April Fool

“April Fools!” This Bradford music industry “mockumentary” is overflowing with dry humour and deadpan comedy.

Bradford filmmakers attempt to play an April 1st practical joke on their audience in this amusing film. A seemingly serious news reporter narrates the film which suggests that 1980s youths have rejected pop music and have instead embraced classical music. We are shown young people dancing to classical music in a night club with straight-faced youths affirming this notion to the camera.

April Fools’ Day is commonly celebrated on the 1st April each year in the UK. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1387) contains the earliest known reference to foolishness on this particular calendar day. A “mockumentary” is commonly described as a comedic fiction film that purports to be a factual documentary. The mockumentary genre became increasingly popular throughout the world in the 1980s, largely due to the release of the US film This is Spinal Tap (1984).