Weird Sisters

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, and on the Wizarding Wireless Network. Albus Dumbledore booked them to perform in Hogwarts at the 1994 Yule Ball. Despite their name, all eight known members are male.

Performing and singularity

The Weird Sisters are a popular band among young wizards and witches.

Songs

Among the Weird Sisters' songs was "Do the Hippogriff", "Magic Works" and "This Is the Night" which they played at the Yule Ball.

Instruments

Among the band's instruments were a set of drums, several guitars, a cello, a lute, a double bass and some bagpipes. When performing in Hogwarts during the Yule Ball, they performed on a magically-appearing stage.

Clothing

All members of the band were described as being extremely hairy and all wore black robes that had been artfully torn.

Gossip

The band was popular enough that the marriage of the bass player (Donaghan Tremlett) in 1995 made front-page news in the Daily Prophet, in Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts.^[1]

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

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"). Harry Potter series author J. K. Rowling has stated is quite possibly her favourite Shakespeare play.^[2] Interestingly, the Spanish edition of the books refers to the band by the name las Brujas de Macbeth (Macbeth's Witches). It is also interesting to point out a second allusion to Macbeth made in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) when the Frog Choir sings "Double Double Toil and Trouble", which is a direct quote from the play.

This is arguably where J. K. Rowling got the idea for the band's name from, although a variant of the name, Wyrd Sisters, was used as the title of a 1988 Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett.

There is also a possibility that the name is a play on the heavy rock band, Twisted Sister.

Behind the scenes

• Nymphadora Tonks and Ginny Weasley are both fans of the Weird Sisters.
• 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.^[3] The band is simply introduced as "The band that needs no introduction!" Because they are identified in the book as the Weird Sisters, it's safe to assume the band in the film was designed to be them.
  • 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.
• 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.^[4]
• 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.^[5]
• At least as portrayed in the Harry Potter films, the Weird Sisters are considered to be a wizard rock band.^[6]
• Profiles of female members of the Weird Sisters can be seen in the PC video game of 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
• All appear on Chocolate Frog cards at the Harry Potter Exhibition.
• In the film version 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.

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 in portrait(s))
• 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)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

Notes and references