Former Menswear Member Fools Old Bandmates with Platinum Record Prank

Published Nov 23, 2012

During the big Britpop boom of the '90s, stylish Camden combo Menswear managed to hit the charts with tracks like "Daydreamer" and "Stardust," though they made nowhere near the same impression on either side of the pond as era contemporaries Blur or Pulp. Interestingly, yesterday (November 22) it was reported that the band's debut dischad gone platinum in the UK some 17 years after its initial release, but the accomplishment has now been revealed as a hoax put together by former guitarist Chris Gentry.Yesterday, Gentry tweeted a picture of himself (see above) grinning and holding a plaque commemorating 300,000 copies sold (the UK standard for platinum sales), with the caption, "'Nuisance' by [email protected] goes WW Platinum. Thx to everyone who made it possible."As the story got passed around, former drummer Matt Everitt tweeted , "Sweet jesus," but also immediately questioned the accuracy of Gentry's claim, adding: "I have serious doubts whether that album has sold 300,000 copies in the UK... Or anywhere."When NME grilled current BBC 6 Music host Everitt about the news, he continued to be lighthearted but leery, noting, "My annual royalty cheques (approximately £83) would suggest something is amiss here. However, I'm currently expecting our long-delayed Led Zeppelin-style reunion at the O2 and 15 CD/DVD/Blu-ray box set retrospective of our lengthy and critically acclaimed career to become a reality, just in time for Christmas."Turns out the drummer's skepticism was warranted. Holy Moly reports that Gentry pranked his bandmates by buying a fake platinum disc on eBay. He later tweeted, "It was just some office lols that got out of hand. We've all been there..."Singer Johnny Dean was apparently duped by Gentry's jokey actions, and sources toldthat he "immediately began to enquire as to the whereabouts of his missing money, making accusations of mismanagement, believing himself to be the victim of a great rock'n'roll swindle."Following, Menswear were dropped from their UK label Laurel and broke up in 1998 following the Japanese-only release of their sophomore set,