I met up with my lovely Edinburgh flatmates to go to some late night karaoke at
The Karaoke Box in Soho. Although I have occasionally taken part in this artistic medium before this was quite a different experience as we had our own private room. I hadn't quite known what to expect, but we were led to a tiny room with a TV screen, a karaoke machine and a couple of bench like seats against the walls. There was barely room to swing a cat with all six of us in there, but luckily none of us wanted to swing a cat. We wanted to sing our little hearts out.
I was worried that with such intimate surroundings I might feel self conscious, even though I was with good friends. But things got going quickly once Sarah Kendall had regailed us all with a fine rendition of "Turning Japanese" -go and see her show to find out why this was an amusing choice (I was still worried that our Japanese hosts might throw us out for being offensive to them - even though the song is about masturbation). I was first called upon to sing "99 Red Balloons" which was a surprisingly tricky song, with ridiculous lyrics, which prompted questions about what happened to the hundredth balloon. I guessed that it was a casualty of the war that the song seems to be about, but it's hard to say.
As the Ashahi beer flowed though things loosened up in the tiny dark room in the heart of Soho and we started having real, stupid fun. Justin Edwards turned up late, but shamed us all with his genuinely beautiful singing voice, but this strange form of entertainment is nothing to do with proficiency. It's about heart, it's about soul, it's about questioning what you have just sung during the instrumental breaks. It is actually better that you are locked away with just the people you know, because to have to behave like this in front of a room full of people would be self-indulgent and embarrassing, but it was just funny and ridiculous. It's a highly recommended hour and not all that expensive either. I can't think of anything on offer in a back room in Soho that would be better fun.
WIN A PSP
November quiz - Question 3
I come from Cheddar in Somerset. What was the name of my history teacher from the Kings of Wessex School who in the 1990s was discovered to be related to a 10,000 year old skellington found in Cheddar Caves? First and last name please.
Please wait until the end of the month before sending all 30 answers in together. Anyone sending answers individually will immediately invalidate their entry to the competition.
