Aussie satire group The Chaser rose to prominence in the early 2000s, and over their almost two decades on television have churned out 11 different shows including election specials every election year since The Election Chaser kicked off their on-screen careers in 2001.
As they’ve become more well know to the public and to politicans, The Chaser have been less able to perform hilarious stunts that typically rely on anonymity. However, election years veritably provided some of the best content for political satire – and over the years most musically talented member Andrew Hansen has crafted some of the most poignant and well written song parodies about Australian poltical leaders during their time in the spotlight.
To celebrate The Chaser’s brand new election special The Chaser’s Election Desk, which airs tonight on ABC at 9pm – we compiled six of the best of Hansen’s songs from their election specials and regular shows over the years.
Stairway To Kevin – Led Zeppelin Parody
Starting way back in 2007, the Howard/Rudd election provided The Chaser with some of their best ever content. Complete with Chris Taylor and Craig Reucassel pretending to play guitars behind him, Hansen sung an epic parody of Led Zeppelin’s canon track Stairway To Heaven – hitting every note, and as usual – every word was on point. “There’s a country that know’s that Howard’s on the nose, so they’re climbing a stairway to Kevin”. True to form, Rudd would go on to win the election.
John Did It His Way – Frank Sinatra Parody
It’s also been mentioned semi-seriously by the group that they’d never have made it as comedians if Howard hadn’t been in power so long (he was PM for the first 8 years of their time as a The Chaser). At the end of the election Hansen performed a parody on the song My Way – a song popularised by Frank Sinatra in the late 60s. With lyrics like “He told fat lies on GST, and on those kids chucked in the sea!” it was a perfect send off for Howard, and one of the few times we’ve seen Hansen really explore his quite amazing vocal range.
The Negotiate Song
Some of Andrew Hansen’s best compositions weren’t strictly songs – but rather bits of piano and singing cut with various pieces of footage. This one took aim at then Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s inability to pronounce the word “negotiate”, and highlighted Hansen’s excellent piano skills and quite impressive attempt at singing with a British accent.
Ladies (Baby) – Justin Bieber Parody
Leading up to the 2010 election The Chaser decided a parody of (teenage) Justin Bieber’s smash hit of the same year Baby was the best way to highlight Tony Abbot’s prehistoric views on divisive issues like contraception and same-sex marriage. Featuring Chas Liccardello spitting straight fire in his Usher cameo, Andrew Hansen manages to sing in something resembling Bieber’s ridiculously high pitched voice. “He may be liberal, that’s just his flavour – but he wants every Aussie girl to be in labour”.
Don’t Stop Believing Malcolm – Glee Parody
It shouldn’t come as a shock that The Chaser have become extremely good at predicting the political cycle, writing this weirdly prophetic song back in 2010 – encouraging now PM Malcolm Turnbull not to stop believing that he’ll run the country one day. One of their most well-produced songs, Hansen sings a parody of Glee’s version of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin. This one is particularly relevant at the moment, highlighting Turnbull’s now strangely missing passion for action on climate change and for making Australia a republic.
Every Single One Is Fucked – The Chaser
Perhaps the most timeless of all their political songs, in 2010 The Chaser ended their final episode of Yes We Canberra with an original song called Everyone Single One Is Fucked. If it wasn’t obvious enough from the title, it was a tongue-in-cheek effort that addressing the growing disenfranchisement of Australians with their politicians. You can’t help but feel that the line “You might as well just wipe the fucking ballot on your crack” speaks just as true now as it did six years ago.
