Blog: To Out-Beyoncé Beyoncé

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Today is the "official" release date for the Total Hero Team multi-media cross-platform concept album/movie/t-shirt and badges EXTRAVAGANZA!

"Release day" used to be a big deal, 300,000 years ago when I first started on The Road Of ROCK, but now all it really means is that it's the made-up date on a press release that you give to media-types as a day that you'd really like them to mention it somewhere, please. Even that idea's become less meaningful in recent times, now that record companies release stuff and THEN tell the media about it, so all it really means is that it's the day you send out your press release, on the email.

So, today is "email a bunch of websites about the album day"! Let's PARTY! I must admit I quite enjoy writing press releases - The Facts In My Notes To Editor is a PROFESSIONAL in the field of Communications and over the years she has gently TUTORED me in the arts of such things. Years ago we would spend HOURS discussing how to make my garbled mess of apologies and showing off into something vaguely sensible, these days it tends to be twenty minutes discussing a couple of sentences. It's another Transferable Skill GLEANED from ROCK to go alongside Knowing What CMYK Means and Rapid Packing Of Cars!

Obviously, and UNDOUBTEDLY, you'll be seeing the press release cut and pasted into ALL the SHOWBIZ COLUMNS over the next few days, but in the unlikely event that that DOESN'T happen, here's what I've just sent out:

MJ Hibbett out-Beyoncés Beyoncé

Beyoncé may have amazed the world when she released an album with a video for each individual track, but MJ Hibbett (and his friend Steve Hewitt) have gone one better. Today they release an album with a single continuous video, not just for the songs, but for the bits in between as well.

The album is 'Total Hero Team', a 50 minute long rock opera/concept album featuring 14 new songs and a whole lot of superhero action. It's based on the pair's recent fringe show, which toured around the Edinburgh, Camden and Buxton Fringe Festivals, the Leicester Comedy Festival, and many many pubs.

Unlike Beyoncé, MJ and Steve did not have thousands of lackeys to write, record and film this extravaganza. They recorded the whole thing by themselves in a rehearsal room, edited it on a laptop, and used photographs taken by MJ's girlfriend in their flat. "People made a right old fuss about Beyoncé doing all those videos," says MJ, "but she had loads of people helping her. It must have been peasy!"

The video, split into six parts, is available on YouTube or on their website, www.totalheroteam.co.uk . You can also buy the full-length album from the same place on a pay-what-you-like basis, as well as t-shirts and badges.

That's got to work, right? Next stop: BELLOWING at the Prime Minister on The Andrew Marr Show!

posted 3/3/2014 by MJ Hibbett

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