The Mighty Boosh vs. The Sugar Monster

For readers in the UK this will be old news, but Mighty Boosh fans in the USA and elsewhere probably haven't heard about the great Boosh vs. Sugar Puffs controversy of 2008.

At random moments on The Mighty Boosh, Howard and Vince break into what they call "crimps", silly little almost-songs - part rap, part scat - spoken rapid-fire in perfect sync and often involving elaborate matching gestures. In the series three clip below, the boys' discussion on the joys of party bounce castles leads them into a classic crimp.



Last year, the makers of Sugar Puffs cereal launched a UK ad campaign that was rather obviously inspired by the Boosh. Check out the Honey Monster crimp:



While the ads were so close to the Boosh style that a lot of people assumed the Boosh boys were involved somehow, Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt couldn't sue because the concept of "crimping" itself can't be copyrighted. But the pair were clearly not happy. In their stage show a few months later they had Fielding's character Tony Harrison sexually assaulting the severed head of the Honey Monster, shouting, "Take it! Take it like you take other people's ideas, you plagiaristic yellow wanker!"


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