As a ska blogger I always knew this day would come. I put it off and I put it off but I knew I couldn't hide from it forever. Right now I am reasonably drunk on a Saturday afternoon and I have been doing some quality posts lately so I decided it's time to confront this thing. To just get it out of the way.
Ska Chou Chou. Whatever the hell that means.
If I had to guess I would say it's a play on the term 'popcorn'. See, 'chouchou' is a type of candied nut that sometimes accompanied candied popcorn (Crackerjacks). But I don't know this is true. I'm just kinda making shit up.
The most popular version of Ska Chou Chou came from the Italian radio DJ Claudio Cecchetto who released his version in 1982 and he played it on the air regularly. The B-side is 'Goodbye Everybody' with him giving a send off at the end.
It was released at least twice with different covers. One of which attributed the song to himself and the DeeJay's Gang. That one was released in 1982. The first one was released in 1981 and listed a song on the cover called Voltare! that was not actually on the record. Ska Chou Chou was labeled as Ska Chou Chou (82)
Claudio Cecchetto e la DeeJay's Gang - Ska Chou Chou 7" (1982)
A - Ska Chou Chou
B - Mr. Bunch (Ciao a Tutti)
This was not the first recording however. It was written and first recorded by Enrico Il Pazzo (Henry the Fool) a year prior in 1981. I can't help but think that Claudio Checchetto may have known Il Pazzo personally.
Enrico Il Pazzo - Ska Chou Chou 7" (1981)
A - Ska Chou Chou
B - Comunque Grazie
Then a Belgium disco band called Baseball did a cover that stripped the song of any semblance of ska that it ever had. Popcorn music was popularized in Belgium so it makes sense that a Belgian band would carry the torch into the 80s.
I once had a copy of the record. The song in this download is of my own rip, but for some reason I didn't keep a copy of the B-side. I remember it being a disco song. If you really have to hear it you can currently get a copy off Discogs for 88-cents.
Baseball - Ska Chou Chou 7" (1984)
A - Ska Chou Chou
B - ...yeah, sorry, there is no B-side. Disco sucks.
Then there's this. It's a children's educational / nursery rhyme channel from Greece. I can't imagine what they are trying to teach kids other than 'ska sucks!'. (Guest appearance from Admiral Ackbar for some reason. I don't know either.) I did not include this in the download. Why would I?
I'm off to the store for more beer. This whole post makes me feel unclean.
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