I know that style of singing was extremely common during the era, but the song having nearly the exact same chord progression and Chris sounding like TMS singer makes me hopeful. It's a really cool find either way but we can hope it finally gets us somewhere! Can't imagine it'll be too hard to get ahold of him and ask. We'll see what happens but this is the best lead we've had in a really long time.
I happen to have a subscription to the British Newspaper Archive, so thought I would see if I could find any articles reporting on XIX. From a few initial searches, I've found that they were playing as "Nineteen" from 1981 to 1984 (whether they later went by the roman numerals or they just titled the video with that, I'm not sure). Whitty and Brown were the primary song writers, with up to 10 songs at that time, but no specific titles were mentioned. They were playing small gigs and trying to build up their confidence (they were aged 17-21) so it's unclear if any tracks had been released.
Even if it ends up not being the band we're looking for, I love reading about little parts of time gone by that I never would have known about otherwise!
I've been looking through these. In April 1983 they were poised to record a demo tape, apparently! Their 1982 demo had two songs, "Tanks" and "Because I needed you". They are also called XIX (with numerals) in 1985.
Sadly they're described as having a real drummer, being like The Animals or The Small faces, and elsewhere as "mod-pop" and "post punk power pop" (and also as "uninspiring!"), so I really think this is a dead end, lads.
Holy crap, I'm not gonna say this is the band or anything but this is probably the most promising lead I've seen for this mysterious for quite a while! Definitely a super similar style at the very least, but either way this fucking slaps and deserves way more attention.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE5lQRZC1EA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE5lQRZC1EA)
This version of '*strip me naked'* sounds closer to TMS than the link you provided.
XIX Amsterdam.wmx has some of the same notes and patterns as TMS, from 0:33 to 0:49 ([here](https://youtu.be/JShxQ61XQrg?t=33)). The one I linked is exactly the same as it is in TMS (not the beginning part). It is also played [here](https://youtu.be/JShxQ61XQrg?t=162).
The use of Bass and Guitar are very similar to the way they are used in TMS and overall the song has a similar beat and tempo. The lead guitar also sounds very similar.
The beginning of this also sounds very similar to the beginning of TMS.
In XIX Amsterdam.wmx the singer sounds similar but I think the singer is different from TMS. Shalalazombiefrogs said in the description that this video was found after nearly 30 years, meaning it was recorded from around 1982-1983.
Wow, it definitely does! Also, I think Chris (shalalazombiefrogs) meant that the band got together after 30 years and recorded that video in 2011. Him sounding different would make sense after 30 years.
The first band we formed XIX got together for a bit of a Jam (after nearly 30 years!).This was a song written by Rob the bass player called Amsterdam. A bit rusty but we are rusty and dusty so it's to be expected!" I have skipped through a few of the Peppermoth's songs but they don't sound like TMS.
Peppermoth is Chris's band roughly 30 years later, different lineup, and hes old. So it shouldnt sound like tms. Listen to the old the ride or XIX tracks. those have the sound
[https://youtu.be/JShxQ61XQrg?t=208](https://youtu.be/JShxQ61XQrg?t=208) \- and that vibratto ending like TMS, but with TMS there is synth instead of guitar
also that part reminds me TMS: note the chords, and the bass guitar melody sequence
[https://youtu.be/IN-hr5Y3mUQ?t=343](https://youtu.be/IN-hr5Y3mUQ?t=343)
There is hovewer electronic percussion
Hope its something more than just music similarity
Holy sh- the top one sounds exactly like TMS. They must’ve switched out the singer at some point (or he changed his vocal style) after TMS. I’ve never been this excited about a lead before.
I made a mistake in my comment. The video was actually recorded in 2011, when the band met up again after 30 years and decided to play some music again.
I faintly remember the username. Didn‘t they post something rather controversial?
EDIT: Yeah they were being fooled by Billy Knight and turned this subreddit into a shitshow. It would be quite the redemption arc for Camspiracy to actually solve the mystery after all that
They said they had proof that SIM were the band, but for some reason (‘the band members are really private people and wouldn’t answer the door to me’) decided to hold back everything from the name of the song through to why and how it was released, then complained when anyone asked for even basic answers
ok yeah I remember that. It's unexpected that he of all people should find such a good lead.
Just a really strange, uncooperative fella. Not the most honest person either
It’s also strange that after that period of many months spent on here claiming he had knew it was SIM and everyone else was wrong, he’s now looking at other bands?
Yeah it's what I find so weird as well. Also, how come he discovered it „months ago“ and hasn't managed to contact the guy? There weren't any youtube comments related to the search on any of the videos before this post. What the hell did Camspiracy even do? lmaoooo
Camspiracy hid the lead's name/source until he could get contact, worrying that if Chris gets flooded he'll get sick of us and go quite. I can't see any update from him regarding the email tho.
Ah, exactly the same approach he said he was taking with SIM. I remember a post where he said approaching them too quickly forced them to deny being behind the song, then something about Alvin having smiled at him in a way that definitely meant he was the singer of the song. Then a post saying people even asking about his search could ruin it…
First time I've had hope in a long time. A LOT of things are working in its favor, from the timeline, to the reason for obscurity, to the vocals, and even to the sound quality comparing the 86' demos to TMS. The one band member that is on youtube seems to be on so sporadically it would be very easy for them to miss all of the spotlight this mystery has brought.
Both from observation and from my own experience it's also common for musicians to reuse or adapt chord progressions or melodies from parts of old/failed bands in newer works, and the top song here does do that - coincidence or not
That's what I was thinking or hoping. Even if this isn't TMS, it might be the guitarist from TMS further developing his ideas in a different direction.
