Two of the members of 'Hunky Dory', worked in a vintage charity shop in London. They decided to form a trio with one of the member's sister, who had previously struggled singing solo on the jazz circuit in grotty unsuccessful clubs. The group became a successful cappella, pop, jazz, Close Harmony, Swing group. The group has been performing for roughly two years together and have attracted a niche audience. Since forming the group, their image has matured and become more sophisticated. They have always had an original style inspired by 40’s vintage fashion but it has become more glamorous over time. They have a sex appeal through thier cheeky burlesque style. 'Hunky Dory' will never have a mainstream audience but their original niche audience may grow through word of mouth. A way they will manage this is by singing covers of mainstream songs, such as
Beyonce’s 'Crazy in Love'.
Hunky Dory are inspired by female singers who performed around the time of World War II (1939-1945), such as: The Andrews sisters, Vera Lyn and Judy Garland. They are also inspired by style icons such as pin up girls and Burlesque dancers. Their modern day competitors would be similar groups such as
The Puppini Sisters. The old fashioned, sophisticated, glamorous style of their genre matches their image and makes them stand out in comparison to current successful music artists. The commercial implications that
Hunky Dory has is their style of music, which does not appeal to mainstream audiences. They have a very individual sound which is not typical of what you would hear in the charts.
Hunky Dory are signed to a small record label,
Universal Classics and
Jazz (UK) which targets a niche audience, therefore a unique image. Other acts signed to this label are artists such as
The Puppini Sisters. The record label constructs
Hunky Dory’s image to make them more sellable by portraying them as glamorous and sophisticated.
Hunky Dory appeal to the demographic of upper middle class and have a strong female fan base. However, their sex appeal may also attract a male audience. The typical fan would visit art galleries, vintage boutiques, stores and may possibly be a fan of Portobello market. They would be interested in British culture and the World War II era as well as this eras fashion.
Hunky Dory fans would listen to music in the same genre and close genres such as; swing, jazz, classical and pop. They would listen to music from the same era that inspired the music of
Hunky Dory. Again a typical fan might watch media product from the World War II era, as well as current day media product that replicates this same era.
