The Fools are a

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

rock band best known for the party atmosphere of their live performances and tongue-in-cheek original songs, covers and

parodies A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can als ...

History

Hailing from

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, the band was previously named "The Rhythm A's", where future

Nervous Eaters The Nervous Eaters, one of Boston's first punk rock / rock and roll bands with Steve Cataldo on vocals and guitar, Robb Skeen on bass, and Jeff Wilkinson on drums. Forming in 1973 they had used the name some years earlier, but had not performed li ...

' Steve Cataldo, Robb Skeen, and Jeff Wilkinson were joined by singer Mike Girard and guitarist Rich Bartlett. By 1976, Girard and Bartlett teamed up with Stacey Pedrick (guitar), Doug Forman (bass), and Chris Pedrick (drums), becoming The Fools. In 1979, the band released "Psycho Chicken", a parody of

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

' "

Psycho Killer "Psycho Killer" is a song by American rock band Talking Heads, released on their debut studio album '' Talking Heads: 77'' (1977). The group first performed it as the Artistics in 1974. The band also recorded an acoustic version of the song fe ...

", and it was an immediate hit on

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

radio stations. ''Sold Out'' review,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Accessed on line December 6, 2007. The group followed it up with "It's a Night for Beautiful Girls," which peaked at #67 on the Billboard charts.

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

signed the band and sent them on a U.S. tour with

The Knack The Knack was an American power pop band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1978 by Doug Fieger (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Berton Averre (lead guitar, backing vocals), Prescott Niles (bass) and Bruce Gary (drums). Spearheaded by the succes ...

.Great shows far and near
''Sentinel & Enterprise'' (Fitchburg, Massachusetts), July 24, 2003. Shortly after, they recorded their debut album, ''Sold Out''. In 1981, the band released their second album ''Heavy Mental'', which featured a cover of

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

's " Running Scared" that reached #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. That year, The Fools were the opening band for

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

on their ''Fair Warning'' tour. Shortly before being dropped by

, Chris Pedrick departed and was replaced by drummer Leo Black. Shortly after, Forman decided to leave, his void filled by bassist Joe Holaday. In 1985, The Fools released ''World Dance Party'' on the independent label PVC. Four of the album's songs - "World Dance Party", "Life Sucks...Then You Die", "She Makes Me Feel Big", and a remake of

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

's " Do Wah Diddy" - received considerable radio airplay throughout New England and the video for "Do Wah Diddy" was shown extensively on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. In 2003, after seven years of part-time duty, the band returned to a full schedule. Bassist Lou Spagnola had replaced Joe Holaday, who by then was working with the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

tribute band

Beatlejuice Bradley Edward Delp (June 12, 1951 – March 9, 2007) was an American musician who was the original lead singer and frontman of the rock band Boston. He began collaborating with leader Tom Scholz in 1970 and appeared on every album except '' Wa ...

. Holaday does, however, continue to make occasional appearances with the band. In 2010, Mike Girard's book ''Psycho Chicken & Other Foolish Tales'' published by Sons of Liberty Publishers hit the stores, which outlined the sometimes hilarious history of the band. The band continues to tour today. In February 2012, Lou Spagnola left the band and was then replaced by Bassist Eric Adamson.

Discography

;Albums * ''Sold Out'',

EMI America EMI America Records was launched in 1978 by EMI as their second label in the United States after Capitol Records, relying on Capitol only for pressing, distribution, and international liaison. In 1987, EMI America merged with Manhattan Records, ...

, 1980 * ''First Annual Official Unofficial April Fools Day Live Bootleg'' (

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

), EMI America, 1980 * ''Heavy Mental'', EMI America, 1981 * ''Out Of My Head'', Invasion Records, 1983 * ''World Dance Party'', PVC, 1985 * ''Wake Up It's Alive'' (Live), PVC, 1988 * ''Rated XXX'', Ouch Records, 1990 * ''World Dance Party Too'' (

Reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

), Ouch Records, 1990 * ''Show 'Em You're Nuts'', Ouch Records, 1991 * ''Christmas Toons'', Ouch Records, 1992 * ''Wake Up It's Alive Again'' (Live/Reissue), Ouch Records, 1993 * ''Y2K'' ( EP), Ouch Records, 1999 * ''Coors Light Six Pack'' (Live), Ouch Records, 2000 * ''World Dance Party 2003'' (Re-reissue), Ouch Records, 2003 * ''The F in Beach Album'' (Live), Ouch Records, 2003 * ''10'', Ouch Records, 2007 * ''Lost And Found'', Discark (digital download), 2017 ;Video * ''World Dance Party'', Ouch Records, 2010 (filmed in 1985) ;Singles

References

External links

Official web site
*

The Fools The Fools are a Massachusetts rock band best known for the party atmosphere of their live performances and tongue-in-cheek original songs, cover version, covers and Parody#Music, parodies. History Hailing from Ipswich, Massachusetts, Ipswich, ...

.
The Fools
at Lost bands Of The New Wave Era. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fools, The American comedy rock musical groups American parodists Parody musicians Musical groups established in 1975 Rock music groups from Massachusetts 1975 establishments in the United States