There was a time when musicians only devoted their professional life to the stage, the recording studio, and some interviews. However, when the industry started to notice the great success these musicians had as public figures, the leap to the entertainment industry was simply natural.
Whether starring in their own movies or making small cameos in blockbuster hits, here are some bands that changed the stages for a while and gave acting a chance.
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The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
This was just the first of many movies that The Beatles made, and one that really allowed the Fab Four to expand their creativity and take it to another discipline. The film is credited as one of the most influential of all musical films and a precursor of many other films and series. This black and white film that was ranked 88th at the list of the greatest British films of the 20th century according to the British Film Institute in 1999.
While boarding a train to London, The Beatles evade a horde of fans, and scape in an attempt to keep up with their day and be ready for a television appearance they’re doing in 36 hours. This is truly an iconic comedy-musical film.
Prince – Purple Rain (1984)
This was Prince’s acting debut, and he did it alongside his band The Revolution. The Kid (Prince) a young man that comes from a difficult background of abuse, has managed to become the frontman of The Revolution.
Purple Rain follows the story of the band and the problems they all endured. It goes about how hard it can be to cope with it all and also reflects the havoc that living with abuse can wreak. The Kid is sometimes very rude and violent to the point of humiliating his own girlfriend in a performance.
The soundtrack was supported by the album of the same name, with songs like ‘When Doves Cry,’ ‘Let’s Go Crazy,’ and the now considered an anthem, and number-two hit ‘Purple Rain.’
KISS – Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)
The first time KISS made a film appearance was in a Hana Barbera production. In 2015 they made it back with the release of Scooby-Doo, though it was in cartoon form. This movie may give you a Scooby-Doo feeling, although the only thing they have in common is the production company.
In this film, the KISS members try to save an amusement park after an inventor starts to wreak havoc and blames the group on it out of resentment towards the group. The members end up using their superpowers to defeat the inventor managing to save the amusement park from destruction.
Radiohead and Pulp – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
In the fourth installment of the Harry Potter saga, the students get to attend their first ball. The young wizards spend a magical night dancing and enjoying the music, forgetting for a moment all their school duties.
Let’s not focus on the struggle of the main characters to get a dance partner but on the band in charge of the music that made the students and the academic crew dance their lives out because it does have a very interesting story.
“Weird Sisters” is the name of the band playing at the Winter Ball, and although it’s not real, its members are very well-known in the music scene. Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway from Radiohead and Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey from Pulp were the members of this Wizard pop band that played several songs for The Boy Who Lived and his peers.
