Dreamt up by Roddy Doyle for his 1987 novel of the same name, The Commitments  are a bunch of Dubliners who form a soul band to great success. Unlike Spinal Tap (and to a more dubious extent, The Rutles), The Commitments didn't write their own songs, but their covers are spectacular.

Their versions of 'Mustang Sally' and 'Dark End of the Street' made the soundtrack album to inevitable 1991 film an epic success.  Performed with the kind of pub-rocking grit and simmering emotion that Rod Stewart used to provide, they may be purely fictional but they've got good taste.

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