The 40 Year Hunt for the Most Mysterious Song on The Internet

"I can't play too much of the song due to DMCA." - FROM WHO?

The only explanation for no one coming out to claim it is that it was possibly a one-man band (which is really common) and the guy has passed many years ago, and if he had a band mate, he just does not use internet, as many people still don't do, especially older people, and thus cannot be reached to claim and explain the song.

the thing about the lead singers is that the vocal style is extremely common for 80s new wave bands, so just going by "this guy has a similar voice" isn't really much of a lead

Worst part is the song is an absolute banger too, so that makes the mystery even more frustrating

EKT has fallen, now it's time to go back to the original, most mysterious song

The big irony here: this song would be forgotten without this mystery of who wrote and played it. Maybe someone could sell a plagiarized cover, and wait for someone to sue!

I was a musician in Vienna in the 1980's, here are a few thoughts: - The song itself: it uses a very common chord progression that was repeated on many songs of that time, over and over again. It is what an amateur band of the time in Austria or Germany etc. would likely have used. There is a second part in the song, not really a bridge though, so this sounds like the "flagship" song of some unknown band that never made it. However, the scraped enough money together to pay for a recording studio. That was quite common at the time, and since studios were expensive, it is possible that they recorded two songs only for the front and back of a single. Or, another thing that wasn't uncommon, this could have been their only song, which was released on a sampler LP. If it is the latter, it is probably next to impossible to find it, at least without skimming through endless records and reading the fine print. - Production quality: it sounds like it was recorded in a proper studio, as opposed to a basement or garage. As for the synth, that might have been there in the studio, for rent. The drums are definitely not top notch, just listen to the hi-hat. The mixing is also not great, which points to the band doing everything themselves (you could hire a sound technician as well... then it would probably sound better). - Musicians: these are most likely not professionals, at least not anywhere close to high-end. Think about the elaborate guitar solos common in the 1980's, and their guitarist just strums the same notes. It's probably the best he could do. Same with the synth, a hallmark of the 1980's, there is so much more that a professional band could and would have done with this synth. - Recording technique: one thing that is mentioned in the video is that back then, each track was recorded individually. So I think it is possible that a drummer would not recognize or remember a song after he recorded his part (happened to me too). That is not proof, of course, but something to keep in mind. Sometimes bands would break up before the record was finished. - NDR1 "Musik für junge Leute": some episodes are up on youtube; their focus seems to have been to play underground music and/or unknown artists. The production quality of most songs was mich higher than for the "mysterious song", as well as the musical complexity. Since the song was played on radio only once (?), it is possible that someone asked a favor from his or her cousins or friends, or through some other connections (we did that too). Then the band split up, people got real jobs, and they stopped thinking about this song. So it could just be that they haven't watched this video... :)

how does one get DMCAd by the most mysterious unknown song on the internet?

I rented a DX7 for a weekend in 1984 to record some songs with some friends. And we weren't any known band. In that time period it was pretty easy to get access to a DX7 without having to have been a well known band.

that Ronnie dude might be a bit of an asshole but that doesn't mean he can't be our guy. Same thing happened to Feels Like a Wish (former "Fond My Mind"). The composer was found but refused to cooperate, and we could only REALLY find the song cus some other dude who worked with him in the 80s had a copy of it. If we were relying on Edde (the composer) wanting to help, that song would have never been solved.

Everytime I listen to this song, I get such an eerie feeling. It actually creeps me out a bit. Don't understand why though.

Seeing Whang in other people’s videos is such a cool full circle moment for me.

Radio stations have been archiving their music since they began. They know its most likely at NDR. Surely someone currently working there would be curious enough to start digging around those dates. It's there somewhere.

As a native Greek speaker i believe that the song's lyrics sounds like "english with greek accent to me" just like their album SIM. Very normal for some boys back in 83 to not have perfect english accent. The story about George Dalabiras moving to Germany bringing the tms song there sounds posible, but onli him, Dalabiras , can confirm or deny it. If he is alive. From your communication with Bily, did he told you if they are still on touch? If he knows where he lives?

Tbf I was a heavy drug user when I was musician and I forgot a lot of things I did when I was a drug addict that decades later remembered when people told me about it

Awesome video and very up to date. Considering how old this song is, we might be running out of time, but I hope we get to know the answer. Thanks for the shout-out!

That Ronnie fellow who claims to have co-written and co-performed the song was totally coked up while sending those emails. No normal person types like that, even if they're angry or otherwise worked up over something. He very well might have something to do with the song, but his head is screwed up beyond all belief from all the drugs he's presumably taken over the course of his life.

"I can't play much of the song due to DMCA" Claimed by who? This song has to be copyright-free, right?

I think the biggest problem is that no one from the German YouTube or generally social media scene is talking about this. I’ve only ever heard about it from English creators. If anyone is gonna find this song it’s trough someone’s parents who knows the local band. I’m convinced it could be found if some German influencers brought some traction into the topic within Germany.

The radio channel nrd where it come from was contacted, and a mystery show from germany went and talked about it, seemingly being THE ONLY song they don't remember playing