A deceased woman planned her funeral with hidden surprises, which included a flash-mob dance to Another One Bites the Dust, by Queen.
Sandie Wood, 65, from Bristol, died of cancer and was one of tens of thousands of people that contracted hepatitis C in the 1970s and 80s after being given infected blood.
Despite her tragic death, the Brit wanted to go out with a bang by enlisting Bristol-based dance group the Flaming Feathers to flash mob her own funeral on Nov. 4 of last year.
“She was one of a kind, so she left the world how she lived it,” said best friend, Sam Ryalls.
“She wanted everyone to remember her funeral but not for a sad reason,” Ryalls said. “Everyone is sad and grieving because she is not here anymore but that doesn’t mean her final day had to be that way.”
The wake starts typically enough with the Flaming Feathers sitting among the sombre crowd while masquerading as mourners. All of a sudden, the Queen classic starts blaring, cuing the cabaret performers to whip off their funeral attire and sashay their way to the front of the room. When they reach the lectern, the dancers start clapping and breaking it down in tandem as the crowd looks on in shock.
Mourners were initially appalled at the display, with one man “refusing to look” at the jarring gyrations. However, they eventually came around while some of the mourners even joined the dance.
“It was very odd to first pretend to be there for the funeral, and then to see family and friends crying and upset” the boogie boss described. “To then have to get up and rock out to Queen felt very weird — but it did go really well.”
Phipps added, “We got some very funny and mixed reactions at first, but we got the crowd going, they were all clapping to the music, and they were all really thankful and enjoyed it after.”
If that wasn’t crazy enough, the locomotive mourners reportedly concluded the showcase by doing a conga line while departing the crematorium, per Wood’s request.
“Her best friend Sam booked us, but this was about six months before she passed — so Sandie basically planned her own funeral,” said Claire Phipps, 36, manager of the 10-person groove troupe. “It was definitely not your normal gig.”
In fact, the job was so bizarre that ten other groups had passed on it before the Flaming Feathers agreed to shake it during her sendoff.
The unorthodox video starts typically enough with the the Flaming Feathers sitting among the somber crowd while masquerading as mourners. All of a sudden, the Queen classic starts blaring, cuing the cabaret performers to whip off their funeral attire and sashay their way to the front of the room. When they reach the lectern, the dancers start clapping and breaking it down in tandem as the crowd looks on in shock.
Phipps said the attendees were initially appalled at the display, with one man “refusing to look” at the jarring gyrations. However, they eventually came around while some of the mourners even joined the dance.
“It was very odd to first pretend to be there for the funeral, and then to see family and friends crying and upset” the boogie boss described. “To then have to get up and rock out to Queen felt very weird — but it did go really well.”
Phipps added, “We got some very funny and mixed reactions at first, but we got the crowd going, they were all clapping to the music, and they were all really thankful and enjoyed it after.”
If that wasn’t crazy enough, the locomotive mourners reportedly concluded the showcase by doing a conga line while departing the crematorium as requested by the deceased.
That was just one of several stunts at the bizarre farewell, which included a horse-drawn hearse and a specially crafted coffin lined with her favourite sparkly shoes.