You and I have witnessed many things, but nothing as bodacious as Wyld Stallyns. Yes, that’s right, it’s time to face the music. The long awaited sequel to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and their subsequent Bogus Journey is finally here. It’s been over 30 years since the first film hit cinemas and we’re edging ever closer to the future it foretold: a utopian society built on a foundation of Bill and Ted’s music.

Wyld Stallyns unabashedly rocked. Sure, they might have lacked their much-desired creative input of Eddie Van Halen on guitar, but there isn’t anyone who’d deny that “the two great ones”—William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan—were most triumphant. With the release of Bill and Ted Face the Music, the iconic duo are back to save reality as we know it and, of course, to do what they do best: be excellent to each other and party on, dudes.

Wyld Stallyns Bill And Ted

Courtesy of: Orion Pictures

We’ve decided to take a look at 10 more of the best fictional bands to feature in films. Maybe none of them can claim to have helped eradicate war and poverty or enable interstellar communication like Wyld Stallyns can, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t saved the world in their own way.

We can’t list them all, so apologies to Citizen Dick (Singles, 1992), Stiff Dylans (Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, 2008), and every other imaginary act we’ve not included below. Please note: although these bands are works of fiction, they should nevertheless be played at maximum volume.

10. The Clash at Demonhead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, 2010)

When Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was first released, the movie was a box-office bomb. Ten years on and it has become one of the most celebrated films of the past decade. It’s been lauded for its comic book characteristics, its video game aesthetics, and—of course—its musical performances. The band closest to the heart of the story is Sex Bob-omb, but the film’s musical highpoint arrives in the guise of the Clash at Demonhead.

Ex-girlfriend-turned-international-superstar Envy Adams is portrayed by a pre-Captain Marvel Brie Larson, who struts her stuff on stage like she was born to be there—and the crowd lap up every moment. The song is written by Toronto outfit Metric (whose frontwoman, Emily Haines, was an inspiration for Larson’s character), but the vocals you hear in the film are Larson’s own – no surprise considering she briefly pursued a pop career in her teens. As whip-smart as it is sensual and empowered, this performance immortalises the Clash at Demonhead among the all-time movie greats.

9. The Stains (Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, 1982)

Playing against a band that includes Paul Simonon of the Clash, Paul Cook and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, and a young Ray Winstone on vocals is no easy feat. The Looters may have brought punk star power to Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains, but it’s the eponymous trio who capture the attentions and imaginations of the audience. Portrayed by a young Diane Lane, Marin Kanter, and Laura Dern, the Stains are a shining example of grrrl power at its finest.

Armed with hair dye, sheer outfits, contagious riffs, and an attitude they aren’t afraid to let take charge, the Stains sparked a revolution on film and inspired generations offscreen. Musicians from Courtney Love to Kate Nash cite this film—and the band at its heart—as an inspiration, and they continue to make their influence felt to this day.

8. School of Rock (School of Rock, 2003)

Rock and roll can change the world—don’t question it, that’s just fact. With a single performance at the climax of School of Rock, a class of students from Horace Green Prep School look well on their way to achieving just that. Over the course of the film this group of kids (and their teacher) discover who it is they want to be. Taking to the stage at Battle of the Bands, they show the world exactly what they’re capable of—and let us tell you, it’s spectacular.

Are they victorious? It doesn’t matter. They came to rock and that’s exactly what they do. Regardless of the outcome, they’re the only band that the crowd on screen—and the audience watching at home—want to hear as the credits start to run. Sure, it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll, but judging by the way this collective own the spotlight they’re thrust into, the top seems like a place they were always destined to be.

7. The Soronprfbs (Frank, 2014)

Try saying that band name six times fast. Or, y’know, try saying it at all. A name that evades pronunciation is an apt fit for a band that defies description, and that’s exactly what the Soronprfbs are. The group that sit at the heart of Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank—fronted by their papier-mâché-mask-wearing leader (Michael Fassbender)—are eccentric, to say the least. They recruit aspiring musician Jon Burroughs (Domhnall Gleeson) to join them as they escape to Ireland to record their debut album, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“You can write a song about anything.” This is the wisdom Frank imparts to Jon while the pair are shut away in their remote retreat from the world. It’s also what the band proceed to do. Finding inspiration in everything from a creaky door to a tuft of carpet, this is creativity at its most abstract and freewheeling. Whether they’re throwing equipment and storming off stage or performing together in a way that feels completely cathartic, there is no other band quite like this one.

6. Pink Slip (Freaky Friday, 2003)

More than just a family comedy, Freaky Friday came complete with a soundtrack to teenage rebellion. The main event? Pink Slip. Sure, they only have two songs to their name (and one of them is a cover), but any band who can win the Wango Tango auditions while their lead guitarist is trapped in Jamie Lee Curtis’ body is pretty damn impressive.

When the film was written the group were originally meant to be more goth than garage band, while the part of singer Maddie was initially going to be played by Kelly Osbourne. Lindsay Lohan convinced the studio to rewrite the characters’ style, Osbourne dropped out and was replaced by Christina Vidal, and the result is nothing short of iconic. With the success of Freaky Friday, Pink Slip set the template for rebellious girls dreaming of growing up to be rockstars the world over. They might still be in their garage phase, but boasting chorus hooks aplenty and the air guitar solos of your dreams, what more could you want from a band?

