Fields band, The encyclopedia of popular music, Volume 1, Page 95, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  6. ↑ The Poppy Fields - 45 RPM (Pinnacle), MusicOMH.com, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  7. 1 2 Filming starts in Rhyl on movie based on band's hoax, BBCNews.com, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  8. ↑ The Alarm, ElevenThirtyRecords.com, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  9. ↑ Keith Allen and Phil Daniels star in Alarm hoax movie, BBCNews.com, Retrieved 26 February 2013
  10. ↑ The Alarm – Vinyl Tour 2013!, TheAlarm.com, Retrieved 26 February 2013
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.