Somewhat related to pro wrestling, I had a chance to shoot a music video years ago, which you could perhaps call a ‘cover video’. The song in question was Badstreet USA, originally made famous in 1984 by Michael “P.S.” Hayes, of the iconic tag team The Fabulous Freebirds. The song is most well-known for being associated with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where it served as the tag team’s entrance theme.
This time around, it was the band Crossfyre, which had recorded a cover version of this memorable anthem. Quite fittingly, the lead vocalist of the band happens to be “The Rebel” StarBuck – our Nordic pro wrestling pioneer. A perfect match and a great idea. In the spirit of paying tribute to a classic tune, the idea was also to create the music video for it in the same vein.
I took some time to study the original music video and its elements, getting an idea what to do and how to shoot it. We shot the footage in two different locations, in two sessions. The performance stage was at the culture house Grand, in Porvoo. The black-and-white story parts were shot in Helsinki, nearby guitarist Jaakko Kinnari’s house.
I had bought a couple of white smoke grenades for some cinematic effect, but you have to be quick with those, because they only put out smoke for some 30 seconds, as I recall. Also, some extra lighting behind the smoke emphasizes its effect nicely, so a big thanks to my colleague Jarmo Katila for all the help.
I’ve long forgotten all the people we had there and their names, but a big shoutout to all of you as well.
Rest in peace, Jaakko Kinnari, and thank you for everything.