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Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Spoilers will be present within the article. |
The Weird Sisters were a very popular band in the wizarding world, whose music was frequently played on the Wizarding Wireless Network. Despite their name, all eight known members were male.
Many individuals were fans of the Weird Sisters in the Wizarding world, including Ginevra Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks.
Contents
Overview
Known band members
- Heathcote Barbary - Rhythm guitar
- Gideon Crumb - Bagpipes
- Kirley Duke - Lead guitar
- Merton Graves - Cello
- Orsino Thruston - Drums
- Donaghan Tremlett - Bass
- Myron Wagtail - Lead singer
- Herman Wintringham - Lute
Known songs
History
1985–1986 school year
By the 1985–1986 school year, Hogwarts students Myron Wagtail and Kirley Duke, accompanied by Orsino Thruston, had formed the band, and wanted to perform in the Hogwarts Castle.[2]
After the performance, Wagtail informed Jacob's sibling that they found a talented newcomer, Donaghan Tremlett.[2]
1986–1987 school year
In 1986–1987 school year, the band mentioned that Jacob's sibling, being known as an unofficial "Curse-Breaker", had been one of their sources of inspiration. They helped them practise their Frog Choir audition on the training grounds. They then encouraged Jacob's sibling to sing in front of Professor Snape to test their nerves. They watched and praised them for having done a great job.[3]
1989–1990 school year

During the 1989–1990 school year, the Weird Sisters popped up in front of Jacob's sibling in the Three Broomsticks Inn when they thought they had mentioned something about them.[4] Later, Jacob's sibling invited the Weird Sisters to do a concert at the Great Lake.[5] They also performed during the party at Three Broomsticks.[6]
1994–1995 school year
Upon the announcement of the Yule Ball, one of the rumours discussed in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was that Albus Dumbledore had booked the Weird Sisters for the ball, which turned out to be true.[7]
On 25 December, 1994, the band performed in the Great Hall on a magically-appearing stage. Among the band's instruments were a set of drums, several guitars, a cello, a lute, a double bass and some bagpipes. During this performance, Harry Potter noted that all members of the band were extremely hairy and all wearing black robes that had been artfully torn.[8]
1995–1996 school year
In 1995, the band was popular enough that the marriage of their bass player, Donaghan Tremlett, made front-page news in the Daily Prophet.[9]
Behind the scenes
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the band which performs at the Yule Ball deliberately goes unnamed throughout the film because of a legal dispute between the film studio and Canadian folk band Wyrd Sisters.[10] The band is simply introduced as "The band that needs no introduction!", by Filius Flitwick.
- Thirteen years after the film's release, despite the legal dispute, Warner Bros. used the name to identify a trio of teenage witches in the 2018 Netflix Original Series, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
- Members Merton Graves and Herman Wintringham do not make an appearance in the film.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, piper Gideon Crumb plays keyboards as well as bagpipes. In the book series, however, there is no mention of the band having a keyboard player.
- The band's songs were written by Jarvis Cocker, who plays singer Myron Wagtail. "Do the Hippogriff" was a collaboration between Cocker and rhythm guitarist Jason Buckle (Heathcote Barbary).
- The Scottish band Franz Ferdinand, self-professed fans of the books, were originally invited to play the Weird Sisters.[11]
- In an interview, J. K. Rowling stated that the instruments that they played included bagpipes, cello and electric guitar and that they were Harry Potter's favourite band.[12]
- At least as portrayed in the Harry Potter films, the Weird Sisters are considered to be a wizard rock band.[13]
- All appear on Chocolate Frog Cards at the Harry Potter Exhibition.
Etymology
- The term "Weird Sisters" was the name given to the three prophetic witches in the play "Macbeth," by William Shakespeare ("weïrd" being Old English for "fate" or "destiny").
- Macbeth, stated to be quite possibly the favourite Shakespeare play of Harry Potter series author J. K. Rowling,[14] had another allusion in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film), where the Frog Choir sings "Double Double Toil and Trouble", a direct quote from the play.
- Interestingly, the Spanish edition of the books refers to the band by the name las Brujas de Macbeth, meaning "Macbeth's Witches".
- As it is unconfirmed as to from where J. K. Rowling got the idea for the band's name, other possibilities include:
- A variant of the name, Wyrd Sisters, was used as the title of a 1988 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett.
- A play on the heavy rock band, Twisted Sister.
Portrayers of the Weird Sisters
- Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp) as Myron Wagtail – vocals
- Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead) as Kirley Duke – lead guitar
- Jason Buckle (of All Seeing I) as Heathcote Barbary – rhythm guitar
- Steve Mackey (of Pulp) as Donaghan Tremlett – bass
- Steven Claydon (of Add N to (X)) as Gideon Crumb – keyboards and bagpipes
- Phil Selway (of Radiohead) as Orsino Thruston – drums
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (PC version) (Appears on a Famous Wizard Card)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned on a shirt) (Mentioned in the Daily Prophet)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (At the funeral for Albus Dumbledore)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned on a poster)
- Pottermore
- Harry Potter: The Character Vault (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 2, "Become an Honorary Rocker" Achievement
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "The Frog Choir" Achievement
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 28 (Moving On)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 38 (Meeting the Merqueen)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 44 (The Perfect Party)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 22 (The Unexpected Task)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23 (The Yule Ball)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 14 (Percy and Padfoot)
- ↑ Wyrd Sisters keep fighting the good fight at canada.com (archived)
- ↑ Franz Ferdinand To Play Ugly Sisters In Next 'Harry Potter' Flick?, MTV
- ↑ J.K. Rowling at the Royal Albert hall, available on Accio Quote!
- ↑ Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey, Page 135
- ↑ The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet Interview
The Weird Sisters | |||
---|---|---|---|
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Lead singer | Lead guitar | Rhythm guitar | Bass guitar |
Myron Wagtail | Kirley Duke | Heathcote Barbary | Donaghan Tremlett |
Bagpipes | Drums | Cello | Lute |
Gideon Crumb | Orsino Thruston | Merton Graves | Herman Wintringham |
Known songs | |||
Do The Hippogriff · Magic Works · This Is The Night |