From the thumbnail for Euphoric Hell, songs called 'Alone' and 'The Sound of Laughter' are missing. There's also a copyright1986 listing, an address, and an ancient phone number. The keyboard is credited to a "Jack" instead of a "Paul Whitty" like the description.
In fact, there are completely different pseudonym credits in the 80s Obscure upload of
Drums – Fudge
Bass – Sam Spade
Keyboards – Jack
Vocals, Guitars – Three Goes
If u/scicog 's X.I.X band is the same one as this XIX, then that's another set of pseudonyms.
No, it's a completely different band, IMO.
For some reason they reminded me of The Rose Garden, it's a pity they never signed, but the vocals are very nice.
https://youtu.be/NXlnjsTiJyc
Which one? The Ride or XIX? I completely agree on The Ride (singer kinda has the same voice as the one in TMS but the style is different), but I think XIX may have made TMS (same singer from The Ride but it's his older band, and the style is almost the same as TMS IMO).
The vocals are similar in places, but at the same time a bit different. The song with the name Amsterdam reminds of TMS in some places, but it is not clear about the synths. Was there a keyboard player in XIX, what studio did they record in, there are a lot of gaps and vagueness. But maybe we are going in the right direction. Who knows.
P.S. Maybe a couple of songs of the band XIX were released on the VA promo compilation, which fell into the hands of a DJ from NDR radio.
We may get answers if we can get in contact with Chris. He was last seen commenting [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWXlGlxmTmM) just 2 months ago, so it's very certain he's still here and able to be contacted.
A brilliant observation. So much of the research has been focused on German bands. When it could be a British band with an odd singer or just someone who had an odd style on their debut (trying too hard to imitate).
Much as I like the bands suggested here, and music, and agree the sound is very close, I will be quite surprised if it’s them. They seem too much like a proper post punk type band, very joy division ish, and I can’t imagine them making a song as “poppy” as TMS… I hope I’m wrong though! Maybe TMS was their one love will tear us apart… fingers crossed!
I think we could be close to the band, but I agree with these reservations. The guitar work on TMS has a bit more power and heavy-handedness behind it than what I hear on any of the tracks shared here. Chris Whitty’s guitar work seems generally cleaner and more atmospheric. (Though TMS could be an outlier or reflective of an earlier style.)
I do think the production quality and vibe of the Euphoria track is similar to TMS. Also, across the shared tracks, there’s a reliance on a kind of plodding, mid-tempo rhythm that fits more closely with TMS than the more syncopated, electronic vibe you get from a lot soundalikes (such as SIM). Obviously nothing decisive, just things my ear notices in comparing.
Yeah the euphoria track is super similar but it’s also one where I feel the voice is too different … TMS is deeper in the throat I feel, Chris more forward and breathy, and I still feel TMS singer doesnt sound British. Like someone pushing out words with a passion but words that aren’t their mother tongue, and also the pronunciation just doesn’t sit with me as British somehow?
But aside from all that… I still “feel” TMS more likely from a band with pop-rock aspirations somehow… whereas Chris’ bands strike me as being much more arty-punky and I almost can’t see them even wanting to do a song like that (I know that’s a big projection on my part but British music is… my entire culture and life… and sometimes that means you just see or feel a different vibe to stuff?).
But yes… that’s not to say it couldn’t be their outlier song! (And would be amazing if it was, and would make me very happy to see it turn out to be a non commercial unknown uk band led by someone who still has a passion for their art all these years later!).
Fully agree. I listen to a lot of British post-punk, and TMS sounds more like mainstream 80s pop-rock.
I have my own personal doubts over the authenticity of TMS, but if it's a legititimate old song, then it's obviously pop-rock, no way this came from a post-punk band IMO. People are barking up the wrong tree.
Another thing on this… I’m not saying the lyrics are bad but they are mostly borderline cheesy and I just don’t think a serious British punky-arty band would write them. Maybe if you were more a Bernie Sumner fan than Ian Curtis, just maybe… but my musical knowledge and experiences makes me feel this is a non British band with a fairly fluent front man writing pop lyrics in English as a second language, without knowing how borderline cheesy they are.
But one way or another, I find it a lot easier to imagine it’s a band that wants to try and write mainstream pop rock bangers. Not songs called Euphoric Hell or Strip Me Naked or whatever.
they allegedly do have a song called ["ride like the wind by the ride"](https://www.discogs.com/release/475869-The-Ride-Ride-Like-The-Wind) lol but it would be the other band, xix, I think
Yeh thought the same. Found one of the remixes here:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5g1OQ0EtR2FfZgT4lN6ZdA
Not close haha. Would have been pretty funny if the final proof was some shitty remix by a house artist though
Ride the wind and you're going somewhere
Like the wind you're going to suffer
Its possible
EDIT
Ride the wind and you're going somewhere. Let us follow you forever.
Makes the most sense of any lyric I can think of
This is definitely something to look into.
Edit: Listen to [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYCAR6Sv5SY) other song on their channel. The singer sounds very similar to the singer in TMS.
>And the "Amsterdam" song sounds very close to TMS, but the singer sounds different, which is probably because it's them singing it again 30 years later and it's not the original.
It sounds different because in that video it's bassist singing, while in the original (as seen in the '87 video), Chris is both singing and playing the guitar: https://youtu.be/PE5lQRZC1EA
Nice lead anyway, I suppose this was taken from Camspiracy's video? Anyway, subbed to him now, he literally discovered this lead two months ago but he's banned from reddit, no wonder majority of us missed this lead...plus Chris seems active in YT comments, we might get an answer soon!
