Amateur Transplants
| Company type | Musical duo |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music, Comedy |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Adam Kay, Suman Biswas |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Headquarters | London , United Kingdom |
| Products | Comedy music albums and live performances |
Amateur Transplants was a parody music duo fronted by London-based British comedian Adam Kay alongside Suman Biswas (born 1978). They rose to fame in 2005 with their humorous take on The Jam's "Going Underground", retitled "London Underground". Regular live performances helped them build a following, garnering praise from Time Out and securing multiple acclaimed appearances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Their concluding concert took place in Reading in May 2016.
Music and biography
Their repertoire predominantly consists of comedic parodies centered on medical subjects, drawing some inspiration from American satirist Tom Lehrer. From 2005 onwards, they were annual performers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and Adam Kay also appeared at Latitude Festival in 2012. Ten percent of all their sales, plus the entire revenue from "London Underground," is donated to Macmillan Cancer Relief. The pair produced three studio albums: Fitness to Practice, Unfit to Practise, and Have Yourself a Sweary Little Christmas, in addition to a live recording titled In Theatre. Their song "Anaesthetist's Hymn" was featured on the 2008 compilation Geek Pop.
Their signature track, "London Underground," paired with a flash animation, became an online hit across the UK in 2005. Set to the melody of The Jam's "Going Underground", it humorously critiqued the London Underground strike. Originally included on their first album, a rock rendition was later featured on Unfit to Practise and released as a single on iTunes, where it topped the Comedy chart with over four million downloads.
Both Kay and Biswas pursued medical degrees at Imperial College London. Their compositions "Snippets" and "Careless Surgeon" humorously reference competing London medical institutions King's College London and Barts, while "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" satirizes other London medical schools.
As stated on their official site, "Locum Amateur Transplant Suman Biswas performed alongside Adam for several years but has since returned to clinical practice." Biswas currently works full-time within the NHS as an anaesthetist and released a solo album entitled Still Alive after Amateur Transplants in 2013.
Discography
- 2004 – Fitness to Practice
- 2007 – The Black and White Menstrual Show (performance DVD)
- 2008 – Unfit to Practise
- 2009 – In Theatre (live album)
- 2010 – Have Yourself a Sweary Little Christmas
- 2013 – Specimens
- 2016 – The Remains of Tom Lehrer
Tours
In 2007, Amateur Transplants toured across the UK presenting "The Black and White Menstrual Show," which led to their first DVD release.
The duo embarked on a UK tour in 2010 with "Amateur Transplants in Theatre," culminating in a live album recording.
October 2011 saw them perform in Trondheim, Norway at Rockheim during Frampeik, an event tailored for Norwegian medical students.
In 2012, Adam Kay toured the UK solo with his show "From Amateur Transplants: Adam Kay's Smutty Songs."