History Main / FakeBand

** To be fair, it is a really good album.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' had "Binky", a foreign band who had unexpectedly become very popular out of nowhere with their mysteriously catchy music. Their guerrilla marketing tactics caused a conflict with an actual Binky, and later on the band was revealed to ''literally'' be fake; their producers had used hologram generators and computer-synthesized vocals!
** And then we have "The Squabs" (Who performed "Boogie Woogie Christmas" in ''Arthur's Perfect Christmas''). ''Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll' gave us U-Stink and We Stink, formed within the special's premise. It should be noted, however, that Jodie Resther and and Holly Gauthier-Frankel, the [=VAs=] of Francine and Fern respectively, are accomplished musicians in real life.

* ''Webcomic/PvP''' has an occasional running gag about a no-music fake band called "Djörk" which was created when several of the regulars were feeling bored.

* The plot of ''{{Anime/Interstella5555}}'' revolves around the Crescendolls, a fake band who supposedly recorded Music/DaftPunk's "One More Time." The band is fake on more than one level, because they don't exist in real life and they aren't really who they appear to be in the film either.

* The plot of Interstella 5555 revolves around the "Crescendolls" a fake band who supposedly recorded Daft Punk's "One More Time." The band is fake on more than one level, because they don't exist in real life and they aren't really who they appear to be in the film either.

** Also [[LongList The Fillet of Soul, The Wrathful Visions, The Cockroaches, The Senate and the People of Rome, The Ultra-Violet Hippopotamus, The Thing on the Doorstep, Science and Health, Key to the Scriptures, The Glue Sniffers, King Kong and his Skull Island Dinosaurs, The Howard Johnson Hamburger, The Riot in Cell Block Ten, The House of Frankenstein, The Signifying Monkey, The Damned Thing, The Orange Moose, The Indigo Banana, The Pink Elephant, Frodo Baggins and his Ring, The Mouse That Roars, The Crew of the Flying Saucer, The Magnificent Ambersons, The House I Live In, The Sound Of One Hand, The Territorial Imperative, The Druids of Stonehenge, The Heads of Easter Island, The Lost Continent of Mu, Bugs Bunny and his Fourteen Carrots, The Gospel According to Marx, The Card-Carrying Members, The Sands Of Mars, The Erection, The Association, The Amalgamation, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Climax, The Broad Jumpers, The Pubic Heirs, The Freeks, The Windows, The Trashers (headed by Mick Jagger), The Roofs, Moses and Monotheism, Steppenwolf, Civilization and its Discontents, Poor Richard and his Rosicrucian Secrets, The Wrist Watch ,The Nova Express, The Father of Waters, The Human Beings, The Washington Monument, The Thalidomide Babies, The Strangers in a Strange Land, Dr. John the Night Tripper, The Dead Man's Hand, Joker and the One-Eyed Jacks, Peyote Woman ,The Heavenly Blues, The Golems, The Supreme Awakening, The Seven Types of Ambiguity, The Cold War, The Street Fighters, The Bank Burners, The Slaves of Satan, The Domino Theory, Maxwell and his Demons, The Acapulco Gold-Diggers, The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Second Law of Thermodynamics, Dracula and his Brides, The Iron Curtain, The Noisy Minority, The International Debt, Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex, The Cloud of Unknowing, The Birth of a Nation, The Zombies, Attila and his Huns, Nihilism, The Catatonics, The Thorndale Jag Offs, The Haymarket Bomb, The Head of a Dead Cat, The Shadow Out Of Time, The Sirens of Titan, The Player Piano, The Streets of Laredo, The Space Odyssey, The Blue Moonies, The Crabs, The Dose, The Grassy Knoll, The Latent Image, The Wheel of Karma, The Communion of Saints, The City of God, General Indefinite Wobble, The Left-Handed Monkey Wrench, The Thorn in the Flesh, The Rising Podge, SHAZAM, The Miniature Sled, The 23rd Appendix, The Other Cheek, The Occidental Ox, Ms. and the Chairperson, Cohen Cohen Cohen and Kahn, The Joint Phenomenon, The Wonders of the Invisible World, Maule's Curse, Ahab and his Amputation, The Horseless Headsmen, The Leaves of Grass, The Gettysburg Address, The Rosy-Fingered Dawn, The Wine-Dark Sea, The Net of Jewels, Here Comes Everybody, The Pisan Cantos, The Snows of Yesteryear, The Pink Dimension, The Goose in the Bottle, The Incredible Hulk, The Third Bardo, Aversion Therapy, The Irresistible Force, MC Squared, The Enclosure Acts, Perpetual Emotion, The 99-Year Lease, The Immovable Object, Spaceship Earth, The Radiocarbon Method, The Rebel Yell, The Clenched Fist, The Doomsday Machine, The Rand Scenario, The United States Commitment, The Entwives, The Players of Null-A, The Prelude to Space, Thunder and Roses, Armageddon, The Time Machine, The Mason Word, Monkey Business, The Works, The Eight of Swords, Gorilla Warfare, The Box Lunch, The Primate Kingdom, The New Aeon, The Enola Gay, The Octet Truss, The Stochastic Process, The Fluxions, The Burning House, The Phantom Captain, The Decline of the West, The Duelists, The Call of the Wild, Consciousness III, The Reorganized Church of the Latter-Day Saints, Standard Oil Of Ohio, The Zig-Zag Men, The Rubble Risers, The Children of Ra, TNT, Acceptable Radiation, The Pollution Level, The Great Beast, The Whores of Babylon, The Waste Land, The Ugly Truth, The Final Diagnosis, Solution Unsatisfactory, The Heat Death of the Universe, Mere Noise, I Opening, The Nine Unknown Men, The Horse of Another Color, The Falling Rock Zone, The Ascent of the Serpent, Reddy Willing and Unable, The Civic Monster, Hercules and the Tortoise, The Middle Pillar, The Deleted Expletive, Deep Quote, LuCiFeR, The Dog Star, Nuthin' Sirius, and Preparation H]]

