The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the Boston-based ska-punk band led by singer Dicky Barrett that appeared in the movie Clueless (1995) and had a No. 1 hit with 1997’s “The Impression That I Get,” have disbanded.
The group also included bassist Joe Gittleman, saxophonist Tim “Johnny Vegas” Burton and dancer Ben Carr as longtime members. The Bosstones formed in the early 1980s and subsequently became figureheads of ska punk in the mainstream when they landed that 1997 smash from their fifth album, Let’s Face It. The song has been included in movies such as Step Brothers and Chasing Amy and is a playable track on the video games Rock Band 4 and Band Hero.
In a statement posted to their Facebook page on Thursday (Jan. 27), The Mighty Mighty Bosstones revealed, “After decades of brotherhood, touring the world and making great records together, we have decided to no longer continue on as a band. Above all, we want to express our sincere gratitude to every single one of you who have supported us. We could not have done any of it without you.”
A cause for the breakup wasn’t disclosed. The Bosstones were scheduled to perform at the upcoming Slam Dunk Festival 2022. According to Rolling Stone, the band’s split came days after it was revealed that a song that promoted an anti-vax rally in Washington, D.C., “Heart of Freedom.” was apparently produced by Barrett, or at least someone with the singer’s same name. The rally was organized by noted conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as Reuters reported.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones took a brief hiatus in the mid-2000s but otherwise had been performing and together since 1983. They released 11 studio albums together, starting with 1989’s Devil’s Night Out and ending with last year’s When God Was Great.
