British Rock Star
The British Invasion helped cement British artists as big players in the international market. As such many bands or singers found in American media will turn out British. They're generally of the Metal or Rock genre with horrible fashion sense, take lots of drugs, drink lots of booze and are either indifferent or throwing themselves behind whatever good cause might be available. Pierced nose and spiky mohawk optional.
One particular trait is that they're likely to avert I Am Very British, opting for a cockney or Northern accent (usually Liverpudlian or Mancunian, thanks to the existence of famous rock bands from those cities).
A subtrope of The Rock Star, who is usually a more positive, glamorous figure (and they can be British too!).
Examples of British Rock Star include:
Comic Books
Film
- The band from This Is Spinal Tap.
- Ben Sergeant and his band in Tamara Drewe.
- Aldous Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to The Greek. Snow is interesting in that he combines exaggeration, subversion, and Self-Parody:
- Exaggeration, because he takes most of the elements in the trope description Up to Eleven. Cockney? Check. Drugs? Check.[1] Excessive drinking? Check.[2] Incredible amounts of sex? CHECK. Indifference or random causes? Both: "African Child" is an attempt to make a "cause" song that just proves he doesn't care. Horrible fashion sense? Well, it's highly eccentric. Take it or leave it.
- Subversion, because he is actually Nice Guy, albeit one with serious problems.
- Self-parody, because when you substitute "comedian" for "rock star", a lot of Aldous Snow's character is like that of Russell Brand.
- Rockstar
Live Action TV
- In the final season of Just Shoot Me Nina has a washed up British pop-star as a boyfriend.
- An early episode had Maya interview a famous British rocker whose big hit was called "Nina in the Cantina". Everyone, including Nina, assumes the song is about her, but when the two meet, he doesn't have any idea who Nina is.
- Charlie on Lost was one in his back-story.
- Once on Quantum Leap Sam leaped into a British Rock Star, whose band had taken up KISSesque facial makeup as a gimmick. He has a stalker who claims to be his son from a tryst with his mother 16 years previous (which would make this band a popular British band in America pre-Beatles).
- WKRP in Cincinnati had an early episode where the station sponsored a concert with the British band, Scum of the Earth, who stress that they specialize in Hoodlum Rock. The difference from Punk Rock is that they dress in fine suits and ties, speak in erudite English and gleefully commit violent crimes on everyone, including their fans, whenever possible.
- Saturday Night Live sketch "Needs More Cowbell" has the British producer/rock star Bruce Dickinson (not to be confused with the real Bruce Dickinson, who is also British).
- In one episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway Wayne plays a rock star in his hotel room in this round of Let's Make A Date. He automatically goes for a British accent.
Magazines
- Gary Bloke from Private Eye practically runs on this.
- There's also Spiggy Topes of Spiggy Topes and the Turds (later "Sir Spigismond Topes") who is essentially a combined parody of every fading sixties rock star. Unusual in that this Running Gag actually started at the time of the British Invasion itself, so it has carried on in real time with the real thing.
Music Video
- Screamin' Lord Byron in the music video/short film Jazzin' for Blue Jean (1984) may be far more glamorous than the norm, but he still lives a wild lifestyle (when your entourage has oxygen tanks and B12 vitamins at the ready...), can be snobby to the help, and despite his super-smooth posturing is a quivering wreck when the protagonist, who is trying to maintain a Celebrity Lie, literally falls into his dressing room. And both characters are played by David Bowie, an actual rock star from Britain who had infamously wild days in the 1970s and The Rock Star, period.
Video Games
- There are several examples in the Grand Theft Auto series.
- In Vice City, you must escort Love Fist, a Scottish band that is very similar to Spinal Tap around.
- In San Andreas you meet up with two characters associated with a band who are largely parodies of this trope (though their style leans more towards pre-Britpop, like The Stone Roses, Suede and Happy Mondays). The lead singer's name is Maccer (he even wears a Reni hat).
- Liberty City Stories has Crow, an ahead-of-his-time, egotistical humanitarian crusader.
- Dead Rising 2 has heavy rockers named Jeanna Slick, Floyd Stone, and Allen Ash who are members of the band Angel Lust. The trio mistook the zombie horde for fans. Well it's not that much of a stretch to be fair. They had such lines as "Oi mate get off the bloody stage" and "Zombies? Blimey!" They even destroy a crowd of zombies through the Power of Rock.
- Death Metal from No More Heroes was one of these before he became the 10th ranked assassin in the UAA..
Western Animation
- On The Simpsons when Bart gets a guitar he has an Imagine Spot where he becomes one of these.
I'd loik to play me latest chaht-toppah. It's called, "Me Fans Are Stupid Pigs."
- Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers: The episode "Risky Beesness" involved a British rock band who were locked in their room by the villainess who wore a bee costume, could command bees, and considered herself a musician. While in their dressing room, they spoke in received British pronunciation, had tea, and showed that the show's writers Did Not Do the Bloody Research regarding language in a children's show.
- The Jimmy Neutron episode where Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl start a rock band has Carl adopting a fake British accent at one point.
- On the California Raisins TV specials, the Raisins' main rival is a Mick Jagger-esque rocker named Lick Broccoli.
- In Regular Show, a future version of Mordecai and Rigby, who are famous rock stars, speak in vaguely Liverpudlian accents despite being American.
- Murdoc Niccals of Gorillaz fame. 2D as well, but Murdoc fits the persona, whereas 2D is just The Ditz.
- Punk Rocket from Teen Titans, who was the villain in the Lost Episode.
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