the mystery sound 1
Every radio station has them, or had them, the mystery sound segment where listeners phoned in to identify a sound some smart-arse in the backroom devised to beat the punters. Punters being about everyone else in the building who was in on the game. The longer the mystery sound remained a mystery, like in number of days, the better the odds if you were holding a long day ticket. Seriously, how long does it take someone to recognise the sound of snipping the eyebrows off a Border Collie? Fifty days? Wrong. Stanley backed 108 on that in ’59 and collected 5 quid back at times twenty.
Am I losing anyone here? The game isn’t for the a listener’s enjoyment, he’s the jockey who wins us money if he loses
This week’s sound was like someone knocking a wooden desktop fast with his thumb and a finger. Bobbity-bop, bobbity bop bop, pop pop, popbebobble.
The radio guy said ring this number ……. 66 something.
… “yep, hello?” This is him.
“Matey, how you going?”
“Good, what’s your name?”
“Pete, and I know the sound.”
“You do?”
“Yep, they are the YouBangjie drums.”
pause here as our man considered a response.
“And I know what they mean!”
“The drums?”
“Yeah, but I’ll need your participation, ok?”
He’s got to say yes. And from here beautiful things happen.
‘I can only interpret the three words the drum is saying backwords, ok?’
‘Right.’
“And then you repeat them the right way around.”
How could he say no?
“Ok?”
“Go.”
“Won. You. Congratulations.”
He got as far as the You before the studio lights flickered but I’m picking it for a win anyway.
petebowes.com 