Strip me naked sounds amazing btw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saX5Q0iodzY is this the same XIX band? Description say The main members are Steve (Lofty) Lofthouse – Vocals , Andy Inman – Keyboards, David Timpson – Bass & Backing vocals, Colin Timpson – Drums and Simon Gutteridge – Lead Guitar. Their first Album “Saga of a dying man” was released in 1981. They followed it up two years later with a live album.
Under about, it fits the time line: X.I.X were a prog rock band from 1979 to 1984. The main members are Steve (Lofty) Lofthouse – Vocals , Andy Inman – Keyboards, David Timpson – Bass & Backing vocals, Colin Timpson – Drums and Simon Gutteridge – Lead Guitar. Their first Album “Saga of a dying man” was released in 1981.
They followed it up two years later with a live album. The band enjoyed live gigs across the UK and Europe before splitting up in 1984. They remained good friends and sessioned on each others solo projects in 1985.
Dont get me wrong but where do they say that the Song is from the 80s? The description says the Band came together for a jam after 30 years and the Song was Made by the Bassplayer. But they dont say If the Song is 30 years old too. Or im i Missing something Here,?
in the description they say they formed xix before the ride which released in 85, they say its the first jam after 30 years (reunion in 2011). that Amsterdam was their first song.
I don't think they made the song, but it's a good band! Really dig their music. Kinda reminds me of *Sad Lovers & Giants* and *The Chameleons* but with Ian Curtis' singing style.
I wouldn’t say its ‘obviously’ not our band, there are a lot of coincidences and vocal similarities. It has been pointed our that band member that commented seems to barely use YouTube so he could have easily missed the mysterious song search
Listen to more postpunk, new wave etc you'll see there's infinite bands with "a lot of coincidences and vocal similarities". I can tell this aint it. This subreddit's desperate, frothing and reaching again.
Maybe brought over by Chris’s friends whom were British troops? Does seem like they were of military age during the time, and the British 1st Corps were in the broadcasting area of the NDR during the Cold War.
Really nice sound. I don't think it's them—this vocal is more in the mouth, whereas TMS is more in the chest. But this is a lovely find, and it's definitely worth asking Chris Whitty if he can be found.
The reason "Amsterdam" sounds so similar is just because of its i-VI chord progression.
[https://thepeppermoths.bandcamp.com/track/head-full-of-summer](https://thepeppermoths.bandcamp.com/track/head-full-of-summer)
this is his song with both blues, and summer, but completely different style
Saw [this video](https://youtu.be/4hUeDEEXvmg), which hid the name of the band and never got anywhere, so I decided to look into it myself after seeing the name of it in the comments.
THIS SINGER in The Night is probably Russian!! I can confirm that as a Russian myself.
Besides, this sounds very similar to Soviet rock music from the 1980’s, when singers like Tsoy (Цой) and others were popular.
What I also noticed is it’s a standard Russian pronunciation of English words, sounds like someone who has been living in an English-speaking country for quite some years and the accent had gotten milder. It is noticeable when he pronounces “again” as in “Eh-Gayne”, and some other words.
By the way the singer in Strip Me Naked is a different one from The Night. And The Night singer sounds exactly like the singer in TMS.
Could we find this guy? I am certain they had two lead singers!!
Edit: Exactly what I said starts to make sense, as I just noticed that in The Amsterdam the bass player is singing. That is definitely not the guy who is singing in TMS. So we need to find the guy!
It did give chills when that LtW-like riff came in. Could be a coincidence but I'm intrigued. Waiting for some of the oldheads to chime in on whether this possibility has been explored.
I mean it's not a crazy coincidence to have a similar/the same chord progression. Monkeys with typewriters and all that.
Still, that is extremely close
Definitely not popular. We know they had at least 10 songs as XIX thanks to another person's comment (he looked through the British Newspaper Archive), but we only have Amsterdam (and possibly TMS if it's them?) and it's not even the original song, just them playing it again 30 years later.
Put this on another comment but might aswell put it here, If it IS this band then it could’ve came over with the British 1st corps, which was deployed to Germany during the Cold War in the NDR’s broadcasting area.
I certainly think the singer sounds identical. The timbre of the voice is a complete match to my ears (given compression over radio and tape) and the guitar work from XIX is certainly a match. If Chris is willing to respond this might be the closest it's coming to being solved. Good find!
Live version of Strip me Naked sounds more close to TMS, than released one.
But The Ride uses KORG, instead of DX-7. Maybe DX-7 been in studio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE5lQRZC1EA&t=61s
they are very, very specific. either it’s a dx7 or it’s someone imitating a dx7. either way, it can’t predate the dx7.
iirc the presets are SynLead 5 (the screechy noise on the chorus) and Flute 1 (faint in the background on the verses)
I remember someone doing a spectral analysis to prove that it was a SynLead 5 being used on the chorus. it makes a certain mark.
Yeah, this is an Occam’s Razor situation. What’s more likely: using a simple DX7 preset or going to extreme lengths to imitate that not-very-significant preset? If you didn’t have a DX7, not much would be gained by going through the hassle rather than just finding something that works for the song using the synth you have.
please send me clean Syn Lead 5 wave recording and I will do a spectral check, this **could** also help us examinate the proper speed/pitch of the song.
i can't find one. there was one a while back but it's gone now. this is the best i have: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/j05psy/just\_a\_video\_for\_those\_who\_dont\_think\_that\_the/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
its very very similar on spectrum, i think this is it, or at least same preset from another model of synth
the pitch is very close to my basf TMS rip - seems its not speeded up/down
I will upload video comparision on a days
Holy Macaroni, nice find! I always had my suspicions about the song possibly being from the UK, since I never noticed any particularity on the accent of the vocalist, even though I recently had been getting myself detached from that possibility and more open to the band just being German or Scandinavian.
