Private Function releases fan-made music video for ‘Give War A Chance’

Melbourne punk band Private Function have released a music video created by a super fan for a university assignment.

Swinburne University student Lauren Hester contacted Private Function asking permission to use the band’s track ‘Give War A Chance’ in her final university assignment piece. According to a statement, “the band sent her the track and promptly forgot about it”.

The video depicts the band as puppets, invited to perform on a Play School-like children’s show, only to end up destroying the joint. To create the clip, Hester collected plenty of cardboard and spent hours learning how to make puppets and sets on YouTube.

“Private Function are such a fun band and I always have the best time whenever I go to their shows, so I wanted to make something that reflected that specific brand of chaotic fun I experience whenever I see them perform – and puppets were the perfect way to achieve that,” Hester said.

“As a director, I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone, and I’m glad I did. I’d never worked with puppets or puppeteers before, but it was such an amazing experience to work alongside such a passionate group of puppeteers and learn about this wonderful craft.”

The music video was warmly received by the band, who said they were “completely blown away when we received Lauren’s video”.

“I went to the same film school as Lauren 10 years ago, and I never made anything as good as this. I can’t believe she beat me to making a puppet PF clip,” drummer and video director Aidan McDonald said.

‘Give War A Chance’ is lifted from Private Function’s 2020 album, Whose Line Is It Anyway?.