* In ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', Ted's band "The Worthless Peons" is the actual ''a cappella'' band The Blanks, who have released a CD with several catchy tunes.

* In ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', Ted's band "The Worthless Peons" is the actual a cappella band The Blanks, who have released a CD with several catchy tunes.

* The Glenn Miller Band's two appearances on film were as Phil Corey's Orchestra in ''Sun Valley Serenade'' and Gene Morrison's Orchestra in ''Orchestra Wives''.

* The Ikemens in ''KamenRiderKiva'', of which Kengo (master of ThePowerOfRock) and Wataru (withdrawn hero) are a part of. Since Wataru's actor sings as part of the ''real'' band TETRA-FANG to produce the show's insert battle songs, the line between the Ikemens and TETRA-FANG is a thin one indeed.

In a few examples, the Fake Band actually releases ''[[{{Defictionalized}} real]]'' music, usually as a shameless media tie-in. For a ''really'' shameless tie-in, or if a developer wants to throw in a ShoutOut, get the music into GuitarHero or RockBand.

When the production team making a show can't afford a ''real'' band to act as a collective CelebrityStar or SpecialGuest, they just build one out of whatever actors Central Casting has handy, and pretend that they are the hot new thing in the world of the program. "Evidence" of their talent is either non-existent, or provided by anonymous studio musicians to whose performance the actors lipsync. (Rarely does the FakeBand actually have real musicians in it, save for the truly [[PostModernism postmodern]] moments when a real band is masquerading as a FakeBand -- which ''has'' been known to happen.)

In a few examples, the FakeBand actually releases ''[[{{Defictionalized}} real]]'' music, usually as a shameless media tie-in. For a ''really'' shameless tie-in, or if a developer wants to throw in a ShoutOut, get the music into GuitarHero or RockBand.

FakeBand music is either a soulless imitation of the latest trends, or (more frequently) mindless bubblegum pop. Sometimes it tries to be ''both''. Even if the fake band has some actual talent, expect SuspiciouslyAproposMusic.

* ''CaliforniaDreams'' features a FakeBand of the same name that also doubled as your standard teen comedy SixStudentClique.
* Dethklok, the protagonists' death-metal band on ''{{Metalocalypse}}''. Notable because not only did they produce real music, but ''The Dethalbum'' is the best-selling death metal album of all time, and that record was beaten by ''Dethalbum II''.

* The titular band from the cartoon ''WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats''. Note that Josie was not originally conceived as a FakeBand character -- Josie was just an Everygirl high school student in the same vein (and universe) as Archie and Jughead, but her comic title, ''She's Josie'', was clumsily retooled as a comic about a wildly popular pop band in order to boost sales enough to justify a TV series (while providing for shameless media tie-ins).
** The original Josie and the Pussycats FakeBand was a genuine fake band -- i.e. a band that existed outside the show's universe, for whom they hired three real female musicians to provide the singing voices of the cartoon characters, appear in album art and actually cut an album. They probably would've gone on to tour in-character as "Josie" and her friends had the album actually made any money. Interestingly, there are countless disparities between the band as it actually appears in the show and the band we hear in the musical numbers. Josie, for instance, is presented as the band's lead singer, but most of the lead vocals on the songs actually come from Patrice Holloway, who played Valerie Brown. Moreover, the formula used for the band's songs was a heavily studio-produced R&B sound, while Josie's band in the comic is a three-piece band with two guitars and a drummer. Almost always, fans of the show were treated to scenes of Josie's band rehearsing at home, playing in concerts or giving ''impromptu live performances'' with mysterious orchestral string sections or flutes or synthesizers coming out of nowhere.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' has an entire episode focusing on getting a FakeBand from TheEighties named "Love Handel" back together for the titular characters' parents' anniversary. Other than that episode, they're only present in cameos. Another episode featured Candace and Stacy winning a contest to spend a day with their favorite girl-rock band, The Bettys.

* ''TheSteveHarveyShow'' has Steve Hightower and the Hi-Tops. They reunite and perform during the show's early seasons. When the band breaks up for good, Steve and Cedric form another FakeBand called The Soul Teachers. Steve manages a girl group called Barely Legal, until Regina's feminist meddling causes the group to break up and pursue worthier goals.

