Earlier this year, news broke that ‘the world’s worst band’, The Shaggs, were set to reunite for Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival in Massachusetts, USA. Fans of musical oddities were immensely excited at the prospect of seeing this infamous band perform live, and now, not only has the band played live once more, but there’s footage of the show to boot.
The Shaggs were a strange group to say the least. Formed at the insistence of their father, whose desire that the girls become famous came from the predictions of a fortune teller, the Wiggin sisters had no discernible music talent, and this lack of talent famously shone through on their sole studio effort, Philosophy Of The World, released in 1969.
However, despite this, the group managed to become an underground success in the ’80s and ’90s, with countless musicians citing them as an essential influence on their music, such as Kurt Cobain, and Frank Zappa. While the sisters broke up in 1975, a one-off reunion show was staged in 1999, and until now, the sisters had not performed live again. Thanks to Wilco, the Wiggin sisters came out of retirement once more for a nique performance.
Sadly, original drummer Helen Wiggin passed away in 2005, but remaining members Dot, Betty, and Rachel Wiggin joined forces to deliver an eleven-song set, consisting mainly of original material from The Shaggs, but allowing room for a cover of Marie Osmond’s ‘Paper Roses’. Check out some fan footage of the gig below, and a professionally shot performance that the sisters gave for WFUV Public Radio.
