Students behind the LSU Exec song explain all

When a group of students working as executive officers for Loughborough Students' Union stayed behind late one night to film a one-shot video meant exclusively for the eyes of campus freshers, no-one could have predicted the audience it eventually reached.

After gaining a slot on Radio One, a parody by Greg James and over 250,000 hits on the internet, the group behind the most talked about university music video in the UK discuss why garden shears, condoms and a recycling bin have put Loughborough on the worldwide map...

“We made the video one evening after work to show groups of freshers what is on offer at the Union,” says Sarah Haar, LSU Action Chair (pictured, and now known as girl with the garden shears).

Starting life as a memory game for Loughborough’s new intake, ‘Exec Song 2013’ was played so that students from different halls could battle against each other to recall the most facts about the Union.

Haar told TNS, “When we initially played the video to freshers and committees as a memory game, it got plenty of laughs. The video went online expected to be enjoyed by a handful of friends and other students.”

After multiple views in Australia bumped the hits from 5000 to 11,000 overnight, what appeared to be a bit of harmless fun begun to experience viral life. Hundreds slammed the video as an offensive parody of Naughty Boy’s ‘La LaLa’ on a par with Rebecca Black, with some even going as far as to condemn the university and its students as damaged because of it.

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As the world shared their hatred, others expressed their (apparent) love. Radio One DJ Chris Stark tweeted about making a BBC sequel whilst featuring it as his ‘Show and Tell’ for the week on Scott Mills' show, prompting a string of online websites such as Buzzfeed, The Daily Mail and The Mirror to feature articles. Haar also said that “this tradition has been passed down through the years amongst the exec; it’s a fun and effective way of communicating to freshers what we have on offer at the Union and our achievements.”

But most importantly, what do the group feel that the video has done for Loughborough Students' Union moving forward?

Union President Josh Hurrell revealed, “We’ve had to embrace it. It was a tongue in cheek way of introducing us to the incoming freshers, none of us ever expected it to go viral.

“However, now the UK and beyond know about the thousands of hours our students put into volunteering in the community, the millions of pounds we raise for charity and the sporting reputation that is unrivalled by any other students’ union in the country.”

Unfortunately, due to a claim from the copyright holders of Naughty Boy’s ‘La LaLa’, the sound has now been muted – so it’s no longer possible to get the full effect of the now infamous video.

However, if you still want to watch the LSU Exec in all their (sadly muted) glory, you can do so here:

Students behind the LSU Exec song explain all

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