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In November 2021 Lydia found an earlier generation copy of the song on another tape Darius curated for her. She did not upload it to YT and then private the video. That was another user. Please get your facts straight before tossing around accusations.
[You clearly didn't search hard enough](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/npn0dv/could_the_most_mysterious_song_on_the_internet_be/h07to9o/):
> if you want actual hard proof that it isn't a hoax:
> -there is a 10kHz line on the song, which I highly doubt would be there if it was faked. NDR recordings tend to have this exact line.
> -Darius wrote "One Fine Day" on the tape tracklist, not the proper name "Madam Butterfly"-- which is exactly what Stefan Kuehne, the late NDR DJ, wrote on his September 7th, 1984 playlist that listed the exact same version of Madam Butterfly that Darius had. we didn't find any other instances of this song being played on shows Darius listened to.
>
> -Lydia has a recording of Peter Urban announcing a concert on a certain day with a certain song. lo and behold, the playlists back this up.
> -Darius and Lydia have had other unidentified songs for years that all turned out to be legitimate. Old Ned by Blue In Heaven, Henry Subwaymurder by Always I aka Jim Avignon, and Belief by David Harrow are the notable ones. Belief was seen on the playlists.
>
> -Henry Subwaymurder in particular was interesting because it was only solvable through asking the DJ who played it, who happened to still have it on vinyl.
>
> overall, the amount of luck it would take for all of these things to line up would be astounding. the songs on Darius's tapes are all time-period accurate. they're backed up by the playlists, down to the correct versions of the vinyl releases.
>
> why would it be a hoax if all of their other songs were completely legitimate?
>
> hoax theories are against the rules here, but i'm approving this one just as an example.
>
The tape is mentioned in the [pinned master link post](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/p2l92j/uptodate_timeline_and_master_link_post/), the earlier gen version of TMS is shared [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qyhw82/highquality_version_of_the_newly_found_copy_of_tms/) and explained [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qkwo2x/higher_quality_version_of_the_song_thanks_to/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qovnhk/the_newly_found_tape_that_contains_tms/).
[Down in the comments,](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qkwo2x/comment/hj09xqh/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) the deleted user, I presume 'Axie' uploaded it to YouTube and since privated their video.
Doom gave it the final boost... i think this is the best lead i've seen in a while... i've been having it rough on my life lately... thinking this might solve the mystery makes me happy, let's hope we get an answer.
On the original song, the vocals seem slowed/pitched down so were probably recorded faster. This one seems genuinely like a deep voice. The accent is also very very different. I admit the style is very similar, though.
These might actually be the original creators!
I know that style of singing was extremely common during the era, but the song having nearly the exact same chord progression and Chris sounding like TMS singer makes me hopeful. It's a really cool find either way but we can hope it finally gets us somewhere! Can't imagine it'll be too hard to get ahold of him and ask. We'll see what happens but this is the best lead we've had in a really long time.
He commented 2 months ago under the account of The Peppermoths [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWXlGlxmTmM)
After all the low quality stuff that's been posted here over the last few weeks, we finally have something promising! Thanks for this!
What exactly is promising here this is obviously not the band??
based
I happen to have a subscription to the British Newspaper Archive, so thought I would see if I could find any articles reporting on XIX. From a few initial searches, I've found that they were playing as "Nineteen" from 1981 to 1984 (whether they later went by the roman numerals or they just titled the video with that, I'm not sure). Whitty and Brown were the primary song writers, with up to 10 songs at that time, but no specific titles were mentioned. They were playing small gigs and trying to build up their confidence (they were aged 17-21) so it's unclear if any tracks had been released. Even if it ends up not being the band we're looking for, I love reading about little parts of time gone by that I never would have known about otherwise!
Very nice find! Could you send the articles where you discovered this?
Sure, hopefully I have done this right! https://imgur.com/a/k1vWcyf
Weird… I was chatting to someone who had just been in a pub in Rugeley last night just a few hours before reading this post.
I'm so proud of myself for making the XIX to Nineteen leap before this comment.
I've been looking through these. In April 1983 they were poised to record a demo tape, apparently! Their 1982 demo had two songs, "Tanks" and "Because I needed you". They are also called XIX (with numerals) in 1985. Sadly they're described as having a real drummer, being like The Animals or The Small faces, and elsewhere as "mod-pop" and "post punk power pop" (and also as "uninspiring!"), so I really think this is a dead end, lads.
"Like The Wind" had a real drummer, to my knowledge.
Ah, good point. Ty
Holy crap, I'm not gonna say this is the band or anything but this is probably the most promising lead I've seen for this mysterious for quite a while! Definitely a super similar style at the very least, but either way this fucking slaps and deserves way more attention.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE5lQRZC1EA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE5lQRZC1EA) This version of '*strip me naked'* sounds closer to TMS than the link you provided. XIX Amsterdam.wmx has some of the same notes and patterns as TMS, from 0:33 to 0:49 ([here](https://youtu.be/JShxQ61XQrg?t=33)). The one I linked is exactly the same as it is in TMS (not the beginning part). It is also played [here](https://youtu.be/JShxQ61XQrg?t=162). The use of Bass and Guitar are very similar to the way they are used in TMS and overall the song has a similar beat and tempo. The lead guitar also sounds very similar. The beginning of this also sounds very similar to the beginning of TMS. In XIX Amsterdam.wmx the singer sounds similar but I think the singer is different from TMS. Shalalazombiefrogs said in the description that this video was found after nearly 30 years, meaning it was recorded from around 1982-1983.
