The Lancashire Hotpots

The Lancashire Hotpots are a comedy folk band from St Helens, (historically part of Lancashire), England, formed in 2006.[1] The group record songs about Lancashire, technology and British culture (e.g. "Chippy Tea", "He's Turned Emo", "eBay Eck").[2]

The Lancashire Hotpots
Background information
OriginSt Helens, Merseyside, England
GenresComedy, folk
Years active2006–present
LabelsFuss Records
Associated actsDiffusion, Korova, Emmet, Moped, Lyons and Tigers, The Ups
WebsiteThe Lancashire Hotpots
MembersBernard Thresher
Dickie Ticker
Bob Wriggles
Kenny Body
Billy McCartney
Ron Seal
Past membersWillie Eckerslike

The group's songs make use of Lancashire dialect. Their first single, "He's Turned Emo", gained over 230,000 plays on MySpace (as of 17 March 2008) and was featured on BBC Radio One by Colin Murray.[2] Their debut album, Never Mind The Hotpots, was a minor hit, reaching number one comedy album on iTunes in the UK, and number two in the BBC 6 Music Album Charts.[3]

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). Billy and Kenny joined following the death of founder member Willie Eckerslike whereas Ron joined in 2016.

Eckerslike (born Tom McGrath; drums, vocals) died 11 May 2010, aged 38.[4]

History

Bernard Thresher and Bob Wriggles met while working at Knowsley Safari Park 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 guise of Emmet.[5][6]

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.[7] 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 in order to perform them at an outside broadcast in a pub in Brighton. 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.'[8]

Ticker then had the idea of a folk band who write songs and tell stories about modern life:[9] 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 band was in fact named The Lancashire Hotpots. They made their first recordings in Thresher's front room in Coventry after an Emmet gig at a comic convention in Birmingham where they played to an empty room.

Billy McCartney was in Liverpool band Lyons and Tigers who supported the Hotpots numerous times around the North West of England. Kenny 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.[10] 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.[2]

Festivals

As well as touring nationwide, the band play at major music festivals playing events such as Glastonbury Festival, Kendal Calling, Y Not Festival, Carfest and Beat-Herder Festival.[11][12][13][14][15]

Television

Television appearances for the group include performing their song ‘Dibnah’ live on BBC2’s Too Much TV on 28/3/2016.[16]

Olympic controversy

The group were contacted by the International Olympic Committee in August 2016 over their 2008 song "The Beer Olympics". The IOC claimed trademark rights over the word Olympics stating that Hotpots’ use of the word was a breach of their trademark.[17] To avoid further problems, the band subsequently retitled the song "The Beer International Non-Profit, Non-Governmental Sporting Quad Yearly Event".[18]

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)
  • "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" (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)

References
  1. Aitch, Iain (19 May 2007). "Masters of parody". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
  2. Taylor, Paul (7 August 2007). "Folk's t'internet sensations". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N. Media. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
  3. "Big Interview - The Lancashire Hotpots". The Lancashire Post. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  4. "Lancashire Hotpots drummer found dead". St Helens Star. Newsquest Media Group. 13 May 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  5. "Emmet". Sthelensreporter.co.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  6. "The Lancashire Hotpots are such funny folk". Lancashire Life. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  7. "MoPed - Clocks". YouTube. 11 January 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  8. "Moped live on Radio 1". YouTube. 30 July 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  9. "Interview: The Lancashire Hotpots". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  10. Wallwork, Melanie (29 June 2015). "Folk comedy group The Lancashire Hotpots ready for sell-out gig at The Met in Bury". Bury Times. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  11. "Photographic image" (JPG). Cdn.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  12. "Kendal Calling Artists". Kendalcalling.co.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  13. "2016 Lineup - Y Not Festival". Ynotfestivals.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  14. "Carfest North 2014". Efestivals.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  15. "The Beat-Herder Festival - Dates T.B.C." Beatherder.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  16. "The Lancashire Hotpots - DIBNAH Live On BBC2". YouTube. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  17. "Lancashire Hotpots in trouble with International Olympics Committee". www.burnleyexpress.net. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  18. "The Beer Olymp*cs - A Statement". The Lancashire Hotpots. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
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