The Official Edinburgh Fringe played host to three world leaders armed with instruments.
Beldon Haigh and The Mother of All Bands – donning uncanny masks resembling Donald Trump, Kim Jong-Un and Vladimir Putin – took to the renowned Liquid Rooms stage for the Saturday evening spot in front of an electric audience.
Having already gained the attention of The Late Late Show host James Corden after seeing the masks appear on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the clever guises created by Landon Meier – as well as the band – are accomplishing widespread notoriety.
The rock-funk act, who appear with Trump on bass, Putin on drums and Kim Jong Un on guitar, took the opportunity to showcase their single launch for ‘Airwaves’.
With its melodic chorus and infectious bassline, the record holds a spotlight on misogyny in the entertainment industry.
Lead singer Beldon, who hails from Falkirk, said: “We’re waging a different kind of war. In this more complex age of information overload, our protest band is cutting through with humour and using world leaders’ own images to parody them.
“Landon’s masks are scarily realistic and need to be seen to be believed. Being able to play live wearing them gives the audience a real theatrical and musical treat.”
“The audience particularly enjoyed our adaptation of Sinatra’s ‘That’s Life’, reworked to ‘That’s Lying!’ They loved singing along to new provocative lyrics. This was a kick ass protest music with a lot of humour and ton of fun.”
The band also belted out its other hits – Land of Hope’ – a song highlighting the plight of asylum seekers and ‘Gaslight’ describing the escalating arms trade and the use of
chemical weapons.
The live performance can be viewed here:https://youtu.be/lc3x1rMiH6Q
As they continue to release music on their own independent label, Covfefe Records – so-called after Trump’s nonsense tweet – their online videos have clocked up thousands of views.
Notes to editors:
• The MOAB are Luke Stenner and Andrew Scott (Trump and Putin), Jimmy Green (Kim Jong Un), as well as Rob Webbon on piano, Ewan Main and Dru Baker (horns) and Fiona Lynch and Emily Copas (backing vocals).