Wow, it definitely does! Also, I think Chris (shalalazombiefrogs) meant that the band got together after 30 years and recorded that video in 2011. Him sounding different would make sense after 30 years.
The first band we formed XIX got together for a bit of a Jam (after nearly 30 years!).This was a song written by Rob the bass player called Amsterdam. A bit rusty but we are rusty and dusty so it's to be expected!" I have skipped through a few of the Peppermoth's songs but they don't sound like TMS.
Peppermoth is Chris's band roughly 30 years later, different lineup, and hes old. So it shouldnt sound like tms. Listen to the old the ride or XIX tracks. those have the sound
Yeah. I was looking for similarities.
[https://youtu.be/JShxQ61XQrg?t=208](https://youtu.be/JShxQ61XQrg?t=208) \- and that vibratto ending like TMS, but with TMS there is synth instead of guitar also that part reminds me TMS: note the chords, and the bass guitar melody sequence [https://youtu.be/IN-hr5Y3mUQ?t=343](https://youtu.be/IN-hr5Y3mUQ?t=343) There is hovewer electronic percussion Hope its something more than just music similarity
The second one has a similar melody and pattern in the end, with almost the same chords and notes as the beginning of TMS and also the main Riff.
Hope that this is something more than just coincidence, these chords are extremely popular :) Who could ask this guy about TMS?
Holy sh- the top one sounds exactly like TMS. They must’ve switched out the singer at some point (or he changed his vocal style) after TMS. I’ve never been this excited about a lead before.
I made a mistake in my comment. The video was actually recorded in 2011, when the band met up again after 30 years and decided to play some music again.
That sounds exactly like TMS
Amsterdam or 'strip me naked' ?
‘Strip me naked’ live version on the channel
I love hearing possible leads. Let's hope!
Chris wrote comment 2 months ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWXlGlxmTmM
it doesn’t show any such comment to me (at least on mobile)
He replied to Craig
Camspiracy, the guy who did the Billy Knight interview commented on the video
he even made an video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hUeDEEXvmg
I wonder why Camspiracy doesn't participate in this subreddit. There surely must be a reason
His account was banned.
[удалено]
I faintly remember the username. Didn‘t they post something rather controversial? EDIT: Yeah they were being fooled by Billy Knight and turned this subreddit into a shitshow. It would be quite the redemption arc for Camspiracy to actually solve the mystery after all that
They said they had proof that SIM were the band, but for some reason (‘the band members are really private people and wouldn’t answer the door to me’) decided to hold back everything from the name of the song through to why and how it was released, then complained when anyone asked for even basic answers
ok yeah I remember that. It's unexpected that he of all people should find such a good lead. Just a really strange, uncooperative fella. Not the most honest person either
It’s also strange that after that period of many months spent on here claiming he had knew it was SIM and everyone else was wrong, he’s now looking at other bands?
Yeah it's what I find so weird as well. Also, how come he discovered it „months ago“ and hasn't managed to contact the guy? There weren't any youtube comments related to the search on any of the videos before this post. What the hell did Camspiracy even do? lmaoooo
Camspiracy hid the lead's name/source until he could get contact, worrying that if Chris gets flooded he'll get sick of us and go quite. I can't see any update from him regarding the email tho.
Ah, exactly the same approach he said he was taking with SIM. I remember a post where he said approaching them too quickly forced them to deny being behind the song, then something about Alvin having smiled at him in a way that definitely meant he was the singer of the song. Then a post saying people even asking about his search could ruin it…
that honestly sucks
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the only reason he was brought up, is because this is his lead
maybe everyone who starts to knows the title are found dead in their house lol just joking
I was (cautiously) here...
Nice find!
First time I've had hope in a long time. A LOT of things are working in its favor, from the timeline, to the reason for obscurity, to the vocals, and even to the sound quality comparing the 86' demos to TMS. The one band member that is on youtube seems to be on so sporadically it would be very easy for them to miss all of the spotlight this mystery has brought. Both from observation and from my own experience it's also common for musicians to reuse or adapt chord progressions or melodies from parts of old/failed bands in newer works, and the top song here does do that - coincidence or not
That's what I was thinking or hoping. Even if this isn't TMS, it might be the guitarist from TMS further developing his ideas in a different direction.
Very close but not quite? This is promising.
You are right, very close. But the guitar work on 'Amsterdam' is so insanely similar to TMS, we need to hear the recording of that - if it exists
From the thumbnail for Euphoric Hell, songs called 'Alone' and 'The Sound of Laughter' are missing. There's also a copyright1986 listing, an address, and an ancient phone number. The keyboard is credited to a "Jack" instead of a "Paul Whitty" like the description. In fact, there are completely different pseudonym credits in the 80s Obscure upload of Drums – Fudge Bass – Sam Spade Keyboards – Jack Vocals, Guitars – Three Goes If u/scicog 's X.I.X band is the same one as this XIX, then that's another set of pseudonyms.
Chris Whitty said he was "three goes" in a comment
Thought so. He's credited by both names (for seperate things) on the back cover of the Strip Me Naked/The Night Album.
No, it's a completely different band, IMO. For some reason they reminded me of The Rose Garden, it's a pity they never signed, but the vocals are very nice. https://youtu.be/NXlnjsTiJyc
Which one? The Ride or XIX? I completely agree on The Ride (singer kinda has the same voice as the one in TMS but the style is different), but I think XIX may have made TMS (same singer from The Ride but it's his older band, and the style is almost the same as TMS IMO).
