I am still trying to confirm all the details but this is what I believe to be true at the moment.
Sometime back in the year 2000, I was 25 years old and very much enjoyed going to nightclubs. I had previously visited the now legendary nightclub in Hamtramck Michigan called The Motor and I liked the place.
I don’t remember why I decided to go there again that particular night. I think I was just bored of the other places that I frequented at the time. I went alone.
When I got there, it looked like a party was wrapping up. The song was on the speakers. I had never heard it before. I didn’t know anything about Detroit Grand Pubahs.
There was a table with a large club-sub sandwich. Most of it had been eaten. I’m talking about the kind you might get at a work lunch. Something like this photo.
I had no idea what was going on exactly. It was not until much later when I encountered the song online that I pieced together that I might have inadvertently attended its release party!
The song ended up on the dance music charts in both the US and UK. Then they made the goofy video you see at the top of this blog.
The track makes use of a pitch-shift effect on the vocals that produces a chipmunk-like voice. For that reason alone it made it to rotation here at FunHouse Radio.
The 12 inch single cover12 in single labelCD “maxi” single
Today is the first day of Oktoberfest. Eat your heart out, St. Patrick’s Day. For the next two weeks people in North America may pretend to be “German”. I suggest having Rouladen for dinner. Have a Kalter Hund for desert. Try a Schwarzbier. It’s the best!
Get in the mood to celebrate with this track by Werner-Wichtig. It’s is all about pumping out that tasty beer from kegs. Oktoberfest is also a great time to review your German vocabulary. The Lyrics can be found at the bottom of this page so you can sing along. Because it is a drinking song, it makes it even better if you murder the pronunciation.
This track is a parody of “Pump Up The Jam” by Technotronic, which was released in 1989 and hit Number Two on the West German pop charts. The instrumental version was included on the 7 inch single release. That made it really easy to create you own lyrics and sing over it. They probably got permission to use the track but I haven’t been able to find the details on that. It would have been possible to source the backing track from the 7 inch release without much of an issue. 45 RPM produces a superior signal verses 33 RPM. “Pump Ab Das Bier” was also released in 1989.
While the world is busy appropriating German culture this week, maybe we can excuse the apparel worn by the guys in the video. African inspired prints were popular at the time for White people to wear. Even I had a few shirts and hats at the time. We thought we were being cool. In hindsight, it’s cringe worthy. Conversely, Germans often cringe when they see American tourists wear kitchy lederhosen costumes at Oktoberfest celebrations.
Since the song first came out as a single, it’s been included in dozens of compilations. It was also re-released in 1998. I managed to get the original 12 inch vinyl record but it’s not in great condition. It’s a bit odd to me that they used the Statue of Liberty on the cover art, especially since the original song is by a Black Belgian band.
LYRICS (courtesy of LyricFind)
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab Trink ihn aus den Humpen, komm lass dich nicht lumpen Mann, kann ich euch pumpen Pump ab das Bier, pump es jetzt, pump es hier Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab, pump es, pump es, pump es
Aua, das schmeckt so gut So ein Bierchen, das macht Laune und geht ins Blut Aua, wo bin ich hier? Sag doch endlich mal dem Wirt Bescheid Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier, noch en
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab Trink ihn aus den Humpen, komm lass dich nicht lumpen Mann, kann ich euch pumpen Pump ab das Bier, pump es jetzt, pump es hier Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab, pump es, pump es, pump es
Aua, noch en Korn, noch en Bier und noch en Korn und Dann von vorn Aua, wo bin ich hier? Sag doch endlich mal dem Wirt Bescheid Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier, noch en
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab, egal ob die Theke zusammenbricht Heute lassen wir’s uns gut gehen und nach Hause gehen wir nicht Pump es ab, sei nicht traurig, wenn der Kellner dich vergisst Dafür wirst du schon seit Tagen von der Ehefrau vermisst
Aua, noch en Korn, noch en Bier und noch en Korn und Dann von vorn Aua, wo bin ich hier? Sag doch endlich mal dem Wirt Bescheid Noch en
Pump ab das Bier, pump es ab, kriegst du auch die Hucke voll Irgendwann läuft’s sicher besser, hauen wir uns die Birne voll Pump es ab, denn heut ist Zahltag, heute schmeißt man uns nicht raus Ich bestell’ schon mal die Runde, heut gibst du mal einen aus
Aua, das schmeckt so gut So ein Bierchen, das macht Laune und geht ins Blut Aua, wo bin ich hier? Sag doch endlich mal dem Wirt bescheid Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier Noch en Bier, noch en Bier, noch en Bier
– C. Hüther, F.T. Meyer-Thurn, R. Thielecke, R. Beyer
This Leslie character has no shame. I like it. Let me go slip into my spandex for the day. Watch out for my no-ass and huge gut. I hope Lizzo invites Ms Hall to collaborate soon! Maybe do a remix of this? That would kick ass.
I asked people to name a funny techno song. This is one of the first suggestions to slide in. I loved it right away. Salesmen are often pretty slimy. Con artists are even worse. I love it when market mania is mocked. I love satire. The video is great too. More please.
The Stupendium is a musician, animator and content creator, creating weird, wonderful and usually incredibly nerdy songs and animations.
This song is part of a Video series, Toby Fox’s Deltarune. The song is rapped/narrated by a character from the series called Spamton G. Spamton. The character has become a popular subject of memes.
Thank you Stupendium. I can feel the cash vibes flowing through me. I just know FunHouse Radio will soon receive a windfall of investments in the near future!
FunHouse Radio 