In
the rock 'n' roll music hall of fame honoured
places are reserved for SPINAL TAP and BAD NEWS,
hilarious, terrible bands who could at least
vaguely play their instruments.
But when you’re running for an election you need
the kind of gimmick that not even they could
provide……
In Brighton, Sussex, England, ‘Pope Jim,’ party
organiser and founder member of the local branch
of spoof religion 'Church of the Subgenius'
faced a dilemma. Attempting to top his Subgenius
Party’s 674 votes in the previous election under
the slogan ‘Cannibalise Legalists’, he
floundered around for campaign ideas until a
chance meeting with the 2004 winner of the UK
Air Guitar Championships.
Proceeding to adapt the holy Subgenius ‘Dobbs
Heads’ into the style of 70’s US glam-rockers
KISS, Jim and church members engaged in weeks of
arguments, power struggles and beer fuelled
rehearsals, to finally produce a four piece
line-up and a name for a ground breaking and
world first... the air guitar band: PISS.
But not even the faithful flock of Subgenii
could have predicted what happened next. Four
weeks before the election, PISS premiered in a
packed house at Pope Jim’s T-shirt printing
business, culminating in a food fight of
legendary proportions. Word spread quickly as
PISS supported Pope Jim’s political aspirations
at clubs and parties around town. Fame beckoned, and PISS played to an astonished
sell-out crowd at the ICA, at festivals all over
the country, and twice as headline act in the UK
Air Guitar Championships.
Championed by the late, great Radio 1 DJ John Peel,
it was around this time that a record company
came calling. History was made as PISS became
the first air guitar band ever to sign a
recording contract. At the signing ceremony
hundreds of fans brought streets to a standstill
in central Brighton, carrying placards and
screaming their adulation: “PISS! PISS! PISS!”
But as the band headed to the studio to record their
first e.p ‘A PIECE OF PISS’ the strain began to
show. Though lacking any instruments or
discernible talent, classic internecine warfare
nonetheless broke out among the members. Whilst
the record was finished and released, the band
split up amidst bitter acrimony.
And this might just be an idea for a 'mockumentary,' except that it actually
happened. And all of it was filmed on
DV, from start to finish, by local film maker
Cave Ellson.
Combining
new interviews with Ellson's original footage,
URINAL TAP will recount one of the funniest and
most bizarre success stories in the annals of
rock.
Running time:
37 mins. for 40 min. slot - Format DV - 720 x 576