* Two different J-Pop artists were pressed into service as the {{fake band}}s from ''{{Nana}}'' -- and a ''different'' pair of artists portrayed those bands in TheMovie. All four wound up releasing Top 10 singles.

* [[Anime/{{Beck}} Beck/Mongolian Chop Squad]], from the series of the same name. They're a [[TitleThemeTune hit in the USA]].

* The titular band from the cartoon ''JosieAndThePussycats''. Note that Josie was not originally conceived as a FakeBand character -- Josie was just an Everygirl high school student in the same vein (and universe) as Archie and Jughead, but her comic title, ''She's Josie'', was clumsily retooled as a comic about a wildly popular pop band in order to boost sales enough to justify a TV series (while providing for shameless media tie-ins).

* The video for the [[NewOrder New Order]] song "Crystal" features a fake band named "The Killers". TheKillers took their name from the band.

* Brazilian heavy metal band Massacration is composed by the FiveManBand that forms the comedy group Banana Mecânica. The band appeared as a skit back in their own MTV program, when they were known as Hermes & Renato (sharing the name with said program). They are a downright stereotype of every heavy metal cliché in the book, from being dressed on denim and [[HellBentForLeather leather]] to singing in [[strike:English]] {{Engrish}} to being [[RockMeAsmodeus devil worshippers]], but the joke made so much of a success among viewers, they have two albums out, which are pretty good, [[MST3KMantra as long as you don't take it all too seriously]]. Oh, and they also helped make heavy metal more popular among Brazilian teens, along with ''GuitarHero''. To understand what their backstory is about, check the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacration article]] on ThatOtherWiki. Think Dethklok, but in a more exaggerated (and [[RealityIsUnrealistic blatantly lying]]) way.

* Particularly mind-blowing example: In ''TheBluesBrothers 2000'', the titular band enters the "BattleOfTheBands", and has to go head to head with '[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Louisiana_Gator_Boys The Louisiana Gator Boys]]'... which is basically a collection of all the most legendary blues musicians alive at the time of filming. Among the biggest names could be mentioned B.B. King, EricClapton, Bo Diddley, Isaac Hayes and Dr. John...

* The members of The Traveling Wilburys have some impressive alter egos (Music/BobDylan, Music/GeorgeHarrison, Music/TomPetty, Music/RoyOrbison, and [[Music/ElectricLightOrchestra Jeff Lynne]]). But according to the liner notes, they're all the children of Charles Truscott Wilbury Sr by different mothers: Lucky (Harrison), Otis (Lynne), Charlie T. Jr (Petty), Lefty (Orbison) and Nelson (Harrison)).

* Members of {{GWAR}} would open their own shows as "X-Cops." Eventually, some fans got a group together and with the band's permission [[{{Defictionalization}} performed under the name]].

* There's an episode of ''HomeMovies'' in which a pair of camp counsellors named Mike and Miguel write a bunch of songs. The songs are played, and the characters voiced, by Johns Flansburgh and Linnell of Music/TheyMightBeGiants.

* TheResidents had ''The Big Bubble'', a band of Zinkenites whose "album" was the conclusion of ''The Mole Trilogy''.
* There's an episode of ''HomeMovies'' in which a pair of camp counsellors named Mike and Miguel write a bunch of songs. The songs are played, and the characters voiced, by Johns Flansburgh and Linnell of TheyMightBeGiants.
* Speaking of TheyMightBeGiants, during one of their tours, they had a very strange opening band, Sapphire Bullets, who played cover versions of the songs from the ''Flood'' album, in their entirety, in order. Made even more strange by the fact that Sapphire Bullets really WAS They Might Be Giants, disguised as a fake band, playing cover versions of ''their own songs''.

* The members of The Traveling Wilburys have some impressive alter egos (BobDylan, GeorgeHarrison]], TomPetty, RoyOrbison, and [[ElectricLightOrchestra Jeff Lynne]]). But according to the liner notes, they're all the children of Charles Truscott Wilbury Sr by different mothers: Lucky (Harrison), Otis (Lynne), Charlie T. Jr (Petty), Lefty (Orbison) and Nelson (Harrison)).

* Banjo & Sullivan from ''TheDevilsRejects'' are kind of an unusual example: None of their music actually appeared in the movie (although the characters were established as country musicians), but a supposed GreatestHits was released as a tie-in, with the music actually provided by country singer Jesse Dayton.

* An interesting variant came with late-1980s country band Billy Hill, composed of songwriters Bob [=DiPiero=] and John Scott Sherrill, former Detroit Wheels member Dennis Robbins, former Steve Earle bassist Reno Kling, and session drummer Martin Parker. They created a character named Billy Hill who was said to be the "lead singer", although that post actually went to Sherrill and Robbins.

* "The Molly Phillips Band" in ''SoWeird'', itself the offspring of the backstory "Phillips-Kane Band", which may have been a FictionalCounterpart of Music/FleetwoodMac.

* In the 2008 film ''St. Trinians,'' real-life band Girls Aloud perform the closing song, ostensibly as the school band.