The Be Sharps were once a band consisting of Homer Simpson, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Seymour Skinner, and Chief Wiggum (later replaced by Barney Gumble because he was too "village people").
History[]
They used to perform at Moe's Tavern but then started to perform at Springfield State Prison and the First Church of Springfield.
This then caught the eyes of a man named Nigel. He then suggested they should be a real band and should remove Chief Wiggum because it reminded him too much of the Village People.
After a failed tryout The Be Sharps heard Barney's good singing and decided to have him join the band. They then had a concert at The Statue of Liberty and won a Grammy Award.
Afterwards they became unpopular, with Apu and Homer arguing during a recording session and Barney dating a Japanese conceptual artist, and split up. In their latest act they sang "Baby on Board" on top of Moe's roof, which aside from an implied unmemorable cameo in a Dame Edna special the year before, was the first time they've reunited.
Products[]
The Be Sharps also had various products. One was a foam squirter that got recalled because anyone who ate the foam would get poisoned and would die.
Homer replied "Anyone who ate it deserved to die" at the same time which Bart was eating it. They also released two albums, one self-titled and the other titled "Bigger Than Jesus".
The self-titled was seen at the flea market in the beginning of the episode catching Bart's eye and igniting the plot for the episode.
Members[]
- Homer Simpson - baritone (1985-2001)
- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon a.k.a. Apu DeBeaumarchais - tenor (1985-2001)
- Seymour Skinner - bass (1985-2001)
- Barney Gumble - lead (1986-2001)
Former Members[]
- Clancy Wiggum - lead (1985-1986)
Songs shown in the Episode[]
- Hello My Honey/Hello My Baby
- Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby
- Baby on Board
- Col. C. Everett Coop
- Number 8
Discography[]
- Meet The Be Sharps
- Bigger Than Jesus
- Baby on Board
- Homer’s song about Mr. T
Behind the Laughter[]
The Be Sharps are an obvious parody of The Beatles. One of their albums is titled "Bigger than Jesus", a reference to a quote by Beatles member John Lennon, who described their band as "more popular than Jesus".
Here are some allusions and references:
- Four members comprise The Be Sharps, like The Beatles.
- Moe's Tavern is renamed to Moe's Cavern, a reference to the The Cavern Club, the Liverpool nightclub where The Beatles first started performing and made a name for themselves.
- There is one former member who was kicked out for not being as good as the others (Pete Best and Chief Wiggum).
- Both bands have at least one stage name (Ringo Starr was born Richard Starkey, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is Apu DeBeaumarchais).
- Both groups perform on the rooftop of a building at the end of their careers.
- Barney's Japanese girlfriend is a parody of Yoko Ono.
- The first album, "Meet The Be Sharps", is similar in name to the Beatles' first US album, "Meet the Beatles!", also sharing an extremely similar cover. The second album, "Bigger Than Jesus", is a reference to a Beatles controversy; the album cover itself is based on the final Beatles' studio album, "Abbey Road", except that the (bigger-than-Jesus) band members are walking on water instead of across the street.
Their name is also a reference to sharps and flats in musical terminology. The joke is that there is no such thing as "B sharp." Though the note technically "exists", it is almost always referred to as "C", most of the few exceptions being in jokes like this one.
Appearances[]
- Episode – "Homer's Barbershop Quartet"
- Episode – "Two Bad Neighbors" (Album seen in attic)
- Episode – "All Singing, All Dancing"
- Episode – "To Surveil With Love" (Picture only)
- Episode – "Covercraft" (Picture only, spelled "THE B SHARPS" in spinning newspaper joke)
- Episode – "My Fare Lady" (Shown in opening sequence)
- Episode – "The 7 Beer Itch" (Pictured)
- THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII"
- Special – "Moe Live Tweets!" Picture