Fast_Food_Rockers Knowpia

Fast Food Rockers
Fast Food Rockers
Origin	Folkestone, England
Genres	Bubblegum pop, novelty
Years active	2003–2004
Labels	Better the Devil
Past members	Martin Rycroft; Lucy Meggitt; Ria Scott

Fast Food Rockers were a British pop group known briefly for their novelty music. The band met at a fast-food convention in Folkestone in the summer of 2003.^[1]

Career edit

Their most successful hit was their 2003 release "Fast Food Song", which parodies the traditional folk melody "A Ram Sam Sam". The Dutch DJ Eric Dikeb claims to have made a Dutch song out of that traditional melody in 2001, called "Pizzahaha", explaining that at that moment, he was taking part in the Dutch television show Big Diet, in which contestants had to lose as much weight as they could over a few months. Dikeb further claims to have come up with the idea to use the names of his favourite fast-food restaurants in the song. Pizzahaha did not make it to the Dutch charts, but in Belgium the band Dynamite made a big hit out of it, with a Belgian version called "De Pizzadans". It also topped the charts in Germany, called "Burgerdance", by DJ Ötzi.^[2]

The Fast Food Rockers' version, adapted by Mike Stock, Steve Crosby and Sandy Rass, was the first release of independent record label Better The Devil Records. In June 2003 it reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart, despite the criticism of cultural analysts who lamented the "collapse of culture into product placement".^[3] The single would go on to sell 150,000 copies in the UK, and was in the year-end Top 40.^[4] Their second single, "Say Cheese (Smile Please)", reached #10.

After their attempt at a Christmas single only reached #25, and an album that failed to make the charts, the group disbanded in March 2004. After the disbandment, the band members found non-music-related jobs,^[5] and in 2006, former band member Martin Rycroft left his job as a bartender to take part in the Channel 4/E4 show Boys Will Be Girls,^[6] 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.

In 2003, rumours surfaced that the band did not sing on their own records. However, in an interview with CBBC Newsround, Meggitt 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".^[1]

Discography edit

Albums edit

Title	Details
It's Never Easy Being Cheesy	Released: 17 November 2003 Label: Better the Devil Formats: Digital download, CD

Singles edit

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
Title	Year	UK ^[7]	AUS ^[8]	SCO ^[9]	Album
"Fast Food Song"	2003	2	56	1	It's Never Easy Being Cheesy
"Say Cheese (Smile Please)"		10	-	10	It's Never Easy Being Cheesy
"I Love Christmas"		25	-	22	Non-album single

References edit

^ ^a ^b "CBBC Newsround | MUSIC | Full interview: Fast Food Rockers". BBC News. 13 October 2003. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
^ "Emimusicpub.com". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
^ Stuart Jeffries (28 June 2003). "Stuart Jeffries: Pizza pop | Global". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
^ "ChartsPlus YE2003" (PDF). ChartsPlus. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^ "CBBC Newsround | MUSIC | The Fast Food Rockers are axed". BBC News. 31 March 2004. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
^ "Channel4.com". Archived from the original on 7 March 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ "FAST FOOD ROCKERS | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 100.
^
Peak positions on the Scottish Singles Chart:
- For "Fast Food Song": "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100: 22 June 2003 - 28 June 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- For "Say Cheese (Smile Please)": "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100: 12 October 2003 - 18 October 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- For "I Love Christmas": "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100: 21 December 2003 - 27 December 2003". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2019.