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Bad News are a spoof rock band, created for the Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents.... Its members are Vim Fuego, vocals and lead guitar (played by Adrian Edmondson); Den Dennis, rhythm guitar (Nigel Planer); Colin Grigson, bass (Rik Mayall); and Spider Webb, drums (Peter Richardson).
Their first appearance was in 1983, in the first series of The Comic Strip Presents... (written by Edmondson, and produced by Michael White/Comic Strip Productions). The episode took the form of a spoof rockumentary, in which the incompetent band is followed on tour by an almost equally incompetent documentary crew. Coincidentally, it was in production at the same time as the similar film This Is Spinal Tap, which was released the following year to much greater acclaim.
The band also guested on some TV music shows and released a self-titled album, consisting of thrashy rock songs interspersed with arguments amongst the band. Brian May of Queen produced the album, which included a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".
They also went on tour, including a suitably bad opening set at the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donnington. This performance was featured in a second Comic Strip film, "More Bad News", broadcast in 1988.
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