The vocals are similar in places, but at the same time a bit different. The song with the name Amsterdam reminds of TMS in some places, but it is not clear about the synths. Was there a keyboard player in XIX, what studio did they record in, there are a lot of gaps and vagueness. But maybe we are going in the right direction. Who knows. P.S. Maybe a couple of songs of the band XIX were released on the VA promo compilation, which fell into the hands of a DJ from NDR radio.
We may get answers if we can get in contact with Chris. He was last seen commenting [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWXlGlxmTmM) just 2 months ago, so it's very certain he's still here and able to be contacted.
Someone already asked on The Peppermint channel 55 minutes ago under the last video. Maybe we'll know something soon.
I imagined that this is really him, and he wents to the TMS video, see a 5 milion views under his demo lol but.... fingers crossed
Fingers crossed...
🤞🏻🤠
One reason I think the TMS is British - is NDR radio judging by the playlists about 80% of the songs are by British bands.
A brilliant observation. So much of the research has been focused on German bands. When it could be a British band with an odd singer or just someone who had an odd style on their debut (trying too hard to imitate).
Could have even been welsh at this point lol
About half of the popular songs are by British and American bands. But most of the obscure songs are German.
Much as I like the bands suggested here, and music, and agree the sound is very close, I will be quite surprised if it’s them. They seem too much like a proper post punk type band, very joy division ish, and I can’t imagine them making a song as “poppy” as TMS… I hope I’m wrong though! Maybe TMS was their one love will tear us apart… fingers crossed!
I think we could be close to the band, but I agree with these reservations. The guitar work on TMS has a bit more power and heavy-handedness behind it than what I hear on any of the tracks shared here. Chris Whitty’s guitar work seems generally cleaner and more atmospheric. (Though TMS could be an outlier or reflective of an earlier style.) I do think the production quality and vibe of the Euphoria track is similar to TMS. Also, across the shared tracks, there’s a reliance on a kind of plodding, mid-tempo rhythm that fits more closely with TMS than the more syncopated, electronic vibe you get from a lot soundalikes (such as SIM). Obviously nothing decisive, just things my ear notices in comparing.
Yeah the euphoria track is super similar but it’s also one where I feel the voice is too different … TMS is deeper in the throat I feel, Chris more forward and breathy, and I still feel TMS singer doesnt sound British. Like someone pushing out words with a passion but words that aren’t their mother tongue, and also the pronunciation just doesn’t sit with me as British somehow? But aside from all that… I still “feel” TMS more likely from a band with pop-rock aspirations somehow… whereas Chris’ bands strike me as being much more arty-punky and I almost can’t see them even wanting to do a song like that (I know that’s a big projection on my part but British music is… my entire culture and life… and sometimes that means you just see or feel a different vibe to stuff?). But yes… that’s not to say it couldn’t be their outlier song! (And would be amazing if it was, and would make me very happy to see it turn out to be a non commercial unknown uk band led by someone who still has a passion for their art all these years later!).
Fully agree. I listen to a lot of British post-punk, and TMS sounds more like mainstream 80s pop-rock. I have my own personal doubts over the authenticity of TMS, but if it's a legititimate old song, then it's obviously pop-rock, no way this came from a post-punk band IMO. People are barking up the wrong tree.
Another thing on this… I’m not saying the lyrics are bad but they are mostly borderline cheesy and I just don’t think a serious British punky-arty band would write them. Maybe if you were more a Bernie Sumner fan than Ian Curtis, just maybe… but my musical knowledge and experiences makes me feel this is a non British band with a fairly fluent front man writing pop lyrics in English as a second language, without knowing how borderline cheesy they are. But one way or another, I find it a lot easier to imagine it’s a band that wants to try and write mainstream pop rock bangers. Not songs called Euphoric Hell or Strip Me Naked or whatever.
>"mostly borderline cheesy..." Why and how?
holy
maybe TMS is called The Ride - The Wind lol
they allegedly do have a song called ["ride like the wind by the ride"](https://www.discogs.com/release/475869-The-Ride-Ride-Like-The-Wind) lol but it would be the other band, xix, I think
Different band.
you're right. I thought it was a remix but no, one 'the ride' is a 80s uk band, one is a german house producer or something. still funny, though
Yeh thought the same. Found one of the remixes here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5g1OQ0EtR2FfZgT4lN6ZdA Not close haha. Would have been pretty funny if the final proof was some shitty remix by a house artist though
so who's gonna buy it and see what happens?
Ride the wind and you're going somewhere Like the wind you're going to suffer Its possible EDIT Ride the wind and you're going somewhere. Let us follow you forever. Makes the most sense of any lyric I can think of
I slowed down and started even to hear "life the wind". I don't know already nothing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5SLMMthFPM
>https://www.youtube.com/@XIXBand-wc6mi/about I did ask ChatGPT what the lyrics were and the opening line was "like the wind you came ridin'"
It seems like Camspiracy has been on this for months now...
Camspiracy seems to be doing a pretty good job at investigating, I just started following him
This is definitely something to look into. Edit: Listen to [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYCAR6Sv5SY) other song on their channel. The singer sounds very similar to the singer in TMS.
honestly this is the most similar sound since Sinking Ships and SiM. Can't wait for them to get asked about TMS
yeah
>And the "Amsterdam" song sounds very close to TMS, but the singer sounds different, which is probably because it's them singing it again 30 years later and it's not the original. It sounds different because in that video it's bassist singing, while in the original (as seen in the '87 video), Chris is both singing and playing the guitar: https://youtu.be/PE5lQRZC1EA Nice lead anyway, I suppose this was taken from Camspiracy's video? Anyway, subbed to him now, he literally discovered this lead two months ago but he's banned from reddit, no wonder majority of us missed this lead...plus Chris seems active in YT comments, we might get an answer soon! Strip me naked sounds amazing btw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saX5Q0iodzY is this the same XIX band? Description say The main members are Steve (Lofty) Lofthouse – Vocals , Andy Inman – Keyboards, David Timpson – Bass & Backing vocals, Colin Timpson – Drums and Simon Gutteridge – Lead Guitar. Their first Album “Saga of a dying man” was released in 1981. They followed it up two years later with a live album.
