Tube Bar prank calls explained
The Tube Bar prank calls are a series of prank calls made in the mid-1970s to the Tube Bar in Jersey City, New Jersey, in which Jim Davidson and John Elmo would ask "Red," the proprietor of the bar, if they could speak to various non-existent customers. The gag names given by the pranksters were puns and homophones for often offensive phrases. Recordings of the calls were circulated widely on duplicated cassette tapes and may have been the inspiration for a long running gag in The Simpsons.[1]
History
In the mid-1970s, two young men—John Elmo and Jim Davidson;[2] [3] [4] later known collectively as Bum Bar Bastards, or The BBB—began calling the Tube Bar located at Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey. The bar was owned by heavyweight boxer Louis "Red" Deutsch, and most of the time Deutsch himself answered the calls. During a call, the pranksters would ask Deutsch to call out fictitious, pun-like or homophonous names such as "Pepe Roni" (pepperoni), "Hal Jalykakick" (how'd you like a kick), "Phil Mypockets" (fill my pockets),[5] "Al Coholic" (alcoholic)[1] [5] or "Mike Hunt" (my cunt).[6] [7] Most of the time, Deutsch would call out the names, unaware that he was being subjected to a prank.
At times, Deutsch would catch on, and when he did, he would respond with extreme hostility, shouting profanity, obscene sexual references (usually involving the caller's mother), and threats of physical harm at the caller. He would utter threats such as, "I'll break dem bones on you, on your feet, you'll never be able to walk for the rest of your life!" as well as "I'll cut your belly open and show you all the black stuff you got in there!" Sometimes Deutsch would offer the two pranksters a reward of $100 or $500 if they would show up at his bar in person, but they never took him up on the offer, in one case even counter-offering him $5.[8]
By the 1980s, dubbed cassette tapes of the calls were shared between staff of several major league sports teams such as the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Dolphins. These dubbed copies of the calls were unofficially referred to as the Red Tapes or Tube Bar Tapes.[9] The popularity of these prank calls spread throughout respective sports leagues, branching out to sports reporters and then into the larger media world.
Bar location and details
The Tube Bar itself was located at 12 Tube Concourse, Jersey City, adjacent to the entrance of the Journal Square PATH station and across the way from the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre.[10] The small complex of commercial storefronts that included the Tube Bar was demolished in early 2009 to make way for the 1 Journal Square development project.[11] [12]
Legacy
- Animator and cartoonist Matt Groening has described himself as a fan of the tapes, particularly the "Garden Grove calls". His series The Simpsons features a running joke of Bart Simpson making prank calls to barkeeper Moe Szyslak, asking to speak to patrons with joke names. Groening describes the similarity between these jokes and the Tube Bar calls as "creative synchronicity."[13] Co-developer Sam Simon told The Howard Stern Show in 2007 that the jokes are a "homage to or parody of the classic Red tapes".[14]
- During the 1980s, several different record labels released various edits of the tapes on CD, LP and cassette tape before the Bum Bar Bastards came forward in the 1990s to claim copyright of the tapes and officially release their version.
- In the 1990's, on The Howard Stern radio show, Billy West would often imitate Red, usually after Stern would ask Billy a question, but referring to him as "Red."
Discography
Tube Bar album releases | Album | Format | Release date | Label | Catalog Number |
---|
1 | The Tube Bar | Cassette Tape | | TeenBeat Records | Teen-Beat 22[15] |
2 | The Tube Bar | LP | | TeenBeat Records | Teen-Beat 31[16] |
3 | The Tube Bar | CD | | TeenBeat Records | Teen-Beat 81[17] |
4 | Tube Bar | CD | | Detonator Records | 30414-2[18] |
5 | Tavern Tour | Cassette Tape & CD | | Padded Cell Productions | bbb1111[19] [20] |
6 | Tube Bar Collector's Edition | CD | | T.A. Productions | 634479238611[21] |
7 | Drunk, Dirty And Disgraceful | CD | | T.A. Productions | 634479416163[22] |
8 | Tube Bar Red's Bootleg Tape [Remastered] | CD | | T.A. Productions | 883629285993[23] |
9 | Tube Bar Legendary Prank / Crank Calls [The Ultimate Collection] | CD | | T.A. Productions | 883629648101[24] |
10 | Tube Bar Prank Calls 35th Anniversary Complete Collection | CD | | T.A. Productions | 885444445392[25] |
11 | Tube Bar Vol. 4: Rummies, Bums & Dummies | CD | | | 887936261862[26] |
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See also
External links
Notes and References
- News: Phone Pranks: Not Just For Kids Anymore. 24 July 1993. 19 August 2010. Lakeland Ledger. Ehrman. Mark.