(While we’re on the topic of Freaky Friday, a special mention has to go to Chad Michael Murray for his iconic rendition of ‘Hit Me Baby, One More Time‘—we don’t think anyone will ever sing that song quite like him.)

5. The Commitments (The Commitments, 1991)

To find the group now immortalised as The Commitments, casting directors Ros and John Hubbard spent two months visiting clubs in and around Dublin. Meanwhile, director Alan Parker placed an advert in a local magazine and even invited people he saw busking in the street to try out for the production. Before anyone progressed to reading for parts in the film, they were first auditioned for their musical talent. It was an unconventional start for an unconventional band, but the hard work clearly paid off.

At the time, The Commitments broke the record for the most overall swear words used in a film (a record now held by The Wolf of Wall Street). Now the movie is celebrated as one of the best Irish films ever made. The songs you hear in the film were recorded live on set, potently capturing the raw energy that make the group such a force to be reckoned with. The result is a band that boasts soul in spades. Watching the film, it doesn’t take long for the group to succumb to inter-band tensions, but off camera they became so popular they released not one, but two soundtrack albums. “The world’s hardest working band,” indeed.

4. Stillwater (Almost Famous, 2000)

For anyone who knows what it is to be a fan, to truly love some silly little piece of music, or some band, so much that it hurts, there’s Stillwater. Disguised – as Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) so casually describes on screen – as “a think piece about a mid-level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom,” Almost Famous is, at its heart, a love letter to the music we love. Stillwater are the personification of that music.

Inspired by a number of bands writer and director Cameron Crowe interviewed for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s, Stillwater make this list less for their musical prowess (though the songs are brilliant) and more for what their music means to everyone around them—hell, what their music means to themselves. The living, thriving, drinking, fucking, brawling embodiment of The Band That Changed Your Life, Stillwater harken back to the rock ‘n’ roll golden gods of yesteryear, here to remind us what it’s like to love a song, a band, so much it becomes part of who you are.

3. Josie and the Pussycats (Josie and the Pussycats, 2001)

They saved the world, and they sounded damn good while they were doing it. The characters of Josie, Valerie, and Melody first rose to prominence in the Archie Comics series and later in the animated television show, but it’s the delightfully meta (and unapologetically ridiculous) film that really showed the world just how much these girls rock.

The star power behind these songs is impressive to say the least. Kay Hanley (Letters to Clio) voiced Josie in all the film’s musical scenes. Half the songs were produced by Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, and the other half by Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne). Melodies and lyrics came from the likes of Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s) and Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), to name just a few. For coming from such an outlandish film, the impact the band had is impossible to shake. Charly Bliss are unabashed fans of the group, while Sadie Depuis (Speedy Ortiz/Sad13) has stated that they were the band to inspire her to start playing guitar. Don’t take our word for it—hit ‘play’ above.

(And we couldn’t talk about Josie and the Pussycats without giving a special shout out to DuJour—Seth Green and Breckin Meyer in a boyband together? Remind us again why that’s not real?)

2. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 2001)

What began life as an off-Broadway musical in 1998 has gone on to become an international success. Simply put, Hedwig and the Angry Inch are a sensation. John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig is a queer icon, and the very definition of a rock star. Part glam, part punk, part whatever the hell she wants to be, hers is a voice that demands to be heard. For cathartically wild performances of music shot straight from the heart, nobody does it better.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch are an explosion of creativity at its most cathartic. The success of the film has given audiences so much more than just a stellar soundtrack. There have been numerous stage adaptations that have seen the show translated for audiences across the globe and even a stage show celebrating the songs and stories of the original production. There’s a charity tribute album (featuring Yoko Ono, Cyndi Lauper, Rufus Wainwright, Spoon, and more besides covering Hedwig’s music) and an accompanying documentary about the making of that record. The songs have even formed the basis for a musical episode of Riverdale. This play, this film, this band, these songs, boast a timeless quality that’s meant they never stop resonating with audiences all around the world.

1. Spinal Tap (This is Spinal Tap, 1984)

The musicians are incompetent, their songs are absurd, and their performances are shambolic, but honestly, did you really expect anything else at number one? Yes, This is Spinal Tap is a piss-take, but it’s a piss-take made with so much love and enthusiasm for the music it’s taking the piss out of that it’s near impossible to find fault. The very first band to turn it up to 11, of course Spinal Tap come out on top.

Straddling the line between stupid and clever, Spinal Tap are the golden standard of fictional bands. The movie was initially a box office flop because audiences (convinced the group was real) weren’t sure why they’d see a film about a band they’d never heard of. In fact, following the film’s release, director Rob Reiner was repeatedly approached by people telling him they wished he’d made the movie about a more well-known group. In the three-and-a-half decades since the film was released, Spinal Tap have made three records, spent press cycles doing interviews in character, played live shows, and even performed on Glastonbury’s famous Pyramid Stage. Not bad going for a made-for-film act whose dialogue was almost entirely improvised.