Fast Food Rockers

Infobox musical artist
Name = Fast Food Rockers
Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born =
Died =
Origin =
Instrument =
Genre = Bubblegum pop, Novelty
Occupation =
Years_active = 2003-2004
Label = Better The Devil Records
Associated_acts = The Honeytraps
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members = Martin Rycroft Lucy Meggitt Ria Scott
Notable_instruments =

The Fast Food Rockers were a British pop group, known for their novelty music. The band met at a fast-food convention in Folkestone. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_3188000/3188922.stm]

Their most successful hit was their 2003 release, "The Fast Food Song," originally an American children's song parodying the traditional folk melody "A Ram Sam Sam". A Dutch version of the song, "De Pizzadans," by DJ Eric Dikeb had been a hit in Europe in 2002 for the Belgian band Dynamite. It also topped charts with the German version, "Burgerdance," by DJ Otzi. [http://www.emimusicpub.com/worldwide/artist_profile/eric-dikeb_profile.html]

The Fast Food Rockers' version, adapted by Mike Stock and Sandy Rass, was the first release of independent record label Better The Devil Records. The song managed to reach #2 in the UK charts in June 2003 (beaten to the top spot by Evanescence's Bring Me to Life) despite the criticism of cultural analysts who lamented the "collapse of culture into product placement." [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,986791,00.html] The single would go on to sell 150,000 copies in the UK and was in the Year-End Top 40.

The song mentions by name "Pizza Hut", "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and "McDonald's". It is believed that, although none of the companies gave permission for their names to be used, they declined to take action since the song mentions them in a positive way. This in sharp contrast to the attitude taken by Mattel against the song "Barbie Girl" by Aqua in 1997, whose legal action, and resultant negative publicity may also have contributed to the fast food firms' decision not to act.

The band had its own mascot, a giant blue dog called "Hotdog" who followed the band around, and appeared in all three music videos.

Their second single, "Say Cheese (Smile Please)" reached #10 and showed the first signs that people were beginning to think the band's novelty was wearing off.

In 2003, there were rumours that the band didn't sing on their own records. However, in an interview with CBBC Newsround, Lucy stated she "trained for three years at a performing arts school, Ria's been in the business for a long time, Martin's been in the business for a long time and we're very proud to say we do sing on [this] song".

After their attempt at a Christmas single only reached #25, and an album that failed to make the top 200, their management company decided to drop the band in March 2004.

After the split, the band members found jobs outside of the music industry. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_3586000/3586559.stm] and in 2006, former band member Martin Rycroft was poached from his bar tending job, to take part in the Channel 4/E4 show, "Boys Will Be Girls" [http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/B/boyswillbegirls/index.html] , where three former male popstars (including Russ Spencer from Scooch) tried to convincingly create a new girl band by former Brother Beyond star, Nathan Moore. Martin has since returned to his bar-tending job.

Discography

Album

Singles

ingles

External links

Band

* [http://www.myspace.com/thefastfoodrockers Fast Food Rockers] at MySpace

Band Members

* [http://www.martin.rycrofts.co.uk Martin Rycroft's Official Homepage]
* [http://www.myspace.com/missriascott Ria Scott's Official Myspace page]

Songwriters & Producers

* [http://www.mikestockmusic.com Mike Stock Official Website]