Editing Shirehorses

{{refimprove|date=May 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{About|the British band|the breed of horse|Shire horse}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name                = Shirehorses
| image                 = 
| caption            = 
| image_size            = 
| background          = group_or_band
| alias               = The Mighty Horse
| origin              = [[Manchester]], England
| genre               = [[Comedy rock]], [[Parody music|parody]]
| years_active        = 1997&ndash;2001
| label               = [[Warner Records|Warner]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| associated_acts     = 
| website                 = 
| current_members     = 
| past_members        = [[Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)|Mark Radcliffe]]<br />[[Marc Riley|Marc "Lard" Riley]]<br />Chris Lee<br />Rhys Hughes<br />Patrick Gallagher AKA Dick Scruttock
}}The '''Shirehorses''' were a spoof band comprising two [[BBC Radio]] DJs from [[Manchester]], [[Mark Radcliffe (radio broadcaster)|Mark Radcliffe]] and [[Marc Riley]], known collectively as [[Mark and Lard]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kelly|first1=Jon|title=Mark and Lard take to the stage|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/may/09/artsfeatures4|access-date=28 May 2018|work=The Guardian|date=8 May 2001|location=London}}</ref>

As part of their [[BBC Radio 1]] shows, the pair produced pastiches of chart songs, such as "You're Gormless", a parody of [[Babybird]]'s "[[You're Gorgeous]]", "Lardy Boy", a parody of [[Placebo (band)|Placebo]]'s "[[Nancy Boy]]", and "Why Is It Always [[Dairylea (cheese)|Dairylea]]", spoofing [[Travis (band)|Travis]]'s "[[Why Does It Always Rain on Me?]]", using the band names 'Baby Bloke', 'Gazebo' and 'Dave Lee Travisty' respectively. When they rewrote [[The Seahorses]]' "Love Is the Law" as "(Now) I Know (Where I'm Going) Our Kid", they chose the stage-name Shirehorses, which they then retained for future recordings and performances. Other parodies include "I Want a Roll with It" (spoofing "[[Roll with It (Oasis song)|Roll with It]]" by [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]]), "Feel Like Shite" ("[[Alright (Supergrass song)|Alright]]" by [[Supergrass]]), and "Country Spouse" ("[[Country House (song)|Country House]]" by [[Blur (band)|Blur]]). 

The band toured extensively, playing many small, university gigs to exploit their popularity with students. However, they also performed at larger venues, supporting Blur on a 1997 UK tour, taking in several stadia, and appearing at [[Glastonbury Festival]] in 1997.

Marc Riley was formerly a member of [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Manchester]] band [[The Fall (band)|the Fall]] and later [[the Creepers]] before embarking on a radio presentation career alongside Mark Radcliffe. Formerly a double act on [[BBC Radio 1]], in March 2004 they went their separate ways, Radcliffe initially to [[BBC Radio 2]], Riley to [[BBC Radio 6 Music]] and later joined at the station by Mark Radcliffe as part of the afternoon Radcliffe and Maconie show.

==Discography==
The Shirehorses have released two albums to date:
* ''[[The Worst...Album in the World...Ever...EVER!]]'', a parody of the long string of compilation albums released in the UK since the 1990s called ''[[The Best...Album in the World...Ever!|The Best (genre) Album in the world ever!]]''.
* ''[[Our Kid Eh]]'', a play on the name of [[Radiohead]]'s album, ''[[Kid A]]''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirehorses, The}}
[[Category:British comedy rock musical groups]]
[[Category:English rock music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1997]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2001]]
[[Category:Rock music groups from Manchester]]
[[Category:British parodists]]
[[Category:Parody musicians]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]