The Ipswich band, “The Fools” was originally named “The Rhythm A’s”, with singer Mike Girard and guitarist Rich Bartlett. In 1976, Stacey Pedrick (guitar), Doug Forman (bass), and Chris Pedrick (drums), joined the band, which took on the name, The Fools.
“Psycho Chicken”, a parody of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”was a hit on Boston radio stations, released in 1979. The group followed it up with “It’s a Night for Beautiful Girls,” which peaked at #67 on the Billboard charts. The second album, Heavy Mental,
In 1981, the band released their second album Heavy Mental, which featured a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Running Scared” that reached #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. That year, The Fools were the opening band for Van Halen on their Fair Warning tour. In 1985, four Fools songs became popular on New England radio, including “World Dance Party”, “Life Sucks…Then You Die”, “She Makes Me Feel Big”, and a cover of Manfred Mann’s “Do Wah Diddy”.
There have been several changes in the makeup of the band, which still features Mike Girard on vocals, and Rich Bartlett and Stacey Pedrick on guitar. Chris Pedrick departed and was replaced by drummer Leo Black, and Doug Forman left, and was replaced by bassist Joe Holaday. In 2003, base guitarist Lou Spagnola replaced Joe Holaday, still makes occasional appearances with the band. In February 2012, Lou Spagnola left the band and was then replaced by Bassist Eric Adamson.
Historic Ipswich 