Forcing a real band to play backing vocals is like forcing a kid to eat spinach: he doesn't like it. And, in the same way, that a kid in front of his plate of spinach will do anything to annoy you, the music groups that are forced to play lip service sometimes pay the heads of TV shows, record companies, and producers who got them in this situation. The result is often great.
Quand Nirvana a massacré "Smell Like Teen Spirit" dans l'émission Top Of The Pops
From 1964 to the early 2000s, the British show Top of the Pops was a must for artists at the top, an almost obligatory point of passage. Only, it had a tricky rule: the groups that performed there had to play backing tracks. In 1991, it was Nirvana who had to oblige, with one exception: Kurt Cobain had the right to sing live, only the instruments being playback. The Aberdeen guys didn't like having to "play" in these conditions, so they ruined their visit. Kurt Cobain sang like an idiot, half-throwing the microphone while poorly pretending to play the guitar while Krist Novoselic was fooling around with his bass. The result is obviously annoying, but also extremely funny. It would have been better to let them play like adults.
When Travis had a big food fight on the set of Top Of The Pops
Ten years later, subject to the same conditions as Nirvana, the group Travis (known only for their song Sing ) also decided to make fun of the playback. Reproducing the concept of their music video, they decided to have a big food fight, completely abandoning their instruments to make a mess. What's the point of pretending to play anyway.
When Iron Maiden didn't respect German TV
In 1980, Top Of The Pops invited Iron Maiden to do a playback on the show, but the group, who hated playback, refused. Six years later, a German show invited them to perform their new single, still in playback, and surprisingly received a positive response. You had to suspect that something was wrong: as soon as the song had started, the members of the group started doing nonsense, swapping their instruments and caricaturing a live performance like idiots. A big nonsense which must have made the producers regret not having respected them.
When Freddie Mercury made obscene gestures on "Radio Gaga"
For their first Italian stage at the Sanremo festival in 1984, the members of Queen were forced to perform in playback by the record companies. Disgusted by this decision, Freddie Mercury decided to give them a big middle finger by miming not-very Catholic things with his microphone stand instead of singing. At least the message was clear.
Robert Smith from The Cure really doesn't like playback
Often invited to play on playback shows, The Cure generally accepted, but their leader Robert Smith never really put his mind to it. Generally, you can see him doing anything on his guitar or, here, on his bass, where he shakes the completely loose strings to show that he doesn't care. It's very funny to watch.
When the members of Muse reversed their roles during an Italian TV show
In 2012, the group Muse was invited to play their song Uprising as playback on an Italian show that obviously didn't know them very well. First clue: the presenter introduced them by calling them “THE Muse”. Second clue: she didn't even notice that they had reversed their roles within the group. Drummer Dominic Howard was on vocals and bass, and bassist Christopher Wolstenholme took on guitars and keyboards when Matthew Bellamy, singer of the group, found himself behind the drums. Good big laughs just the way we like them. As this is not the group's first attempt, we suggest you go see the other Muse trolls in this link.
Muse à top of the pops
Oh yes, we were almost going to forget this one: invited to Top Of The Pops (them again), the members of Muse decided to do absolutely anything. You don't have to be a musician to realize that the nonsense is there.
When Oasis trolled Top Of The Pops (yes them again)
The Gallagher brothers are undoubtedly among them but they do not lack humor. Invited by Top Of The Pops in 1995, they decided to reverse their roles to mess with the producers. Noel took the mic (even though Liam was supposed to sing on “Roll With It”) while Liam pretended to be the band’s guitarist. Not a very bad troll but always funny.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers who went crazy in Brussels
In 1997, Red Hot was also able to show that they did not like playback by “performing” two of their songs, “Intervista” and “Fight Like A Brave”. And by "perform" we mean they acted like idiots by rolling around, taking the drums apart, and literally doing anything. In short, don't try to play them in playback. Unless it's for the Super Bowl.
(Bonus) When Metallica refused to avoid insults
We're changing the register a bit on this last point since there's no question of playback here (but don't worry, there's always some fun going on). In 1996, the MTV Music Awards invited Metallica but asked the band not to perform some of their songs that contained profanities. The group pretended to accept, but when their time came, they performed “Last Caress” and “So What? », two titles containing a lot of insults, and references to baby murder and hell. Suffice it to say that Metallica was no longer welcome on MTV for a few years.
