Official theme - it's a Head like a Hole with 'a crying shame'...
Official anthem for 2010 Singlespeed Mountain Bike World Championships announced…
For the event team using a New Zealand band and song represented a unique opportunity.
With a global event in their own backyard, they feel it is the perfect time to showcase local arts, culture and music. The band - who started life as Head Like A Hole - was a big success in the 1990's before breaking up. As HLAH they reformed in 2008 and were one of the featured acts at the 2010 Big Day Out in Auckland.
The band recently reconvened in the studio to record for the first time in 12 years.
Other classic HLAH songs, like Hootenanny and Fast Hooves, were considered.
However, it was felt there is something special about A Crying Shame - appropriately anthemic and with a beautiful trumpet melody.
And some of the 900 competitors will be crying after riding a one-geared bike on the mountain bike course that's being planned for race day on October 23.
HLAH’s bassist Andrew “Tall Beast” Durno is a keen singlespeed rider.
He raced at the 2008 and 2009 New Zealand Singlespeed Championships in Rotorua and will be on the start line in October.
“Write the theme tune, play on the theme tune, ride in the race, how great is that,” the 2 metre tall bass-player commented, when reached at a central Auckland tattoo parlour.
The Singlespeed Worlds team are asking people to support the band.
“No musician in this country gets rich from their craft, unless they’re someone like Neil Finn,“ says Graeme Simpson.
“We didn’t really have the budget for this, so letting us use one of their songs is an incredibly generous gesture by Andrew and the rest of HLAH,” he adds, “We hope people will check out their website or iTunes and buy an album or two.”
The band's generosity fits the style of the event.
“You know, most of our sponsors are mates,” says SSWC10 Event Director, Dean Watson. “Andrew and the HLAH guys fit that pattern to an absolute T.”
Another band who are neck-deep in SSWC and the singlespeed world is the Black Owls from Ohio, USA. Lead singer David Butler will race in Rotorua.
The Black Owls, are very cool and they have a new album on the way.
To celebrate SSWC10 you can get a 20% discount on what is a great sounding disc.
Click HERE, enter OWLSOUND in the discount box and it's all on...Thanks Dave...