Is Daisy Jones destined to become our new favourite made-up rock star? A 10-part drama based on the bestselling novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six lands on Prime Video on Friday and tells the story of a fictional 1970s group that disbanded at the height of their fame. Riley Keough portrays a fabulous frontwoman with a magic voice. Sam Claflin is the handsome guitarist with a killer groove. A busy trailer offers a tantalising glimpse of chart highs and spectacular showbiz lows.

The band is said to have been inspired by a Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac, which should tell you everything you need to know about what goes on in this warmly anticipated miniseries. Do Daisy Jones & The Six have what it takes to go all the way? Maybe.

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s often the fake pop and rock groups that make for better biopic-style presentations. They’re flashier and funnier. They aren’t afraid to get ugly, nor are they obliged to keep things respectful. Better still, they don’t have to include silly, stagey reconstructions of real-life events. They are all about the entertainment value, and some of them have been known to provide a more authentic and insightful account of life on the road. Even better than the real thing? Sometimes, and these are a few of our favourites…

Stillwater
(Almost Famous, 2000)
It’s easy to forget that Cameron Crowe’s glossy, heartfelt coming-of-ager tanked at the box office. All the goodwill and good reviews in the world couldn’t help Almost Famous to a smooth commercial finish, but hey, it eventually found an audience, and Crowe picked up an Oscar for his semi-autobiographical tale of a teenager on tour with his favourite rock band.

Stillwater are your quintessential 1970s rock troupe — they’re loud, they drink too much, and the lead singer boasts an ego the size of a double-decker bus. They are, in fact, an amalgamation of the bands that Crowe toured with — including Led Zeppelin, Eagles and the Allman Brothers Band — while cutting his teeth as a rookie journo for Rolling Stone magazine. And guess what? They didn’t entirely suck.
Stream the fictional hit: Fever Dog

The Oneders
(That Thing You Do!, 1996)
The Tom Hanks joint that deserved to be huge. Written and directed by the star, who also plays a ruthless label manager, this irresistible rock ‘n’ roll comedy is up there with the best of them. Witty, charming and hopelessly romantic, That Thing You Do! follows a teenage rock quartet whose debut single skyrockets to the top of the charts in 1964. Yep, it’s a one-hit-wonder yarn and Hanks’ film beautifully captures the incomparable joy of a band hearing their song on the radio for the first time. In real life, the Oneders’ signature tune, That Thing You Do!, was nominated for an Oscar, and was composed by the late, great Fountains of Wayne founder Adam Schlesinger.
Stream the fictional hit: That Thing You Do!

The Ain’t Rights
(Green Room, 2015)
How many bands have had to endure terrible gigs in horrible venues? How many more have wasted entire days lounging about in crummy club green rooms? Jeremy Saulnier’s angsty, underappreciated thriller imagines a gigging DC punk ensemble caught in a nasty backstage conflict with neo-Nazi skinheads. The late Anton Yelchin is terrific as a panicked bassist. Patrick Stewart leaves his mark as a despicable fascist. Tense, frightening and darkly funny, Green Room conveys, in its own unique way, the unspeakable horror that occurs when a decent band realises that they’re playing for the wrong audience. You won’t forget it in a hurry.
Stream the fictional hit: Nazi Punks F*** Off (Dead Kennedys cover)

The Barden Bellas
(Pitch Perfect trilogy, 2012 — 2017)
Autotuned a capella has never sounded this good. True, Kay Cannon’s beloved musical comedies are a tad far-fetched — have you ever encountered anyone who loves a capella as much as the Barden Bellas? Of course not, but that hardly matters. This snappy, spirited series plays out like a rowdy sports comedy, and is all the better for it. Anna Kendrick is a delight — and a fabulous singer too. Elizabeth Banks, who directed the second film, shines as a famous pundit with a wicked tongue. We’d happily watch another sequel.
Stream the fictional hit: Party in the USA (Miley Cyrus cover)

