Tube Bar prank calls

Last updated

The Tube Bar prank calls are a series of prank calls [1] [2] made in the mid-1970s to the Tube Bar in Jersey City, New Jersey, in which Jim Davidson and John Elmo would ask "Red", the proprietor of the bar, if they could speak to various non-existent customers. The gag names given by the pranksters were puns and homophones for often offensive phrases. Recordings of the calls were circulated widely on duplicated cassette tapes and may have been the inspiration for a long running gag in The Simpsons . [1] [ additional citation(s) needed ]

Contents

History

In the mid-1970s, two young men—John Elmo and Jim Davidson; [3] [4] [5] later known collectively as Bum Bar Bastards, or The BBB—began calling the Tube Bar located at Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey. The bar was owned by heavyweight boxer Louis "Red" Deutsch, and most of the time Deutsch himself answered the calls. During a call, the pranksters would ask Deutsch to call out fictitious, pun-like or homophonous names such as "Pepe Roni" (pepperoni), "Hal Jalykakick" (how'd you like a kick), "Phil Mypockets" (fill my pockets), [6] "Al Coholic" (alcoholic) [1] [6] [7] or "Mike Hunt" (my cunt). [2] [7] Most of the time, Deutsch would call out the names, unaware that he was being subjected to a prank.

At times, Deutsch would catch on, and when he did, he would respond with extreme hostility, shouting profanity, obscene sexual references (usually involving the caller's mother), and threats of physical harm at the caller. He would utter threats such as, "I'll break dem bones on you, on your feet, you'll never be able to walk for the rest of your life!" as well as "I'll cut your belly open and show you all the black stuff you got in there!" Sometimes Deutsch would offer the two pranksters a reward of $100 or $500 if they would show up at his bar in person, but they never took him up on the offer, in one case even counter-offering him $5. [3] [8]

By the 1980s, dubbed cassette tapes of the calls were shared between staff of several major league sports teams such as the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Dolphins. These dubbed copies of the calls were unofficially referred to as the Red Tapes or Tube Bar Tapes. [9] The popularity of these prank calls spread throughout respective sports leagues, branching out to sports reporters and then into the larger media world.[ citation needed ]

Bar location and details

The Tube Bar itself was located at 12 Tube Concourse, Jersey City, adjacent to the entrance of the Journal Square PATH station and across the way from the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre. [10] The small complex of commercial storefronts that included the Tube Bar was demolished in early 2009 to make way for the 1 Journal Square development project. [11] [12]

Legacy

Discography

Tube Bar album releases
#AlbumFormatRelease dateLabelCatalog Number
1The Tube BarCassette Tape6 November 1988 TeenBeat Records Teen-Beat 22 [15]
2The Tube BarLP15 February 1990TeenBeat RecordsTeen-Beat 31 [16]
3The Tube BarCD23 September 1991TeenBeat RecordsTeen-Beat 81 [17]
4Tube BarCD1993Detonator Records30414-2 [18]
5Tavern TourCassette Tape & CD1997Padded Cell Productionsbbb1111 [19] [20]
6Tube Bar Collector's EditionCD2006T.A. Productions634479238611 [21]
7Drunk, Dirty And DisgracefulCD30 October 2006T.A. Productions634479416163 [22]
8Tube Bar Red's Bootleg Tape [Remastered]CD1 September 2007T.A. Productions883629285993 [23]
9Tube Bar Legendary Prank / Crank Calls [The Ultimate Collection]CD23 October 2008T.A. Productions883629648101 [24]
10Tube Bar Prank Calls 35th Anniversary Complete CollectionCD1 September 2010T.A. Productions885444445392 [25]
11Tube Bar Vol. 4: Rummies, Bums & DummiesCD17 April 2013887936261862 [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moe Szyslak</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Moammar "Moe" Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender of Moe's Tavern, a Springfield bar frequented by Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson, Sam, Larry, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft</span> German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, or D.A.F., was a German electropunk/Neue Deutsche Welle band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López (vocals), Robert Görl, Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke, Michael Kemner (bass-guitar) and Wolfgang Spelmans (guitar). Kurt Dahlke was replaced by Chrislo Haas in 1979. Since 1981, the band has consisted of Delgado-López and Görl. Gabi Delgado-Lopez died on 22 March 2020 aged 61.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Moir</span> English comedian (born 1959)

James Roderick Moir, commonly known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian and artist. He has a double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. He is known for his surreal sense of humour.

Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989 and 1993. Though Born Against received little media exposure while still together, they have since been described as "legendary" by the Chicago Reader and the LA Weekly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Other Side of the World</span> 2005 single by KT Tunstall

"Other Side of the World" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, included as the opening track on her debut album, Eye to the Telescope (2004). The song is about the problems of long-distance relationships and how they seldom work out. It is based on a true story of two friends Tunstall had who were a couple but one lived in Scotland and the other in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alarm Call</span> 1998 single by Björk

"Alarm Call" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer Björk for her third studio album Homogenic (1997). It was released as the fourth single from the album, peaking at number 33 in the United Kingdom. The sped-up radio edit of the song was used in the 1999 film The Mod Squad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Practical joke</span> Mischievous trick played on someone

A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort. The perpetrator of a practical joke is called a "practical joker" or "prankster". Other terms for practical jokes include gag, rib, jape, or shenanigan. Some countries in western nations make it tradition to carry out pranks on April Fools' Day and Mischief Night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Florentine</span> American actor

James Bernard Florentine is an American comedian, actor, author, and television personality. He is best known for co-hosting That Metal Show on VH1 Classic and voicing several characters on Crank Yankers, including Special Ed and Bobby Fletcher. He hosts The Jim Florentine Show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and a podcast called Everybody Is Awful . He has released six albums of stand-up comedy, two comedy specials, seven installments in the Terrorizing Telemarketers prank call compilation, and three installments of the Meet the Creeps hidden camera show. His 2018 book Everybody is Awful reached No. 1 on the Book Soup nonfiction chart.

<i>You Cant Stop the Bum Rush</i> 1999 studio album by Len

You Can't Stop the Bum Rush is the third studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Len, released on May 25, 1999, through Work Records and Sony Records. The album featured the top ten hit "Steal My Sunshine", which was previously featured on the soundtrack to the 1999 comedy thriller Go. It also managed to peak at No. 46 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and go Gold in the U.S. The album had a mostly positive response from critics. "The Hard Disk Approach" features lyrics entirely in German and uses a motorik beat to emulate the style of krautrock bands. The album also featured Buck 65 on the cover of the album, although he reportedly declined an offer to join the band. Despite this, he provides record scratches on the track "Cold Chillin'".

"Tracy" is a song on the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai's 1997 debut album, Mogwai Young Team. The song was written by the band's guitarists Stuart Braithwaite and John Cummings and bassist Dominic Aitchison prior to the 1997 Mogwai Young Team recording sessions.

Electric Counterpoint is a minimalist composition by the American composer Steve Reich. The piece consists of three movements, "Fast," "Slow", and "Fast". Reich has offered two versions of the piece: one for electric guitar and tape, the other for an ensemble of guitars. The work shares similarities with Reich's New York Counterpoint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motörhead discography</span>

The discography of Motörhead, an English rock band, consists of 23 studio albums, 16 live albums, 16 compilation albums, five extended plays (EPs), three box sets, 29 singles, 10 video albums and 34 music videos. Motörhead were originally formed in 1975 in London by bassist and vocalist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, after his departure from Hawkwind, who drafted in guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox to complete the band's initial lineup. The trio recorded their debut album for release on United Artists, although it was not released until 1979 as On Parole. "Fast" Eddie Clarke joined the band as a second guitarist soon after this recording was completed, but as it was shelved by United Artists and even though On Parole is chronologically the band's first album, Clarke would instead replace Wallis who left soon after Clarke joined for unspecified reasons. It is this trio who would go on to record the band's first released album, the self-titled Motörhead, as a three-piece. Thus, beginning the band's classic line-up and initially issued by Chiswick Records in 1977, reaching number 43 on the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automatic (Pointer Sisters song)</span> 1984 song by the Pointer Sisters

"Automatic" is a song recorded by American vocal group the Pointer Sisters for their tenth studio album Break Out (1983). The song was released by the Planet label on January 13, 1984, as the second single from the album. It was written by Brock Walsh and Mark Goldenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Got Your Money</span> 1999 single by Ol Dirty Bastard

"Got Your Money" is a song by American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, released in 1999 as the only single from his second studio album, Nigga Please. Both the single and the album were the last to be released by Ol' Dirty Bastard, before his death in 2004. The song, produced by the Neptunes, features American R&B singer Kelis, who sings the chorus. It marked her first appearance on record, before the release of her debut single the following month. "Got Your Money" is listed at number 255 on NME's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", published in 2014.

