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The Rubberbandits are bringing their horse to England for November 2011 - tickets on sale Friday 9th September

Posted: 12 years ago

There is a pop video posted on YouTube that has recorded an impressive 7,759,707 hits. It is not a Lady Gaga or Beyoncé track; it is called 'Horse Outside' and it is credited to the Irish comedy pop outfit The Rubberbandits.

Formed in Limerick, Ireland, a decade or so ago, The Rubberbandits are the 'comedy hip hop duo' of Blindboy Boat Club and Mr Chrome. You may not have heard that much from them but 'Horse Outside' was a national comedy smash in Ireland and, earlier this year, The Rubberbandits were officially declared to be better than The Script. Take THAT, pop.

Yes, at the 2011 entertainment.ie awards, the Limerick duo won Best Irish Act ahead of the once-Mercury nominated Fionn Regan and squeaky clean Irish popstrels The Script. Quite a coup for a comedy double-act that spent their first six or seven years making prank phonecalls and liberally satirising Irish politics, especially so-called 'armchair republicanism'.

Blindboy and Mr Chrome may have the reassuring real names of Dave and Bob but in public they mask their identities with torn plastic carrier bags stretched over their faces, giving their satire an edgy menace. The bandits' big breakthrough was 'Horse Outside', again poking fun at Irish stereotypes as they attempted to woo a bridesmaid with the fact that they have 'a horse outside'. It is catchy, expertly delivered and mercilessly funny.

'Horse Outside' was kept off the 2010 Christmas No 1 spot in Ireland by The X Factor's latest blah but it still brought The Rubberbandits a worldwide audience, bigger gigs, awards and a platform for their next single 'I Wanna Fight Your Father'. It has also seen the band/act announce a handful of England dates for later this year.

The Rubberbandits' tour kicks off in Oxford on Sunday 13th November 2011, moving on to Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff, before the final gig of the run at XOYO in London on Sunday 27th November.

We will have tickets for all dates when they go on sale at 9AM on Friday 9th September, priced just £10 for all venues including London.

Stewart Darkin