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Liam O'Dell
Aug 27, 2022
Related video: Men from 'lads meme' reveal on GMB the mental toll going viral has caused them
Good Morning Britain
It was certainly one of the more simplistic images to become an internet meme, but the snap of ‘four lads in jeans’ hanging outside an All Bar One in Birmingham has now been immortalised in a bronze statue – though people aren’t pleased by the end result.
The artwork isn’t exactly flattering, but considering it was created by Brummie papier-mâché artist Well Douglas – known online as Tat Vision – it seems that was rather the point.
The installation is part of the Birmingham Weekender event, with a description of the statue on the Birmingham Hippodrome website reading: “A tribute [to] the Four Lads in Jeans inspired by them old Greek statues.
“These four men are ready for an adventure just like the first bit in Homer’s Odyssey, before the adventure.”
And to think it all started in pre-pandemic 2019, when one of the chaps named Connor uploaded the innocent snap of him and mates Alex, Jamie and Kevin to Instagram with the caption: “Tight trousers chose us.”
After it was shared to a Facebook meme page, it went viral, sparking sea shanty videos and more.
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News of the statue of the four Coventry and Birmingham chaps surfaced earlier this week, but it was only on Saturday that the fruits of Tat Vision’s labour was finally unveiled to the world.
Except Twitter isn’t exactly keen:
\u201cIt looks like the actual original lads have just been left there in the heat all summer?! \u26b0\ufe0f\u201d— Dan Morrissey (@Dan Morrissey) 1661604966
\u201cWhat a stitch up \ud83d\ude2d\ud83e\udd23\u201d— Liam (@Liam) 1661604801
\u201cThis is both the best example of humanity & the worst all at the same time\n\nWell done #BIRMINGHAM \ud83e\udd23\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Jason Ward (@Jason Ward) 1661604699
\u201ci\u2019m fucking crying why do they look like that this is so scary \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— raman (@raman) 1661604446
\u201cOh my GOD what is this.\u201d— Blame the Bosses (@Blame the Bosses) 1661604327
\u201cI always love to stand up and rep brum, but today. I\u2019m going to take a seat. Don\u2019t look my way\u2026\u201d— Yshee Black (@Yshee Black) 1661604047
\u201c\u201cHi ladies, do you like nightmares?\u201d\u201d— Ted \u201cFreebird\u201d Rivers (@Ted \u201cFreebird\u201d Rivers) 1661603933
\u201cIf someone made a statue of me that looked like a re-animated zombie I would be annoyed\u201d— Benny 'Rat Whacker' Maroni \u2721\ufe0f (@Benny 'Rat Whacker' Maroni \u2721\ufe0f) 1661603860
\u201cHaunted\u201d— Nicky Brennan (@Nicky Brennan) 1661603288
None— Gwendydd St.Clair (@Gwendydd St.Clair) 1661604601
Others were low-key on board with it:
\u201cI love my city\u201d— Jamie Tennant (@Jamie Tennant) 1661603022
\u201cIconic. Obsessed.\u201d— \ud83e\udea9Yaaaaaz Queen\ud83e\udea9 (@\ud83e\udea9Yaaaaaz Queen\ud83e\udea9) 1661605253
\u201chttps://t.co/SgQ9g8bLjJ\u201d— Yay for science (@Yay for science) 1661603890
\u201cIt\u2019s actually that shit that it\u2019s impressive, god bless this city\u201d— Ryan (@Ryan) 1661605515
While some were comparing it to that statue of Cristiano Ronaldo:
\u201chttps://t.co/VHJOJEg4j7\u201d— Not Helpful (@Not Helpful) 1661605124
\u201cLooks worse than that fucked up statue of Ronaldo\u201d— Angus Barnes (@Angus Barnes) 1661603066
\u201cHahahahahahaha what in gods name of that awful Ronaldo statue is this\u201d— richard harrow fan \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddf7 (@richard harrow fan \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddf7) 1661604949
And if that wasn’t silly enough, there’s a 60-metre slip and slide installed on the city’s Central Street which ticketholders can slide down for free.
Oh Birmingham, we love you.
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