Weird Sisters

Weird Sisters
Organisation information
Intentions	Musical group
Affiliation	Wizarding Wireless Network Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn."

— The Weird Sisters preform at the Yule Ball

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 in the wizarding world were fans of the Weird Sisters, including Ginevra Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks.

History

1980s

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. They wanted Jacob's sibling to perform with them, though the student was unable to actually play an instrument. As part of the preparations from the show, they taught Jacob's sibling to transfigure a cauldron into a bass guitar and charm it to play on its own. When asked if they used the charm they denied it, claiming to have learned through years of practice.

After the performance, Wagtail informed Jacob's sibling that they found a talented newcomer, Donaghan Tremlett to take over as a full time bass player.

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.

Weird Sisters concert at the Great Lake

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. Later, Jacob's sibling invited the Weird Sisters to do a concert at the Great Lake. They also performed during the party at Three Broomsticks.

1990s

"There was a large poster of the wizarding band the Weird Sisters on one wall, and a picture of Gwenog Jones, Captain of the all-witch Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies, on the other."

— Ginny Weasley had a poster of the band on her bedroom wall

The Weird Sisters playing at the Yule Ball

During the 1994-1995 school year the Yule Ball was announced, 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.

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.

In 1995, the band was popular enough that the marriage of their bass player, Donaghan Tremlett, made front-page news in the Daily Prophet.

Ginny Weasley had a poster of the band hanging on her bedroom wall.

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)

Songs

• "Do the Hippogriff"
• "Magic Works"
• "This Is the Night"
• "Blood Sucker"

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. 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.
• 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.
• At least as portrayed in the Harry Potter films, the Weird Sisters are considered to be a wizard rock band.
• 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, 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

The Weird Sisters
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
Blood Sucker · Do The Hippogriff · Magic Works · This Is The Night