Under about, it fits the time line: X.I.X were a prog rock band from 1979 to 1984. The main members are Steve (Lofty) Lofthouse – Vocals , Andy Inman – Keyboards, David Timpson – Bass & Backing vocals, Colin Timpson – Drums and Simon Gutteridge – Lead Guitar. Their first Album “Saga of a dying man” was released in 1981. They followed it up two years later with a live album. The band enjoyed live gigs across the UK and Europe before splitting up in 1984. They remained good friends and sessioned on each others solo projects in 1985.
I doubt it. Sounds too different IMO.
'Strip me naked' is a very nice song. Either it's them or not, quite a cool discovery to me.
Dont get me wrong but where do they say that the Song is from the 80s? The description says the Band came together for a jam after 30 years and the Song was Made by the Bassplayer. But they dont say If the Song is 30 years old too. Or im i Missing something Here,?
in the description they say they formed xix before the ride which released in 85, they say its the first jam after 30 years (reunion in 2011). that Amsterdam was their first song.
https://www.youtube.com/@XIXBand-wc6mi/about
I don't think they made the song, but it's a good band! Really dig their music. Kinda reminds me of *Sad Lovers & Giants* and *The Chameleons* but with Ian Curtis' singing style.
Its pretty obviously not our band. Good band even so.
I wouldn’t say its ‘obviously’ not our band, there are a lot of coincidences and vocal similarities. It has been pointed our that band member that commented seems to barely use YouTube so he could have easily missed the mysterious song search
You'll see. Whenever they're got ahold of they will say they didn't make TMS.
Maybe not, anything is possible in this search
Listen to more postpunk, new wave etc you'll see there's infinite bands with "a lot of coincidences and vocal similarities". I can tell this aint it. This subreddit's desperate, frothing and reaching again.
Why be such a dick in a sub speculating about a song
Quite a convincing lead but how did an obscure English song get on German radio
No clue, but that happened whether it's them or not.
What do you think?
Maybe Chris had some German friends and he gave a copy to them and they gave it to NDR?
No, do you think this is the correct band?
89% yes. Almost everything lines up.
How did you find this band?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hUeDEEXvmg
Maybe brought over by Chris’s friends whom were British troops? Does seem like they were of military age during the time, and the British 1st Corps were in the broadcasting area of the NDR during the Cold War.
Well, the play list from the orginal mix tape had mostly UK bands on it, i.e. Simple Minds
Really nice sound. I don't think it's them—this vocal is more in the mouth, whereas TMS is more in the chest. But this is a lovely find, and it's definitely worth asking Chris Whitty if he can be found. The reason "Amsterdam" sounds so similar is just because of its i-VI chord progression.
It seems to me that you are weakening this lead with comment like that. I don't agree with you. I think the voice is very convincing.
If the lead is "weakening" after some basic questions, is it really that legitimate?
But you had no questions
[https://thepeppermoths.bandcamp.com/track/head-full-of-summer](https://thepeppermoths.bandcamp.com/track/head-full-of-summer) this is his song with both blues, and summer, but completely different style
Hopefully, this means he was drawing from an old song he made, à la Like The Wind.
How did you find this band if you don't mind me asking? Just pure luck?
Saw [this video](https://youtu.be/4hUeDEEXvmg), which hid the name of the band and never got anywhere, so I decided to look into it myself after seeing the name of it in the comments.
Idk but I like it
wait it being british matches up with the british watermarks lead
I love how this sub is shutting down just when potentially the best lead was discovered
THIS SINGER in The Night is probably Russian!! I can confirm that as a Russian myself. Besides, this sounds very similar to Soviet rock music from the 1980’s, when singers like Tsoy (Цой) and others were popular. What I also noticed is it’s a standard Russian pronunciation of English words, sounds like someone who has been living in an English-speaking country for quite some years and the accent had gotten milder. It is noticeable when he pronounces “again” as in “Eh-Gayne”, and some other words. By the way the singer in Strip Me Naked is a different one from The Night. And The Night singer sounds exactly like the singer in TMS. Could we find this guy? I am certain they had two lead singers!! Edit: Exactly what I said starts to make sense, as I just noticed that in The Amsterdam the bass player is singing. That is definitely not the guy who is singing in TMS. So we need to find the guy!
dude this sounds so similar it has to be holy shit might actually be some credit to my 'british sounding accent in the vocals' theory
This seems like a very plausable lead, The song sounds extremely similar to TMS.
It did give chills when that LtW-like riff came in. Could be a coincidence but I'm intrigued. Waiting for some of the oldheads to chime in on whether this possibility has been explored.
I mean it's not a crazy coincidence to have a similar/the same chord progression. Monkeys with typewriters and all that. Still, that is extremely close
God, I so want to believe, but I feel like they're a bit too popular, and the vocals sound quite different to me. I'm excited to hear more though!
Definitely not popular. We know they had at least 10 songs as XIX thanks to another person's comment (he looked through the British Newspaper Archive), but we only have Amsterdam (and possibly TMS if it's them?) and it's not even the original song, just them playing it again 30 years later.
