The Be Sharps

The Be-Sharps
Genre	Barbershop Quartet
Members	Homer Simpson (leader) Apu Nahasapeemapetilon Seymour Skinner Barney Gumble Clancy Wiggum (formerly)
Manager	Nigel
First appearance	Homer's Barbershop Quartet

The Be Sharps were once a band consisting of Homer Simpson, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Seymour Skinner, and Chief Wiggum (later replaced by Barney Gumble).

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 Barney dating a Japanese conceptual artist, and split up. In their latest act they sang "Baby on Board" on top of Moe's roof.

The original line-up, featuring Chief Wiggum.

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

The Be-Sharps recording their first single, Baby on Board

Discography

• Meet The Be Sharps
• Bigger Than Jesus
• Baby on Board

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".

The name Be Sharps is a play-on-words on The Beatles (Beetles), since sharp is the opposite of dull. Additionally, the name may poke fun at the non-existence (or redundancy with "C") of the note "B sharp", since B and C are direct neighbors in the musical scale.

Here are some allusions and references:

• Four members comprise The Be Sharps, like The Beatles
• 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.

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 – "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
• Special – "Moe Live Tweets!" Picture