If that song you can’t remember is still on the tip of your tongue, there’s still hope you can identify it. That was the case with Reddit users who obsessively followed what they called “the most mysterious song on the internet.”
The search began in 2007, when German sibling duo Darius and Lydia uploaded a song from a tape they had had since they were teenagers. Among the Rolling Stones and other popular bands of the 80s was a mystery song, which users tried to figure out by picking out each element in the hope of getting the lead role.
In 2019, the mystery made its way to Reddit and with it came the creation of its own dedicated subreddit, r/TheMysteriousSong. Lydia even joined the effort. The presenters eventually pointed to the German music festival Hörfest, which brought together up-and-coming bands, and its relationship with NDR radio, the station from which the tape was recorded.
User /u/marijn1412 was browsing Nordwest Zeitung articles looking for information about Hörfest when he came across an article about a band called FEX. The name of one of the members appeared in the band that played Hörfest in 1983, Phret. After reaching out and asking for some songs to be sent, FEX’s “Subways of Your Mind” was a match.
“After I emailed him back that the song was actually a pretty famous ‘lost song,’ he asked me not to go public with it until he talked to his old band members,” /u/marijn1412 wrote. “In the meantime, the song was still registered with GEMA and people found out about it. But I’m happy to say that the band members agreed for me to go public with it.”
Michael Haedrich, 68, played keyboards, guitar and was a backing vocalist for FEX. After learning of the intense search for his band’s old song, the musician was devastated. “I thought it was amazing that someone would be interested in the music of a band that was only successful regionally, if at all, and that was over 40 years ago,” he told CBS.
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In another interview with German publication TZ, Haedrich said he immediately contacted his bandmates when he received the news that their song was a worldwide mystery. “At first I didn’t fully understand the implications. I immediately contacted Norbert Ziermann (bass) and Ture Rückwart (guitar, vocals) on the phone and together we discussed that this news could be announced,” he said.
Haedrich also reiterated that the band wasn’t oblivious because of their age, there was just no way they would have heard about the mystery unless someone reached out. “Suddenly we found out what was happening on the Internet without us noticing,” he explained. “And it wasn’t because we’re old and not digital natives. There just wasn’t a trigger.”
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And as for how he views the long-forgotten song, Haedrich looks back fondly on it, saying, “When I hear the song today, I immediately have positive memories of us messing around in the studio and the rehearsal room (with the limited technical demands of at the time). I think the song has a timeless appeal and I can listen to it and play it today with the same feeling I had then.”
Haedrich confirmed that FEX will reunite to record a song for their new audience.
This isn’t the first time this year that Reddit has solved a perennial mystery. In September, user /u/IndigoRoom revealed who celebrity number six was a few years after another user asked for help identifying a mysterious silhouette of a celebrity printed on a sheet he bought.
The celebrity was identified as Spanish model Leticia Sarda, who was also unaware that the world was trying to discover her identity.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education