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Playlist: The QI Elves – No Such Thing As A Fish

• 22nd Sep 2015

Ever wondered what Stephen Fry’s curious little helpers The QI Elves might be listening to in their lair of facts whilst researching some of those devilish questions for the show? Well, to promote their release of the UK’s first ever vinyl podcast on indie label Alcopop! Records, which features an exclusive cameo from Slipknot front-man Corey Taylor, they’ve put together this special playlist accompanied by 10 facts you might not have known about some of the biggest names in music. The record itself will be released on 20th November and launched at the QI Elves’ biggest live show to date, at London’s 1000 capacity West End Lyric theatre – part of their UK-wide 2015-16 tour. Preorder the vinyl now from: http://qi.com/fishvinyl

No Such Thing As A Fish, facts – by Andrew Hunter Murray

The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations
The Beach Boys had no intention of being called the Beach Boys. They were called the Pendletones when they cut their first single, but their record label wanted to call them The Surfers. On discovering there was already a band called the Surfers, the label just called them the Beach Boys instead. The band only discovered it when they received the first copies of their single. Despite Brian Wilson’s dad ringing up to complain, they were stuck with it.

AC/DC – Back in Black
Not content with selling 200 million albums, a few years ago AC/DC released their own range of wines. There’s the Back in Black Shiraz, the Thunderstruck Chardonnay, the Hells Bells Sauvignon Blanc and the Highway to Hell Cabernet Sauvignon. One review noted of the Sauvignon Blanc that it ‘may cause big balls’.

Jimi Hendrix – Foxy Lady
We know exactly who the Foxy Lady from Hendrix’s song actually was – his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham, who went on to marry a doctor and live a quiet life in Surrey. She also revealed that Jimi was pretty tidy round the house and that he was a fan of Coronation Street and having friends round to play Monopoly or Risk.

Iron Maiden – Run To The Hills
The lead singer of Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson, is a qualified pilot and has taken the band on tour in a 757 he flew himself. These days, he still gigs with the band when his Cardiff-based commercial airline allows, and will soon be flying them in a Boeing 747. Quite apart from that, he used to be in the UK’s top ten foil fencers. He has described himself as “A bit of an anorak, sadly”, which we strongly suspect is false modesty.

The Beatles – Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
The album cover for Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of the most famous ever released. It wasn’t a simple job, though, and lots of people had to be removed, including Jesus, Hitler, Gandhi, and, er, American actor Leo Gorcey. He’d been slated for inclusion but his agent requested a fee of $400, so the Beatles simply removed him.

Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar
The Rolling Stones have been accused – very unfairly – of selling out. In fact, they sold out over 50 years ago, in 1964, when they made a TV advert for Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. The lyrics run, ‘Wake up in the morning/There’s a snap about the place/ Wake up in the morning/There’s a crackle in your face.’ Possibly an influence for the later ‘Brown Sugar’. Possibly not.

Led Zeppelin – Communication Breakdown
In 2005, listeners Planet Rock Radio were given the chance to vote for the ultimate supergroup, mashing together musicians from all bands to produce the greatest imaginable rock group. According to the final vote the best singer was Robert Plant, of Led Zeppelin. The best guitarist was Jimmy Page, of Led Zeppelin. The best bassist was John Paul Jones, of Led Zeppelin, and the best drummer was John Bonham, of, er, Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin are, therefore, the greatest band imaginable. QED.

Black Sabbath – Paranoid
The Sugababes get a lot of jokes for having had so many members. This is hugely unfair. They have nothing on Black Sabbath, who since they formed in Birmingham in 1968 have had (by our count) 26 members. Both have some way to go before catching up with Japanese pop band AKB48, who in March 2013 (when Guinness World Records counted) had 88 members.

Van Halen – Jump
The story about Van Halen demanding a giant supply of M&Ms with no brown ones is well-known to have been a trick to try and ensure venues read the fine print and looked after the more important aspects of the performance too. Less well-known is their other requests in the rider, which included ‘Herring in sour cream’, four cases of Schlitz Malt Liquor beer, and a large tube of KY Jelly. In another rider, metal band Slayer requested ‘100 snow-white goats for slaughter’, ‘a Halaal butcher to slaughter the goats,’ and, of course, ‘freezer bags and coolers to preserve the goat meat’.

Take That – Shine
What links Gary Barlow and Ken Dodd? If your answer was ‘extremely complicated relationships with HMRC’, then points for satire, but there’s another one. As a boy, Gary Barlow used to be a cabaret pianist at the Halton Social Club, and supported acts including Bob Monkhouse and Ken Dodd. There are weirder first jobs for famous musicians. Kian from Westlife used to be a kissogram.

TOUR DATES:

Thursday 1 October, 2015 – The Lowry Theatre, Salford, Greater Manchester
Sunday 18 October, 2015 – Brighton Comedy Festival
Friday 6 November, 2015 – North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford *SOLD OUT*
Monday 16 November, 2015 – Lyric Theatre, London
Friday 20 November, 2015 – Cambridge Junction, Cambridge
Saturday 23 January, 2016 – SECOND SHOW ADDED – mac, Birmingham
Friday 12 February, 2016 – City Varieties, Leeds
Sunday 28 Feb, 2016 – Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol
Thursday 24 March 2016 – Oran Mor, Glasgow