A prank call is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasper Dolphin</span> American actor (born 1990)

Davon Lamar Wilson, better known as Jasper Dolphin, is an American actor, stunt performer and former rapper. He is best known for being a founding member of American hip hop collective Odd Future, but has since ventured further into his career in acting. He starred in Jasper & Errol's First Time on Viceland in 2019, and was featured as a new member of Jackass on Jackass Forever (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitaly Zdorovetskiy</span> Russian-American comedian and YouTuber

Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, better known by his YouTube username VitalyzdTv, is a Russian-American YouTube personality, content creator, online streamer and website owner. His YouTube videos, as of November 2021, have reached over 1.8 billion views and over 10 million subscribers, while his video blog channel has more than 270 million views and 1.93 million subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Pepper</span> English media personality (born 1989)

Samuel Nicholas Pepper is an English internet personality and reality TV contestant. Pepper appeared as a contestant on the 11th season of Big Brother in 2010. Later that same year, he started a YouTube channel, where he initially posted extreme pranks. These pranks often received backlash for featuring assault and cruelty. In 2016 Pepper shifted to vlogging and then again in 2019 shifted to comedy videos, starting a TikTok channel in 2020. In 2021, Pepper worked with FaZe Clan to promote the Save the Kids token pump-and-dump scheme as an independent contractor. Pepper also began streaming from Kick in 2023.

<i>Mermaid vs Sailor</i> 2007 EP by Marina and the Diamonds

Mermaid vs Sailor is the first extended play by Welsh singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. The EP was independently released on 23 November 2007 and distributed via her official profile on Myspace. It contains six demos recorded by Diamandis at her home and approximately 70 CD-R copies were created. She also distributed the EP to several record labels with the hope that she would secure a contract; she ultimately was signed to 679 Recordings in 2008. The EP is a collection of indie pop tracks that heavily utilise keyboards in their production.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ehrman, Mark (24 July 1993). "Phone Pranks: Not Just For Kids Anymore". Lakeland Ledger . Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 Sisario, Ben (March 7, 1999). "POP MUSIC; Giving Jerseyana A Voice". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2007.
  3. 1 2 Beato, Greg (June 2002). "Off the Hook". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC: 76. Archived from the original on 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  4. ↑ Burke, Doug (July 1997). "Prantagonize, Issue 1: The Bum Bar Bastards". Frank's World Entertainment Network. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Bum Bar Bastard Interview". CranKings. 27 May 1997. Archived from the original on 20 March 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 Walsh, Mike. "The Legend of the Tube Bar, Part 1: Introduction". Mouth Wash: Articles, Stories, and Humor by Mike Walsh. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  7. 1 2 ""The Tube Bar Tapes" - Transcrierea". grup goarna.go.ro. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  8. 1 2 Moran, Mark; Sceurman, Mark (2006). Weird N.J. Vol. 2: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets. Sterling. p. 110. ISBN   978-1454903628. Archived from the original on 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  9. ↑ Walsh, Mike. "The Legend of the Tube Bar, Part 2: How the Recording Got Around". Mouth Wash: Articles, Stories, and Humor by Mike Walsh. Archived from the original on 11 November 1999. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Tube Bar, Inc., Petitioner, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent". leagle.com. Leagle. 26 December 1950. Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  11. ↑ Hack, Charles (8 April 2009). "It's all up from here for Journal Square". NJ.com. The Jersey Journal. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  12. ↑ McDonald, Terrence T. (5 January 2015). "Jared Kushner buys site of long-delayed Journal Square project for $27M". NJ.com. The Jersey Journal. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  13. ↑ Ehrman, Mark (3 June 1993). "Telephone Trespassing: Think only kids make prank calls? Now grown-ups are dialing, baiting their prey and taping what follows. And thousands collect the recordings". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  14. ↑ "The Howard Stern Show" (Interview). Interviewed by Steve Langford. 8 November 2007.
  15. ↑ The Tube Bar {audio documentary} (Media notes). Teen-Beat. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  16. ↑ The Tube Bar (Media notes). Teen-Beat. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  17. ↑ The Tube Bar Deluxe (Media notes). Teen-Beat. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  18. ↑ Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar (CD, Album) at Discogs (Media notes). Detonator Records. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  19. ↑ Bum Bar Bastards – Tavern Tour at Discogs (Media notes). Padded Cell Productions. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  20. ↑ The Official Bum Bar Bastards Homepage (Media notes). Padded Cell Productions. Archived from the original on 10 June 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  21. ↑ Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Collector's Edition at Discogs (Media notes). T.A. Productions. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  22. ↑ Bum Bar Bastards – Drunk, Dirty And Disgraceful at Discogs (Media notes). T.A. Productions. Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  23. ↑ Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Red's Bootleg Tape [Remastered] (CD, Album) at Discogs (Media notes). T.A. Productions. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  24. ↑ Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Legendary Prank / Crank Calls [The Ultimate Collection] (CD) at Discogs (Media notes). T.A. Productions. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  25. ↑ Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Prank Calls 35th Anniversary Complete Collection (CD, Album) at Discogs (Media notes). T.A. Productions. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  26. ↑ Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Vol. 4: Rummies, Bums & Dummies (CD, Album) at Discogs (Media notes). T.A. Productions. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.