Belle and Sebastian have made a cameo appearance on The Simpsons, in an episode both set in and celebrating Scotland. The episode, titled Ae Bonny Romance, is the eighth episode of the show’s 35th season and sees Groundskeeper Willie head to his homeland to marry Maisie (as voiced by Doctor Who‘s Karen Gillam).
The Glasgow band appear during the rehearsal dinner for the wedding, during which they perform their song ‘If You Find Yourself Caught In Love’. The song stems from their sixth studio album Dear Catastrophe Waitress, which was originally released in 2003. In addition to the wedding performance, the band also provided the show with a rework of their 1996 song ‘Judy and the Dream of Horses’ – titled ‘Willie and the Dream of Peat Bogs’.
Belle and Sebastian – ‘If You Find Yourself Caught in Love’ on The Simpsons
Belle and Sebastian – ‘Willie and the Dream of Peat Bogs’
Belle and Sebastian join a long list of musical artists to appear on The Simpsons across its 30-plus years on the air. Recent appearances include “Weird Al” Yankovic and Lizzo in season 34, John Legend and Weezer in season 31 and the Ned Flanders-themed metal band Okilly Dokilly in season 30.
An unofficial appearance came in season 32 during the episode Panic on the Streets of Springfield, which saw Lisa become obsessed with a British singer named Quilloughby – a character voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch who bore more than a passing resemblance to Morrissey. The singer’s manager Peter Katsis posted a diatribe on Facebook in response, accusing the show’s writers of trying to “capitalize on cheap controversy and expounding on vicious rumors”.
Nevertheless, the show released the official Quilloughby song ‘Everyone Is Horrid Except Me (And Possibly You)’ as a single. The song featured Cumberbatch singing in character as Quilloughby with backing vocals from Yeardley Smith in character as Lisa Simpson, and was written by Flight Of The Conchords‘ Bret McKenzie.
Belle and Sebastian released their most recent studio album, Late Developers, in January of 2023. Their 12th overall, it was announced only a few days prior to its release and arrived eight months after their 2022 album A Bit of Previous. The band last toured Australia in 2018.
Further Reading
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