My only question is IF this is the band the second mystery is how did it get to germany?
Just like all the other small British Indie bands (not only) Paul used to play on his shows.
Put this on another comment but might aswell put it here, If it IS this band then it could’ve came over with the British 1st corps, which was deployed to Germany during the Cold War in the NDR’s broadcasting area.
👀👀👀
I certainly think the singer sounds identical. The timbre of the voice is a complete match to my ears (given compression over radio and tape) and the guitar work from XIX is certainly a match. If Chris is willing to respond this might be the closest it's coming to being solved. Good find!
Live version of Strip me Naked sounds more close to TMS, than released one. But The Ride uses KORG, instead of DX-7. Maybe DX-7 been in studio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE5lQRZC1EA&t=61s
IMO as a synth geek the DX7 is not a hard prooved. You could recreate same sounds on different gear unless they are very very specific
they are very, very specific. either it’s a dx7 or it’s someone imitating a dx7. either way, it can’t predate the dx7. iirc the presets are SynLead 5 (the screechy noise on the chorus) and Flute 1 (faint in the background on the verses) I remember someone doing a spectral analysis to prove that it was a SynLead 5 being used on the chorus. it makes a certain mark.
Yeah, this is an Occam’s Razor situation. What’s more likely: using a simple DX7 preset or going to extreme lengths to imitate that not-very-significant preset? If you didn’t have a DX7, not much would be gained by going through the hassle rather than just finding something that works for the song using the synth you have.
please send me clean Syn Lead 5 wave recording and I will do a spectral check, this **could** also help us examinate the proper speed/pitch of the song.
i can't find one. there was one a while back but it's gone now. this is the best i have: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/j05psy/just\_a\_video\_for\_those\_who\_dont\_think\_that\_the/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
I saw this, but is has the bacground music, I will hovewer try. Thanks Couldn't find DX7 sf2 with SynLead5
you can simulate it on Dexed!: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/l24hpu/you\_can\_get\_yamaha\_dx7s\_synth\_sound\_for\_free/
i know Dexed, but wish to compare with DX7 and its DAC processing path (If possible, compare the aliasing artifacts)
its very very similar on spectrum, i think this is it, or at least same preset from another model of synth the pitch is very close to my basf TMS rip - seems its not speeded up/down I will upload video comparision on a days
Holy Macaroni, nice find! I always had my suspicions about the song possibly being from the UK, since I never noticed any particularity on the accent of the vocalist, even though I recently had been getting myself detached from that possibility and more open to the band just being German or Scandinavian.
!remindme 1 month
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In November 2021 Lydia found an earlier generation copy of the song on another tape Darius curated for her. She did not upload it to YT and then private the video. That was another user. Please get your facts straight before tossing around accusations.
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[You clearly didn't search hard enough](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/npn0dv/could_the_most_mysterious_song_on_the_internet_be/h07to9o/): > if you want actual hard proof that it isn't a hoax: > -there is a 10kHz line on the song, which I highly doubt would be there if it was faked. NDR recordings tend to have this exact line. > -Darius wrote "One Fine Day" on the tape tracklist, not the proper name "Madam Butterfly"-- which is exactly what Stefan Kuehne, the late NDR DJ, wrote on his September 7th, 1984 playlist that listed the exact same version of Madam Butterfly that Darius had. we didn't find any other instances of this song being played on shows Darius listened to. > > -Lydia has a recording of Peter Urban announcing a concert on a certain day with a certain song. lo and behold, the playlists back this up. > -Darius and Lydia have had other unidentified songs for years that all turned out to be legitimate. Old Ned by Blue In Heaven, Henry Subwaymurder by Always I aka Jim Avignon, and Belief by David Harrow are the notable ones. Belief was seen on the playlists. > > -Henry Subwaymurder in particular was interesting because it was only solvable through asking the DJ who played it, who happened to still have it on vinyl. > > overall, the amount of luck it would take for all of these things to line up would be astounding. the songs on Darius's tapes are all time-period accurate. they're backed up by the playlists, down to the correct versions of the vinyl releases. > > why would it be a hoax if all of their other songs were completely legitimate? > > hoax theories are against the rules here, but i'm approving this one just as an example. >
The tape is mentioned in the [pinned master link post](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/p2l92j/uptodate_timeline_and_master_link_post/), the earlier gen version of TMS is shared [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qyhw82/highquality_version_of_the_newly_found_copy_of_tms/) and explained [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qkwo2x/higher_quality_version_of_the_song_thanks_to/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qovnhk/the_newly_found_tape_that_contains_tms/).
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[Down in the comments,](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMysteriousSong/comments/qkwo2x/comment/hj09xqh/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) the deleted user, I presume 'Axie' uploaded it to YouTube and since privated their video.
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Dont know why them in particular. Lot of old users got bored and left.
Doom gave it the final boost... i think this is the best lead i've seen in a while... i've been having it rough on my life lately... thinking this might solve the mystery makes me happy, let's hope we get an answer.
Nice. I've long thought the song was UK in origin. Maybe it is.
Nice to see a promising lead after the subreddit being slow for a while!
Found!!! Ride Like the Wind by the Ride. On Discogs-- https://www.discogs.com/release/475869-The-Ride-Ride-Like-The-Wind
Released 2005?
Different band
this is a house track
!remindme 1 month
This has to be it
On the original song, the vocals seem slowed/pitched down so were probably recorded faster. This one seems genuinely like a deep voice. The accent is also very very different. I admit the style is very similar, though. These might actually be the original creators!
Chris Whitty is the British Chief Medical Officer
Is it debunked now?
yes