The Stanford Fleet Street Singers | |
|---|---|
 The Stanford Fleet Street Singers at Stanford's Main Quad in 2019, wearing their characteristic outfits | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Fleet Street |
| Origin | Stanford, California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Website | www |
The Stanford Fleet Street Singers (Fleet Street) is a comedy a cappella group from Stanford University. The group performs original songs and sketch comedy, and wears a uniform of black vests and red bow ties. Fleet Street is perhaps best known for having published the first collegiate a cappella album composed entirely of original music. In total, Fleet Street has released 13 studio albums and has received a dozen national awards.
Fleet Street was founded in 1981, as a collegiate a cappella group focused on comedy, theatricality, and barbershop harmony. In its early years, the group arranged and performed many Stanford-related songs (which they often subverted for humorous effect), which earned them large audiences among Stanford students and alumni. Alongside a turn to more popular music, the 1990s saw Fleet Street gain national prominence, sweeping the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, appearing on national television (The Today Show) and radio programs (The Dr. Demento Show), at the Lincoln Center in New York City, and overseas (at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival). In 2004, Fleet Street published their self-titled, entirely original album (the first such album in collegiate a cappella) to critical acclaim; this ushered in a new era for the group, defined by a focus on original music.
The name "Fleet Street" is a reference to the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, itself a nod to the group's musical roots in barbershop music. The group typically comprises a rotating set of 12 to 16 students, with new members selected by audition each September. Alumni of the group include technology executives, academics, Broadway actors, and comedy writers.