Nothing Really Matters
June 27, 2021 4:37 PM Subscribe
"The best thing to come out of polyester suits and ruffled shirts, evah!"
...a Washington [DC] wedding band called Sixpence has become an overnight sensation. A grainy, black-and-white video of the cover band performing a note-perfect cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” has exploded on YouTube, racking up 340,000 views and garnering comments from around the world.
It’s easy to see why the video is so compelling. The bandleader — dressed like the other members in his “Anchorman” finery: lapels as wide as landing strips, an exuberance of ruffles — introduces a song he calls “sort of operatic. I hope you enjoy it.”From the YouTube comments:
Technically the first full version of the song! Though Queen never played the opening before the first ballad section, the opera section was played on tape. The band had brought out the song on tour on the first show of the A Night At The Opera Tour in late 1975. But it wasn’t until 1977 when the band played the song the way it was meant to be played.
From the comments:
Also from Arnie Reed:
Arnie Reed
There were many covers of Bohemian Rhapsody, but this one is unique to my channel. I bought the 1" open reel tape in 1977, but it took 34 years to find someone who could transfer it. The video quality suffers from decades of improper storage, but the audio track came out pretty well. If you like covers that you've never heard before, subscribe to my channel and browse nearly 2,000 videos of bands I've played with during my long career.
This video was recorded 10-3-76 by Sixpence, who worked for Washington Talent Agency in the 1970s alongside my band, Inner Light, which also recorded videos the same day. Sixpence's entire set is at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1O5w_w6TcCZx9kOINA0WKBJGpIvZi-Am, and Inner Light's videos and audios are at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1O5w_w6TcCZFJ2avhwb-H2NnBAX20kNz. If you enjoy live cover band performance videos, subscribe to my channel and browse hundreds more! Cheers!
Also from Arnie Reed:
It definitely was one of the first video demos ever recorded. Turned out to be "Panasonic High Band" format, which the manufacturer discontinued after one year. Luckily my video rescuer Bob Crosthwaithe found the one remaining working model so he could recover the video for me.posted by Joe in Australia at 5:01 PM on June 27, 2021 [5 favorites]
The audio track was part of the video, so there was no way to remix or remaster it. However, the archivist who transferred it discovered what machine it was recorded on by determining the physical location of the audio track on the tape. The only reason the video isn't perfect is that the 1" open reel tape sat in my basement for 34 years gathering mold. It had to be baked in an oven, and the mold was scraped from each frame by hand. So the audio comes out clearly, but the video has lost its color and is degraded. It's a miracle these videos ever saw the light of day!
I’m skeptical that this isn’t a hoax / viral stunt. The aspect ratio is wrong for the era.
posted by interogative mood at 5:06 PM on June 27, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by interogative mood at 5:06 PM on June 27, 2021 [10 favorites]
Tape salvager Arnie Reed's band Inner Light is pretty tight, and the text scrolling over this demo hints at a criminal conspiracy!
posted by Scram at 5:08 PM on June 27, 2021
posted by Scram at 5:08 PM on June 27, 2021
The year was 1976: with rental tuxedos and bravado the band takes on a plastered middle aged audience of unsuspecting witnesses to future internet stardom; a feat which was unsurprisingly unanticipated seeing as the notion of internet stardom was not yet an option.
posted by mightshould at 5:12 PM on June 27, 2021
posted by mightshould at 5:12 PM on June 27, 2021
interogative mood: I’m skeptical that this isn’t a hoax / viral stunt. The aspect ratio is wrong for the era.
The audio is very clean for a wedding hall recording in 1976.
There are explanations for all of this, of course - the video could've easily been cropped to 16:9 before uploading to Youtube, and audio remastering to remove noise and whatnot is great nowadays - but it's still... interesting.
posted by clawsoon at 5:32 PM on June 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
The audio is very clean for a wedding hall recording in 1976.
There are explanations for all of this, of course - the video could've easily been cropped to 16:9 before uploading to Youtube, and audio remastering to remove noise and whatnot is great nowadays - but it's still... interesting.
posted by clawsoon at 5:32 PM on June 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
idgaf if it's a hoax. it's brilliant.
posted by j_curiouser at 5:36 PM on June 27, 2021
posted by j_curiouser at 5:36 PM on June 27, 2021
The audio is very clean for a wedding hall recording in 1976.According to the article, the whole set was meant to be a promo for the talent agency, so it's probably cleaner than something that was filmed randomly at someone's wedding. And they mention that it was shot in an unusual format that never really caught on, although I don't know if that explains the aspect ratio.
Anyway, I agree that if it's a hoax, it's a brilliant hoax, especially since it was uploaded in 2012 and took nine years to go viral.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:46 PM on June 27, 2021 [9 favorites]
I've got some small skepticism—because the video superimposition from multiple angles is a very advanced technique for what's otherwise a low-budget video. Even the famous actual Bohemian Rhapsody film was shot with in-camera special effects.
If it's a hoax it's superb. The between-songs patter on the other videos is pitch-perfect.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:51 PM on June 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
If it's a hoax it's superb. The between-songs patter on the other videos is pitch-perfect.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:51 PM on June 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
Jumpsuits, Stunts And Shooters: Inside Maryland’s Almost-Forgotten Show Band Scene
These were show bands. They were typically all-male, and often racially integrated. The types of variety shows they staged weren’t exclusive to the Washington area, but the scene was particularly vibrant in suburban Maryland, Baltimore and Ocean City. Like many cover bands, show bands included accomplished musicians who dreamed of making a living with original material. But to make ends meet, they played nights full of Top 40 hits at nightclubs and hotel bars. Making it on that circuit required, at a minimum, versatile musicians who could easily satisfy audience requests for Styx and Billy Joel, “Freebird” and “Stairway to Heaven.”
