Morris Minor and the Majors was a British band from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, formed by the comedians and writers Tony Hawks and Paul Boross. The group became famous with their 1987 song "Stutter Rap", an original song in the style of the then-popular rap song "No Sleep till Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys.[1]
| Morris Minor and the Majors | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | Comedy[1] |
| Years active | 1987 |
| Labels | Ten Record Ltd. |
| Past members |
|
The stage names of the group were 'Morris Minor', 'Rusty Wing' and 'Phil Errup' (real names Tony Hawks and Rotherham stars Paul Boross and Phil Judge).
The song reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart,[2] No. 14 in Canada and was a No. 2 hit in Australia. It sold over 220,000 copies, but subsequent song releases never had the same popularity or sales, earning them the title one-hit wonders in the United Kingdom; a title which would later inspire Hawks to seek another top 20 hit, albeit in Albania.[3]
On the 45 release, the record had a joke B-side titled "Another Boring B-side", the lyrics of which parody the actual creation of the song itself.
In Australia, they had a second charting single with "This Is the Chorus" (No. 22),[4] which parodied Stock/Aitken/Waterman.
As a result of the popularity of the song, a television series was created in 1989, titled Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors and written by and starring Hawks. On the series, the fictional band-leader attempted to maintain his pop music career while running an automotive garage. It ran for just one series and aired on BBC1.
Discography
editSingles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [5] |
AUS [6][7] | ||
| "Stutter Rap" | 1987 | 4 | 2 |
| "This Is the Chorus" | 1988 | 95 | 22 |
| "Morris Minor" | 1989 | — | — |
References
edit- ^ a b "Morris Minor and the Majors biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 369. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Stuart, Julia (16 July 2002). "Tony Hawks: Big in Albania". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010.
- ^ "australian-charts.com - Morris Minor And The Majors - This Is The Chorus". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ "Morris Minor & the Majors". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 207. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "australian-charts.com - Morris Minor And The Majors - This Is The Chorus". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
External links
edit- Tony Hawks website (archived)
http://www.thepitchdoctor.tv/ Paul Boross website