Turning Oblivion Into Money

Think it’s just M.I.A. who’s prepared to go to extreme lengths (like giving bird flu to a load of turkeys) to make her new record more marketable? Think again! Here, HYG goes back into the archives to look at some of the other crazy stunts and campaigns that have accompanied your favourite chart smashes.

Busted - ’Year 3000’
Few people know this but James Bourne actually built a time machine just before this song’s release, based on something he’d seen on Blue Peter. Sadly, upon arrival in the year 3000, he failed to spot the SIGNIFICANT CHANGE in people’s living habits, brushing off the fact that everyone lives underwater in the future with little more than a lyrical shrug.

Pet Shop Boys - ‘Being Boring’
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe took up being boring for a week to promote this 1990 single. Unfortunately the stunt backfired when the public failed to buy the record because they thought the boys were boring. It got to number 20 :-(

Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go
To publicise the launch of their smash hit album, the Manics held a giant car boot sale in their native Blackwood. Everything did go, except some of Nicky Wire’s dresses, which met a “muted” response.

T.a.t.u. - All The Things She Said
Became lesbians.

Girls Aloud - No Good Advice
To promote their second single, each of Girls Aloud became counsellors for two weeks. The twist was, they’d signed a secret agreement to only give bad advice. Management were left red-faced when Nicola told more than 30 people they should “probably” take the easy way out.

The Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen
Famously, the Pistols got on a boat and had a party to publicise this single. They did this because it is exactly the sort of behaviour the Queen hates, making it in turn both SUBVERSIVE and REBELLIOUS. But did you know that lead singer Johnny Rotten once wrote a letter to the Queen, intoning that he “actually quite likes her” and “it’s mainly Malcolm’s idea”? Shock horror!

So while M.I.A’s elaborate stunt might pose the biggest threat to the public’s wellbeing, it is far from being the first time someone has gone to extraordinary lengths to shift records.

Personally, we’re looking forward to seeing Patrick Wolf do a few nights working in casualty to promote ‘Accident & Emergency’ because, well, can you imagine what his gold lameé scrubs will look like?