Freur - Doot-Doot (12" Extended Version)

Freur - Doot-Doot (Extended Version) / 12 Inch Extended Version

Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are better known as Underworld than as founding members of Freur.

While their 1983–1986 band wasn't commercially successful, this particular track has enjoyed a long life.

Many people first heard Karl Hyde’s voice and lyrics in 1995, when he repeated “lager, lager, lager, lager,” “mega mega white thing” and more on Born Slippy, from the Trainspotting movie soundtrack.

Yet Hyde and Smith actually released their first record as Screen Gemz in 1979: a double A-side post-punk single containing I Just Can't Stand Cars and Teenage Teenage.

The duo formed Freur in Cardiff, Wales, in the early 1980s with Alfie Thomas (bass, keyboards, guitars). They were later joined by John Warwicker (video synthesizer, graphics) and Bryn Burrows (drums).

The band initially used a graphic 'squiggle' as their name (as Prince did 10 years later), which was pronounced “Freur” at the insistence of their record label, CBS Records.

The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles listed Freur under the symbol with the translation beside it until the late 1990s. And UK magazine Sounds referred to the band as “Elephant with a stick of rhubarb” due to the squiggle’s shape.

Doot-Doot was recorded and co-produced by Alex Burak at The Point studio in London. Rupert Merton of Point Music Publishing, who had previously worked with the Thompson Twins, signed Freur and organised the recording.

Freur released two albums and seven singles in total, but this - their debut single - was the only one to chart, reaching number 59 in the UK, number 36 in the Netherlands, number 24 in Germany, and number 17 in New Zealand.

The song has grown in popularity since, in part perhaps because of Hyde and Smith’s profile as Underworld, but also because it’s a curious, unique, and fresh-sounding track in its own right.

Doot-Doot has also featured in several films, including Vanilla Sky (2001) and Let Me In (2010).

Before Freur disbanded in 1986, they composed and performed the soundtrack to the Clive Barker movie Underworld (also called Transmutations).

In 1987, Hyde and Smith formed a new five-piece band with a new line-up called Underworld, with limited success.

This first iteration of Underworld folded in 1990, but reformed in 1991 with a different line-up and agenda and went on to become one of the most successful and influential electronic bands in history, headlining festivals and performing to sold-out arenas around the world.

Karl Hyde views the Freur back catalogue much as the wider public does: “The only one I’m really proud of is the first single we put out, Doot-Doot. I still think that’s a really cool, interesting track.”

He speaks of his and Smith’s turning point being when they began making the music they wanted to make, rather than trying to create pop tunes or deliver what the label wanted.

“We lost our way a couple times,” he says. “We kept getting record deals and trying to make pop music. It wasn’t our thing, we weren’t comfortable or good at it.”

Their now distinguished back catalogue and international career show they were right to persevere.

And Doot-Doot is proof that, while commercial performance was yet to follow, their ability to innovate, to be adventurous, and to craft their own unique style and sound was there from the very beginning.

Year: 1983 Label: CBS Cat no: A13 3141