There are load of covers which improve on the original (Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower was terrible, Hendrix’s was remarkable), but what’s the least likely?

I’m going for:

Oops I Did It Again – Richard Thompson
Stairway To Heaven – Dolly Parton (or Rolf Harris, even stranger)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – William Shatner
Iron Man – The Cardigans
Sweet Jane – The Cowboy Junkies

Stayin’ Alive – Ozzy Osbourne

Shatner’s cover of Common People is superb

Nina Gordon’s cover of ‘Straight out of Compton’ is a good giggle

Also all of Laibachs covers of pretty much everything, including covering the whole Beatles ‘Let it Be’ album putting quite sinister overtones to lyrics like “…get back to where you once belonged…”

Stayin’ Alive – Ozzy Osbourne

That’s off the scale! Must trawl Youtube……

EDIT: Just listened to it – wincingly awful.

Wonderwall – Mike Flowers Pops
Love Machine – Arctic Monkeys

“You’re the one that I want” from Grease, Arthur Mullard and Hylda Baker, chuuuune!!

I believe in miracles– you sexy thing Cud 🙂

Black eyed peas’ “Caroline” bluegrass style by Hayseed Dixie
Nirvana’s “Rape me” covered by Lounge singer Richard Cheese
Smoke on the Water, in the Cha Cha Cha rhythm by Senor Coconut and his Orchestra

All brilliant tracks, funny because of the contrast (Rape Me done to ridiculous levels of frothy cheeryiness) and very well arranged and played, too.

Worst one – Ellie Goulding doing Elton John’s ‘Your Song.’

It was improbable to my ears. 😆

Blitzkrieg Bop – Beautiful South

London based Ukranian band who did Smiths covers on traditional instruments and in Ukranian.

Improbable but it actually works.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZPtnuPKyu4[/video]

more here;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu726gLSZwQ&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=AVGxdCwVVULXd_AbjK3WwG_vkz_KkDLp07

ooh, they did Anarchy in the UK too;

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz5cLIWSB2I[/video]

Nina Gordon’s cover of ‘Straight out of Compton’ is a good giggle

Such a good version as well

Rock Swings by Paul Anka is a classic album, Enter Sandman by Pat Boone has to be heard to be believed.
For proper covers, Rythyms Del Mundo from Buena Vista Social Club is very good.

911 is a joke – Duran Duran 😯

Duran Duran’s Come Up And See Me (Make Me Smile) really wasn’t good.

Soma FM devotes a whole channel to covers here: http://somafm.com/covers/

Now playing Disco 200 sung by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

today I stumbled on beatles covers in the style of metallica:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA_CgX2ihVg[/video]

and an lullaby version of the Pixies (ahhhhhh):

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLVEVmbL0bw[/video]

but I do like a bit of dread:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CO7FPU7a2g[/video]

Article monkeys singing girls aloud’s love machine on radio 1. Unlikely and good as well.

Tom Hodge’s cover of Aerodynamic by Daft Punk

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE4892h2dEw[/video]

Tori Amos – Smells like teen spirit

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaAI3jI7uCc&feature=related[/video]

Mark Ronson – “Just”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxu5CUPRU-U

Some 70s Eurovision types making quite a decent fist of Black Sabbath and The Rattles. I think they included some future members of Boney M.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN7s_gPzgFE[/video]

leaving here (Holland-Dozier-Holland 60’s Motown hit) by Motorhead.

Feeling good – Muse! What a fantastic cover!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ophw7rvZcyc[/video]

I Believe in Miracles – Pearl Jam
Into the Groove – Sonic Youth
All that she wants – The Kooks
Teenage Dirtbag – Girls Aloud

Lost in Music, by The Fall.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P0OYWZeiCI[/video]

Love the Cake version of ‘I will survive’.
Brilliant track.

http://youtu.be/Z6zqYSezqwo

Get your freak on – Eels
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath – The Cardigans

Tom Jones is on R6 at the moment ruining Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House 🙁

Snow Patrol – Crazy in Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZrZJfcDyXs%5D

Love that cover version

Smells like teen spirit – Paul Anka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM_xvTaYavw

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlwDAx3Iii4[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnBi-LNM0Og[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJd3IKUSWwc[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOdr9FiNZoQ[/video]

An Oi! + Kazoo version of The Final Countdown you say?
right you are then, (also available in Livin’ La Vida Loca flavour)

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Btg7lFlig&feature=related[/video]

as far as improbable goes, didn’t those My Chemical Romance chaps cover the Minder theme tune a few years ago? (they may or may not have acknowledged it, i wasn’t paying any attention)

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcPZdzIpP7g[/video]

There was a reggae band on Jools Holland a while back, they were doing punk covers, can’t remember for the life of me the name of the band..

frontman was an Jamaican guy.

There was a reggae band on Jools Holland a while back, they were doing punk covers, can’t remember for the life of me the name of the band..

Didn’t they do Nirvana?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJz6_PEu6Iw[/video]