School of Rock
(School of Rock, 2003)
You know the score. A struggling musician (Jack Black) blags himself a teaching job at a fancy prep school. Later, he hatches a plan to use his talented students to get back at his old bandmates. Chaos ensues. On paper, Mike White’s boisterous comedy is a bit of a long shot. On screen, however, School of Rock is in a class of its own. The story goes that the titular band was put together following a nationwide search for musical youngsters. The kids were then taught how to act — a risky move, but whaddaya know? It paid off.
Stream the fictional hit: School of Rock

The Commitments
(The Commitments, 1991)
Alan Parker’s iconic adaptation of the Roddy Doyle bestseller has aged better than most, and part of that is down to its timeless tale of a band struggling to get along. The casting process took ages, and Parker would later recall stopping buskers on the street and asking them to audition. An unusual method for a major film, but The Commitments were a real band in a made-up story — they needed to look and, indeed, sound the part. A job well done, and Parker’s film is especially good at showing us what happens when egos and attitudes get in the way of talent.
Stream the fictional hit: Try a Little Tenderness (Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly cover)

PoP!
(Music and Lyrics, 2007)
This plucky and playful romantic comedy concerns a former 1980s pop idol (Hugh Grant’s Alex Fletcher) who turns to a rookie lyricist (Drew Barrymore’s Sophie Fisher) to help steer his comeback. Marc Lawrence’s film is a bumpy ride, but you won’t find a funnier or sweeter picture about a delusional frontman who slowly realises that he may be past it. Oh, and Fletcher’s band (Pop!) is almost certainly inspired by Wham!. The aforementioned Adam Schlesinger struck gold again in the soundtrack department. The world was a better place with that man in it.
Stream the fictional hit: PoP! Goes My Heart

Spinal Tap
(This is Spinal Tap, 1984)
The greatest — and loudest — mock rock band ever. How many other fictional bands were as influential as to literally change the way we talk about rock ‘n’ roll? Mind you, that ‘One Night Only World Tour’ back in 2009 raised some eyebrows, but listen, Rob Reiner’s film is the best of its kind. Oh, and Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls) is technically a member of another popular fictional group featured in our list. See if you can guess which one.
Stream the fictional hit: Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight

Sing Street
(Sing Street, 2016)
Sometimes, starting a band isn’t an option, and John Carney’s sensational homegrown dramedy reminds us that the best music groups are the ones born of necessity. Plus, lead singer Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) was trying to impress his crush, and that’s always important too. Some have argued that the young band at the centre of Carney’s film is a little too good to be true, but what’s the harm in that? After all, history is littered with awesome Irish groups that were never given a break, and who knows if Conor and his boys would have made it in real life.
Stream the fictional hit: Drive It Like You Stole It

The Be Sharps
(The Simpsons, 1993)
Homer Simpson has done it all. He grew his hair back with magic head oil. He built his own car. He rewrote a Mel Gibson film and, for a brief spell in the 1980s, he was part of a Grammy award-winning barbershop quartet (the Be Sharps). In the end, Homer and the lads (Barney, Apu, Principal Skinner) split due to creative differences, but later reunited for a one-off rooftop show at Moe’s tavern. If you ask us, Simpsons chief Matt Groening missed a trick by not releasing a real Be Sharps LP.
Stream the fictional hit: Homer’s Barbershop Quartet (Medley)

And a few we could have done without…

Wyld Stallyns
(Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, 1989)
Yes, Bill and Ted’s guitar combo, a group so undeniably terrible and so infuriatingly lazy, they had to resort to time travel to win a battle of the bands. Later, their musical incompetence almost destroyed the world. Total bummer.

Crucial Taunt
(Wayne’s World, 1992 — 1993)
Wayne’s girlfriend’s band from Wayne’s World. Honestly, the realistic ending would be the one where Crucial Taunt aren’t offered a record contract. Why? Because they performed a cover of The Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz on their audition tape. That’s not how you get signed.

The Dreams
(Dreamgirls, 2006)
The group from Dreamgirls are supposed to be the Supremes. Fair enough, but despite the presence of Beyoncé, and an Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson, this noisy, soulless affair somehow misses the target. Pity.