The four lads in jeans have given their opinion of the new statue of them unveiled in Birmingham. Let's hear what they had to say about the tribute:
Friends Alex Lacey, Kevin Rooney, Connor Humpage, Jamie Philips became a meme after a shot of them posing for a photo on a night out in 2019 unexpectedly went viral.
Dubbed the four lads in jeans - despite only two of them actually wearing jeans - the foursome ended up having a second taste of viral fame last year when someone created a bizarre clip of them singing a sea shanty.
Advert
Their enduring memeabilty (yeah, I just made that word up but let's go with it) has lead to artist Tat Vision creating a statue showcasing the quartet, which was recently unveiled in Birmingham.
Now, the friends have given their say on what they think of the statue.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Alex said: “I can’t really complain if someone’s honoured us to do a statue of us.”
And his sentiments were backed up by pal Kevin, who added: “It’s light-hearted. I think a lot of people look deep into it, but it’s light-hearted and it’s a bit of fun. It’s been an honour for us.”
Jamie reckoned that his statue looked a bit ‘miserable’ but that at least the artist had managed to get his tan right.
While Connor said: “It's like looking in a mirror. I can’t see any difference. The women's shoes – the foot size is a little small, but apart from that.”
I think Connor might have a mirror from the Hall of Mirrors in his gaff, to be honest.
The artist behind the statue says he was inspired by the 'Ronaldo statue', which was unveiled at the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport in 2017, before being removed from display and redone.
He said: He said: “I shipped the idea of doing it for the Commonwealth Games but it was too late. Fortunately I was put in contact with Birmingham Big Weekender and had the go-ahead from them. The statue will be there all weekend as part of an event.
“It took me a few weeks, on-and-off, to make. I used four women's mannequins, which I covered in tight-fitting ladies jeans and tops.
“The heads are made from papier-mâché and all of it was painted to have a nice, shiny bronze effect.
“I'm happy with the way it looks, just the heads to attach. Hope they don't fall off.”
Claire Reid