The Poppy Fields

The Poppy Fields
Promotional release of "45 RPM"
Promotional release of "45 RPM"
Background information
Also known asThe Wayriders
OriginWales
GenresPop rock
LabelsSnapper Music

The Poppy Fields were a fictitious teenage group, invented in 2004 by the Welsh rock band the Alarm. The Poppy Fields scored a hit with the release of "45 RPM" that would become the Alarm's first hit in over a decade. Mike Peters revealed the truth on live radio as Radio 1 was conducting a 2004 broadcast of their then current chart countdown. The story was highlighted by international news outlets with several headlines being published globally.

Immediately after exposing the hoax, the music video for "45 RPM" was replaced by an edited version that included the Alarm's members alongside the hyped members of the Poppy Fields.[1] Peters had enticed a young band called the Wayriders to lip-sync the song for the music video while posing as members of the nonexistent group.[2] The events surrounding this hoax have spawned the cinematic release of Vinyl, its soundtrack, the Alarm Vinyl Tour 2013, and the subsequent announcement of a 2013 tour by the Alarm in support of the soundtrack.[1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mnews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference amusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).