I have a suspicion that Manowar were never completely serious, but the only people who really latched onto them took them seriously, so the band went along with it. Just remember that their guitarist for their classic years was also in the Dictators (and is back in there - WOO HOO!), and some aspects of the band, like the over the top homoeroticism of their record covers, make me think they were, as we say, takin’ the piss. Of course, when I was fifteen years old and brought home Fighting the World, I couldn’t figure out why my much hipper sisters were laughing at me ;).
Did someone forget to mention Bad News? Can you not recall the thundering, cantankerous, venomous rock of “Warriors of Ghengis Khan” and “Drink Till I Die”? Have none of you wondered what happened to the cast of “The Young Ones” after that series was over? Do none of you have a decent video store in your city, town, municipality, and/or village?
Yes: Vivian, Rik, and Neil (minus Mike, I believe) went on to become Vim Fuego (lead g & vox), Spider Webb (drums), and Den Dennis (rhythm g) respectively.
The British program, “The Comic Strip Presents,” aired a number of episodes and short films featuring “The Young Ones” crew’s version of Spinal Tap. I have only seen one video tape that features two of the longer pieces and am also the happy owner of their self-titled album.
I don’t consider myself enough of an authority on the subect to properly school all of you (any Bad News fans care to tackle that challenge?), but I can say with confidence that Bad News stands just as tall as Spinal Tap, rocks just as hard, and will make you wet your pants with the exact same volume of urine. Every single person I know who has seen the video release of “Bad News Tour” has utterly enjoyed it and typically will quote dialogue and/or lyrics for at least the following week (And yes, that does tend to get very annoying).
I believe the video and the soundtrack are still available via Amazon, et al. Do yourself a favor and check it out.