Karaoke Lounge» Eating, Drinking and Singing Karaoke around the World with Brian Thacker

Eating, Drinking and Singing Karaoke around the World with Brian Thacker

Posted by Teresa on July 2, 2009 at 9:00 am

We love karaoke addicts and Brian Thacker is no exception. The British/Australian Advertising Director come-Travel Writer blogs about his adventures singing karaoke in the most genuine venues in the world, from the small karaoke bars located in the alley ways of villages where many of us may never travel to larger cities we all know, in Brian’s Karaoke World Tour.

We’ve all heard or read about singers getting killed in karaoke bars, but few of us have tempted fate the way Brian Thacker has. In his latest blog post, Brian describes singing karaoke “his way” in the Philippines where a week earlier a karaoke singer was shot dead by a bouncer who thought he was singing My Way off key. Being the true adventurer that he is, Brian sang My Way, despite multiple warnings, not only in the bar where the guy was shot, but in every karaoke bar that he went crawling to that night.

Brian’s karaoke adventures began many years ago in the US, when he accidentally stumbled into a bar in Waikiki. The first karaoke song that he would choose to sing, was Daydream Believer by the Monkees. A few drinks and songs later, he stumbled off the stage and a karaoke addict was born.

To get an idea of what Brian looks and sounds like on stage, here is a YouTube video, where all dressed up in his travelling safari suit, he sings the 1974 hit, Take a Letter Maria, like a pro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfyXi0eKEFE

Other highlights of Brian’s karaoke world tour include:

Celebrating the New Year of 2003 in Vietnam where he found a small karaoke bar with a TV displaying the lyrics and the longest list of karaoke songs he’s ever seen. Starting off with Men at Work’s Down Under, Brian sang song after song, while the other patrons not knowing what he was singing, cheered him on with ample beer and squid.
While traveling to promote his book Where’s Wallis, Brian found that Kyrgyzstan is as good as any location to sing karaoke. With many karaoke bars to choose from, Brian picked the karaoke jockey with the “flashiest lights and nicest plastic chairs” and waited for his turn for the microphone. Sadly he lost the crowd with his rendition of Can’t Help Falling in Love, and although he was pick-pocketed while looking for another karaoke bar, he still had a few dollars hidden away for a bit more karaoke.
Leading a group of Hong Kong Chinese travelers on a tour of Russia/Scandanavia, Brian found himself at a table for 22 in the karaoke bar of the ferry between Stockholm and Turku, with only 3 of his group, the others having been lost after over-indulging at an all-you-can-eat buffet. While he did get to sing a karaoke song, it’s a bit sad that he lost 19 of his tour group to the buffet and duty free shop.
While visiting to promote his travel book, I’m not eating any of that foreign Muck, in Liverpool, England, Brian found Jim’s Karaoke, a bar with no tolerance for singers who swear, swing mics, or chant football anthems. Although the bar was crowded, and the crowd drunk, Brian did not pass up a chance at the microphone, but didn’t stay to sing more than one song.

What in the karaoke world will Brian tell us about next? Whatever and wherever it is, it is sure to be entertaining.

In the meantime, why not listen to Brian’s online karaoke recording of Elton John’s Your Song.