Female Trio Create “The Best” Cover Of “Fat Bottomed Girls” With Brian May’s Approval
Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele first performed together as Houston, a female vocal group that released several songs under that name. As the British country pop trio became better known, the members discovered that Houston was already being used by multiple acts. Their replacement name, Remember Monday, refers to a tradition established during their friendship: they set Mondays aside for one another, either to go out or to relax and play music.
The three became best friends after meeting as 17-year-olds at Farnborough College in 2012. Remember Monday issued its first single in 2018, then entered The Voice UK the following year. With Jennifer Hudson as their coach, the group progressed to the quarter-finals. Rather than perform another artist’s material, they insisted on presenting their original song “Jailbreaker.” In the same year, they received the British Country Music Awards’ Best Group honor.
When the pandemic arrived, Remember Monday posted TikTok clips of performances filmed in car parks. One lockdown upload featured a 20-second version of “Fat Bottom Girls.” The trio described the short cover as innocent, but it spread widely and followers began calling for them to record the complete song. Brian May also reposted the clip on his Instagram account, giving the group another reason to make an extended rendition.
The resulting full-length video was separate from the car-park TikTok recording. Remember Monday attributed its creation to the response on TikTok, explaining to Holler.Country that the viral clip, audience requests and May’s share made the longer cover difficult to resist. The YouTube version had drawn nearly 1.3 million views, while the original short had reached 3.6 million. Although the cover was a fun departure, it was not representative of a catalogue centered largely on the trio’s own writing.
Watch the full performance on page two