Hear me now!

"Who's this?" I hear you ask ... well, relax gentlemen, your eyes do not deceive you – The Tramp is back and taking no prisoners in the latest instalment of his hugely popular but infrequently delivered Jukebox Puri.

So what do I have up my slightly curry-stained sleeves for you this month? The ingredients of this tale are a hauntingly beautiful track, a hugely popular remake of the original cut, a Western remake of the remake, a bit of illegal sampling and a hefty judicial smackdown. Intrigued?

Let's start at the beginning: the song Thoda Resham Lagta Hai, by legendary Indian warbler Lata Mangeshkar, appeared on the soundtrack of the 1981 Bollywood feature film Jyoti. It opens with simple chimes reminicent of the start of an Oliver Postgate/Peter Firmin production, closely followed by Lata Mangeshkar's genuinely haunting vocals. You might think you were about to listen to some downbeat tearjerker. Instead, you are treated to a surprisingly beefy, thoroughly wigged out and pleasingly upbeat number that would definitely get the Tramps up and dancing. Have a listen on the player below and see if it doesn't get you grinding in your seat (please note Trampy and The Tramp accept no responsibility for anyone getting in trouble for grinding at work).




Sharp-eared readers may well find their lugs pricking up – does it no sound familiar? Anyone who was "down with the kids" back in 2002 will instantly recognise the vocal from Addictive by one hit R&B wonderwoman Truth Hurts. This is where things get interesting ... Thoda Resham Lagta Hai was remade/sampled by Indian pop outfit UMI10 and released as Kaliyon Ka Chaman Jab Banta Hain, becoming a huge hit across South Asia in 2002. Not long after UMI10 got our Indian brothers and sisters up dancing, Truth Hurts launched a similar assault on Western charts with Addictive – scoring a dancefloor winner both in the States and the UK. Produced by DJ Quik on Dr Dre's Aftermath Label there must've been a hellish amount of the old wacky baccy being smoked around the studios. Not only did Aftermath fail to get clearance for the original sample from Thoda Resham Lagta Hai, they also seemed to think that they'd get away with completely ripping off the whole of UMI10's track, including the video. Oops. Did they think no-one would notice? Check out both versions below ...






I'm going to have to put my hands up here: The Tramp is a fan of the Truth Hurts version of the track. And there are definitely a few things in the Truth Hurts promo that would have enlivened the UMI10 video.

I particularly enjoy the appearance of legendary rapper Rakim sporting a Glasgow Young Team-style white tracksuit (it may be terry towelling rather than a shellsuit but damned if it doesn't look the same at first glance).

If the tracksuit wasn't enough, check him out in what must surely be the worst leather jacket ever created. The thing looks like it was designed by a committee comprising Cameo's Larry Blackmon, MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice ... in a crack den. I don't know who he thinks he's kidding but he's certainly not going to get lucky with Truth Hurts wearing that get-up. With a jacket like that, is it any wonder that Eric B split from their rap duo?

As if Rakim's honking fashion disasters weren't enough, executive producer and label owner Dr Dre also manages to muscle in on the action late into the video running time. Looking markedly more restrained in fashion terms, Dre still causes a stooshie by appearing to be completely smashed on spirits. Leching over ladies, smirking to himself in a stupor and pulling off a proper dad-style dance at one point, you have to applaud his attempt at utterly derailing one of his own music videos.

While you and I might find much amusement in the Truth Hurts video, the copyright holders of the original sample certainly didn't. They slammed Aftermath with a whopping $500 million claim for unlicensed sampling. Ouch. If only Dr Dre had TATTGOC's very own legal expert Rumpole of the Balti on hand maybe things would have turned out differently (although I suspect that if Dre did indeed have our man on retainer then we would have seen Rumpole making a boozy appearance in the Truth Hurts video too).

So there you go – three tracks for the price of one. And if you'd like to listen to your very own copy of the original Thoda Resham Lagta Hai then why not grab it here? All part of the Jukebox Puri service ...

Thoda Resham Lagta Hai