This sweet, sad documentary – which a bit of Googling, however, reveals to be rather contrived – is a study of Dene Michael, a middle-aged man from Leeds who once upon a time was part of the 1980s novelty band Black Lace, known and feared for their earworm hit single, Agadoo, with its weird lyrics about pushing pineapples and shaking trees. The band’s lineup changed about as often as that of the Fall, and Michael was once one of the guys singing backing vocals while dressed as a pineapple.
But when frontman Colin Gibb was forced out after an underage sex scandal, and the other frontman, Alan Barton, left to join the band Smokie, Michael was taken out of the pineapple costume, promoted to singer and effectively left in sole charge of the band. Since the 1980s, he has been endlessly touring the sad disco circuit from Blackpool to Benidorm, belting out Black Lace hits to dwindling drunk crowds as if in some Alan Partridge nightmare.
