Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Psy's Gangnam Style bandwagon rolls on with latest parody featuring Eton College students

 

Liam O'Brien,Neela Debnath
Thursday 18 October 2012 17:08 BST
Comments
The parody video, which was shot within the grounds of the famous school, features a reworked version of the tune including lyrics about life at the prestigious private school.
The parody video, which was shot within the grounds of the famous school, features a reworked version of the tune including lyrics about life at the prestigious private school. (YouTube)

Pupils at Eton College have become an internet sensation after poking fun at their privileged education in a YouTube parody of number one hit Gangnam Style.

The 17-year-old students dance around the £32,000-a-year private school's extensive grounds miming their own version of South Korean rapper Psy's popular song.

In just 20 hours, the clip had accrued more than 44,000 views, though it still has some way to go to match the original's 482 million.

The stars of the video claim Etonians are "frustrated, lonely and insecure", and mock the prestigious establishment's educational heritage. "There's college library there, we got originals from Rousseau and his mate Voltaire, And there just sitting there ('cause we don't care)," they rap, wearing their robes and sunglasses. They poke fun at their toff reputation, saying they drink "Moet at a hundred pounds a bottle… just like water."

Headmaster Tony Little said the pupils involved wouldn't be reprimanded: English teacher Marco Liviero and Head of Spanish Nick Hulme even dance along to the music.

"It wasn't a subversive thing," said Mr Little. "I saw it before it was up and out. I think it's a self-deprecating piece of fun by some boys who are parodying themselves. It's just something the boys wanted to make."

He said he imagined it was the talk of the school, but admitted: "It hasn't come through to me in great tidal waves."

Many of the comments under the video debated whether the clip would reverse the public's perception of Eton, or simply reaffirmed its stereotype as a place for only the most wealthy members of society.

Mr Little said: "We have got a lot of intelligent, lively and down-to-earth boys, and one fifth of our students receive significant financial help." As of last night, the video had attracted more than 2,000 'likes'. Some suggested the 200 dislikes were perpetrated by rival pupils at Harrow.

Old Etonians have also been getting in on the act: Boris Johnson told the Tory Party Conference that he and David Cameron had danced to Gangnam Style.

View the video below along with our selection of the 'best' parodies and mash-ups:

Firstly, for those who still may not have heard of this new dance sensation, here is the original version of Gangnam Style in all its kitsch glory.

Last Monday London Mayor Boris Johnson addressed the party faithful at the Conservative Party Conference.

During a speech in which he praised the hard work to make the London 2012 Games a success, he also mentioned that he and the Prime Minister had danced to Gangnam Style just the other day.

With an image like that, it was not long before Boris’ speech was spliced with Psy’s video to create the Gangnam Style: Boris Johnson remix.

Possibly, the follow up to this video should feature two people dressed up as Boris and Cameron doing the dance around locations across London and outside the Houses of Parliament?

Just a thought.

Last week a video of the man getting chased around a tree by a stag went viral.

The unfortunate man stumbled across the path of two male deers who appeared to be in the midst of a showdown, one of the stags turned its attention onto the man as a possible rival and started running towards him.

The passerby eventually had to climb the tree to avoid the stag, the incident has now been turned into a mashup with Psy’s floor filler in Gangnam Stag: Testosterone fuelled deer chases man in Bushy Park remix.

If you ever wondered what the video would be like without the music and just the rapping, look no further than this mashup, where the music has been taken out and some amusing sound effects have been added in. Without the music the video is somehow even more funny, click on it – it’s worth it.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in