Get Ready For Gunther!

The brilliant Kids in the Hall had a character created by Bruce McCulloch called Tammy. Tammy was a spoof of horrible pop singers, like the skit Spread for Roses.

There’s a guy out there called Gunther, who is like the male version of Tammy. Except, and I’m not 100% certain of this, he’s not a spoof.

Gunther, or Günther, if you want to be a stickler about spelling, is the stage name of Mats Söderlund, who’s from Sweden. He’s a former model turned club manager turned Gunther. Check out this video, which you probably know already:

Yes, it’s the “Ding Dong Song”. Here are some of the lyrics:

Oh… you touch my tra la la
My ding ding dong

Oh… you touch my tra la la

As some have said, this is “probably” a parody of Eurodance pop from earlier acts like Real McCoy. Except, he seems to be taken pretty seriously in Europe (the song reached #37 on the EuroChart in 2004).

Here’s another called “Tutti Frutti Summer Love”:

Notice the mullet, the shades, mustache, use of naked dudes thrown in with the ladies, and the lyrics:

Honey, you’re so cute
This is the land of forbidden fruit
Bananas, melonas, yeah
It’s a hot, hot summer love (Yeah)

You can make me do all those crazy things I never dared
It’s a no-no (No!)
And you like it
Darling, you’re the one and only; yes, I swear
Tutti frutti summer love

Gunther is like that sleazy European guy with the funny accent trying to come onto an American girl at the beach. But somebody likes him.

Here’s Teeny Weeny String Bikini (#23 on the EuroChart):

In case you didn’t notice, it’s basically the same (Euro)beat in every song.

And Gunther doesn’t forget the holidays:

The dog and half-naked midgets are a nice touch. I’m starting to think the whole “parody” thing is the more accurate description. Except now Samantha Fox gets into the act, and things become more confusing:

Yes, it’s the remake of Samantha’s “Touch Me”. This version reached #1 on the Swedish Singles Chart. So, is Gunther serious now? Or is this just another event similar to Cher’s “I Got You Babe” with Beavis and Butthead? Whatever it is, it’s certain that Europeans eat this stuff up. I think Americans take him less seriously. Yale seemed to like him well enough.

I think America’s reaction to Gunther is similar to how my friends and I reacted to Gunther. To us, he is everything horrible Eurodance can be, taken to an absurd extreme. Whether he’s serious or not is probably beside the point. He’s funny, he’s kitsch, he’s an internet cult item. Good enough.