The Wankers Bring Britpop to The States Just In Time For Oasis 2025 Reunion
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 8, 2024 / If you're amongst the myriad of music fans who are sick and tired of paying $300 a pop - not including the Ticketmaster fee- to see your favorite original artist, and you're sick and tired of seeing the same cover bands playing Don't Stop Believing and Living on a Prayer, over and over everywhere you go, and you've plum lost track of how many Yacht Rock tributes are out there, have no fear, The Wankers are here. And they just might save the day.
Combining Austin Powers'-style outfits, with faux Brit banter, and an incredibly diverse repertoire, New Jersey's ‘The Wankers' have only been around a year, but -for better or worse - they're starting to turn heads.
Fronted by vocalist/guitarist David Fagin (aka Damon Gallagher), this surprisingly fun quintet, who bill themselves as ‘The Best of Britpop and Beyond' will suck you in and have you singing along, even if you're not entirely familiar with the genre.
Just ask the nearly three thousand people they recently played to at Musikfest, Bethlehem, who came to see a Beatles tribute, then wound up gobbling up every piece of Wankers merch they could get their hands on. "It was quite amazing," says the band's co-founder, bassist Helena Holmes (aka ‘Hellie O'Riordan). "Even folks who weren't familiar with Keane, Stereophonics, Supergrass, etc., were going ballistic. I think it has to do with the fact we don't just stand there and play our instruments. We put on a show. A very fun and funny show. We're kind of like a combination of Spinal Tap and Monty Python. And our onstage fights make Oasis look like choirboys."
Performing the requisite classics from U.K. supergroups such as Oasis, Blur, Coldplay, The Cranberries, etc., The Wankers take you on a ride that not only encompasses the best the 90s had to offer, these pretentious pretend Brits also rock 80s New Wave legends like The Cure, The Smiths, Echo and The Bunnymen, Duran Duran, - even Wham and Bananarama.
Big fans of British humor, i.e., Monty Python, Benny Hill, Ricky Gervais, etc, Fagin and co. immediately settled on the name ‘The Wankers' as a tongue-in-cheek tip o' the cap to the wry, English jab. However, the band had no idea the amount of blowback they'd receive from buyers in the states. After all, wanker is primarily an English term.
"We knew it would be a little controversial," says Fagin, "but we didn't expect so many U.S. bookers to be so offended. I mean, compared to what we say to each other here in the states in traffic, ‘wanker' seems like a compliment. It's so PG-13."
A former artists' rights ‘Spartacus,' Fagin is no stranger to controversy. In the early 00's his band, The Rosenbergs, was credited as the first to go viral after they turned down a horrifically bad deal with Universal Music's "Farmclub", a start-up label and TV show, and precursor to American Idol.
Fast forward almost a quarter-century, past partnerships with Napster and Robert Fripp, tours with Echo and The Bunnymen and Modern English, past opening slots for The Strokes and Duran Duran, past an appearance on Howard Stern w/ Gene Simmons, past his testimony on Capitol Hill alongside Alanis Morrisette on behalf of artists nationwide, past being Elmo's assistant on Sesame Street (yup), and past a catchy Beatlesque theme song for Jenna Elfman's last sitcom for CBS, Fagin says he's finally found his true calling - that of a Wanker.
"It's funny," says Fagin, "the folks who love the name the most are Brit and Irish ex-pats, while the ones who have a problem with it are 99% American. U.S. buyers who have no issue booking The Cherry Poppin' Daddies, go home to a six year-old who sings Cardi B. word for word. Or worse, that ‘My Neck, My Back' song. I take my hat off to the Daddies. They held their ground through a years-long shitstorm and now play every major theater in ‘Main Street USA'. If buyers can get used to a name that references pedophilia and incest, accepting The Wankers shouldn't be that hard. Besides, if you're offended by the name, you'll probably hate our show, anyway.
"Outside of being one of the most fun and talented bands we've seen, The Wankers are doing something no one else on the tribute scene is doing: A tribute to Britpop and New Wave. Yes, we've encountered our fair share of pushback from buyers on the name, but everyone who sees them loves them. It's just a matter of time," says Rick Horvath, the band's agent at Providence Music Group. The upcoming Oasis reunion, which hits the U.S. in 2025 shouldn't hurt, either.
In spite of their controversial name (Fagin jokes they're thinking of changing their name to "Not The Wankers"), the faux-Brit quintet are quickly garnering a devoted following of ‘Wankettes' who arrive at every show donned in their posh, Wanker tees. The Cure's Reeves Gabrels and Haircut 100's Nick Heyward are not immune from being ‘wanked,' either. The band recently gave the lads complimentary tees following their respective NJ shows (pics available on their Facebook and Instagram).
Mix the name, the outfits and the camp in with, according to him, Fagin's uncanny ability to parrot the stylings of Liam Gallagher, Thom Yorke, Richard Ashcroft, Robert Smith, even Morrissey, and you have yourself one heck of an entertaining night.
The band's tongue-in-cheek humor is obviously not for everyone, but if you fancy classic British rock and pop, DVR every episode of The Office, and have no issue with a band named after a mild, English slight, do yourself a favor and drop a few quid on The Wankers next time they're in town. The cheeky lads and their lovely lass will be performing at the legendary World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, New Year's Eve eve.
CONTACT:
StardustBlue Media
Karen Brown
[email protected]
(917) 217-2165
https://www.thewankers.net/
SOURCE: The Wankers
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