"Shall We Set Ben On Fire?" was formed in Nottingham in 1842 by the famous ukulele player Brian Humphrey. The name has its origins in the myth of Bendict Mcgregor of Nottinghamshire's burning at the stake as medieval England's sole male witch. The band had many timeless hits such as "Mazurkas, Op.67" and their version of "Oh, what a lovely bunch of coco-nuts" which are writ in stone in the annals of music. The band broke up in 1865 but Brian and the band's kettle drummer Jack Hirst kept performing under the band's name until 1910 when Jack, the last of the original members, suffered from a bad case of arthritis and had to lay down his kettle.

"Shall We Set Ben on Fire?" remained inactive but not forgotten during both world wars but the name was revived by the veterans of The First Batallion Transvestite Brigade shortly after the war ended. The new "Shall We Set Ben On Fire?" were famous for their angelic voices and experi-mental use of musical saws. Sadly, due to an indescribable accident they all died within 10 years and "Shall We Set Ben On Fire?" missed out on the hippie revolution of the 60's and the disco revolution of the 70's.

The name was briefly revived by a now famous Swedish band but a judge's ruling that "Shall We Set Ben On Fire?" was an english heritage asset, convinced the band to change its name. Since then the name "Shall We Set Ben On Fire?" has been abandoned and disused...

...until now.

Thanks to the drunken ramblings of two friends, who soon became four friends (through addition, not asexual reproduction) "Shall We Set Ben On Fire?" is once again alive, though opting to drop the question mark in favour of ellipsis dots, just to be all mysterious like. Brian's jolly ukulele is replaced by Fire James' ear-bothering guitar. The sober voices and musical saws of the transvestite orchestra are replaced by the intoxicating voice of Fire Greg and the wandering bass skills of Fire Tom. The synth and style of the swedish band replaced by Fire Jez's hellish thumpings on the drums. They have recently released their first EP which has been described as "fucking awesome" by some. In a recent interview the band said that due to their Brighton background, they are probably against the setting of male witches on fire but would happily set a flame to anyone named Benedict.

vaguely based on a true idea. 
http://www.shallwesetbenonfire.co.uk