The name of the Washington Talent Agency on this immediately conjured up visions of show band glory.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:11 PM on June 27, 2021 [5 favorites]
These were show bands. They were typically all-male, and often racially integrated. The types of variety shows they staged weren’t exclusive to the Washington area, but the scene was particularly vibrant in suburban Maryland, Baltimore and Ocean City. Like many cover bands, show bands included accomplished musicians who dreamed of making a living with original material. But to make ends meet, they played nights full of Top 40 hits at nightclubs and hotel bars. Making it on that circuit required, at a minimum, versatile musicians who could easily satisfy audience requests for Styx and Billy Joel, “Freebird” and “Stairway to Heaven.”
The name of the Washington Talent Agency on this immediately conjured up visions of show band glory.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:11 PM on June 27, 2021 [5 favorites]
this is how you repay my trust, kirkaracha?
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:53 PM on June 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:53 PM on June 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
I doubt it's a hoax. It looks "live" in the sense that there are no overdubs, but I don't hear much audience; and if Ryanshepard's link is any indication, they could afford decent recording equipment for what might be quite a lucrative demo.
And if it was a modern hoax, I somehow feel they'd have just one singer on lead rather than trading off between the soft bits and the bluesy howls.
posted by solarion at 2:15 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
And if it was a modern hoax, I somehow feel they'd have just one singer on lead rather than trading off between the soft bits and the bluesy howls.
posted by solarion at 2:15 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
David Crosthwait (the transfer engineer credited at the end of the video, as David Crosswait) is the real deal. I don't think he'd risk his reputation on a hoax.
posted by datawrangler at 3:07 AM on June 28, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by datawrangler at 3:07 AM on June 28, 2021 [6 favorites]
I played general business pop and top 40 for a living. Hundreds of weddings.
We never tried Bohemian Rhapsody but I can play any Journey song in my sleep.
It isn’t a hoax. Good GB wedding musicians can play anything. Well.
posted by spitbull at 4:09 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
We never tried Bohemian Rhapsody but I can play any Journey song in my sleep.
It isn’t a hoax. Good GB wedding musicians can play anything. Well.
posted by spitbull at 4:09 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
What does "hoax" mean here, though?
Even assuming it's a modern film, it's still an amazing cover of a VERY hard song to play/sing well.
posted by Paladin1138 at 4:11 AM on June 28, 2021
Even assuming it's a modern film, it's still an amazing cover of a VERY hard song to play/sing well.
posted by Paladin1138 at 4:11 AM on June 28, 2021
What would impress me is a wedding band breaking out this : "I appreciate the best/I'm settling for less/Still looking for the next best thing...."
posted by thelonius at 6:07 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 6:07 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
general business pop and top 40
Did you play any business funk?
posted by thelonius at 6:09 AM on June 28, 2021
Did you play any business funk?
posted by thelonius at 6:09 AM on June 28, 2021
If it were a hoax, maybe they would’ve sung the harmonies correctly? Just in the opening, all kinds of errors that make decent-sounding chords but are not the harmonies Queen sang—that was really jarring, like the uncanny valley in sound. This is pretty decent cover work, but the outfits & hair are more distinctively interesting to me, and the localized phenomenon of show bands is hilarious, first I’ve learned about that.
(My current favorite cover performance is this Missy Elliott one.)
posted by LooseFilter at 9:09 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
(My current favorite cover performance is this Missy Elliott one.)
posted by LooseFilter at 9:09 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
this is how you repay my trust, kirkaracha?
Wait, what?
posted by kirkaracha at 9:33 AM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
Wait, what?
posted by kirkaracha at 9:33 AM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
theory on the audio - they had a mixing board and sent the audio directly to the vcr. That probably would be enough to get decent sound.
posted by condour75 at 9:52 AM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by condour75 at 9:52 AM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
and the localized phenomenon of show bands is hilarious, first I’ve learned about that.
The high, florid 70s flourished and died a hard death in the Maryland suburbs, and traces remain even now - for years, for example, my work had its annual holiday party at a rental ballroom in Greenbelt, the incredible Martins Crosswinds - a perfectly and completely preserved slice of Nixon era middlebrow, and no doubt a past venue for many show bands.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:54 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
The high, florid 70s flourished and died a hard death in the Maryland suburbs, and traces remain even now - for years, for example, my work had its annual holiday party at a rental ballroom in Greenbelt, the incredible Martins Crosswinds - a perfectly and completely preserved slice of Nixon era middlebrow, and no doubt a past venue for many show bands.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:54 AM on June 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Wait, what?
Clicked for a "note-perfect" (not your phrasing, WaPo's, I know) Bohemian Rhapsody, found a dad-gummed Yes cover band in Sears prom duds.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:57 AM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
Clicked for a "note-perfect" (not your phrasing, WaPo's, I know) Bohemian Rhapsody, found a dad-gummed Yes cover band in Sears prom duds.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:57 AM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
Their version of 'Play that Funky Music' isn't the worst one I've ever heard, but it's also not the best.
(Having just listened to a bunch of 'Play that Funky Music' covers, I will note that this is also a thing that exists.)
posted by box at 3:53 PM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
(Having just listened to a bunch of 'Play that Funky Music' covers, I will note that this is also a thing that exists.)
posted by box at 3:53 PM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
They pulled it off WITHOUT A GUITAR PLAYER!
posted by aquanaut at 5:29 PM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by aquanaut at 5:29 PM on June 28, 2021 [2 favorites]
found a dad-gummed Yes cover band in Sears prom duds
I'll take the Kenmore stove
I'll want that service contract, yes I know
posted by thelonius at 4:15 AM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'll take the Kenmore stove
I'll want that service contract, yes I know
posted by thelonius at 4:15 AM on June 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
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