- Off the Hook. SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. 76. June 2002. Beato. Greg. 2020-11-07. 2021-03-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20210317121831/https://books.google.com/books?id=tBQ8UwCC_3AC&q=%22Tube+Bar%22+Prank&pg=PA76. live.
- Web site: Prantagonize, Issue 1: The Bum Bar Bastards. https://web.archive.org/web/20081001082738/http://www.franksworld.com/prantagonize/97July/index.html. Frank's World Entertainment Network. July 1997. 3 June 2015. 1 October 2008. Burke . Doug.
- Web site: The Bum Bar Bastard Interview. https://web.archive.org/web/20080320023104/http://members.aol.com/crankings/bastard.html. CranKings. 27 May 1997. 3 June 2015. 20 March 2008.
- Web site: The Legend of the Tube Bar, Part 1: Introduction. Mouth Wash: Articles, Stories, and Humor by Mike Walsh. 2 June 2015. Walsh. Mike. 21 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150321214131/http://www.missioncreep.com/mw/tubebar/intro.html. live.
- News: POP MUSIC; Giving Jerseyana A Voice. The New York Times. March 7, 1999. October 14, 2007. Sisario. Ben. June 10, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080610115519/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9506E5DE173FF934A35750C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2. live.
- Web site: "The Tube Bar Tapes" - Transcrierea. https://web.archive.org/web/20110310072718/http://www.goarna.go.ro/articole%20nr%205/transcript.htm. 10 March 2011. 18 September 2013. grup goarna.go.ro.
- Book: Weird N.J. Vol. 2: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets. Sterling. 978-1454903628. 110. Moran. Mark. Sceurman. Mark. 2006. 2020-11-07. 2021-03-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20210317121846/https://books.google.com/books?id=J6TxcT7N9RgC&q=tube%2Bbar%2Btapes&pg=PA110. live.
- Web site: The Legend of the Tube Bar, Part 2: How the Recording Got Around. Mouth Wash: Articles, Stories, and Humor by Mike Walsh. 2 June 2015. Walsh. Mike. 11 November 1999. https://web.archive.org/web/19991111022959/http://missioncreep.com/mw/tubebar/recording.html. live.
- Web site: Tube Bar, Inc., Petitioner, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent. leagle.com. 26 December 1950. 2 June 2015. Leagle. 2 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150602231110/http://www.leagle.com/decision/195093715dotc922_1819.xml/TUBE%20BAR,%20INC.%20v.%20COMMISSIONER. live.
- Web site: It's all up from here for Journal Square. NJ.com. 8 April 2009. 1 June 2015. The Jersey Journal. Charles. Hack. 3 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150603010941/http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews-8%2F1239171942113660.xml&coll=3. live.
- Web site: Jared Kushner buys site of long-delayed Journal Square project for $27M. NJ.com. 5 January 2015. 2 June 2015. The Jersey Journal. Terrence T.. McDonald. 3 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150603011037/http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2015/01/kushner_scoops_up_journal_square_property_for_27m.html. live.
- News: Telephone Trespassing: Think only kids make prank calls? Now grown-ups are dialing, baiting their prey and taping what follows. And thousands collect the recordings.. Los Angeles Times. 3 June 1993. 18 September 2012. Ehrman. Mark. 3 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203211508/http://articles.latimes.com/1993-06-03/news/vw-42985_1_prank-calls. live.
- Steve Langford. The Howard Stern Show. 8 November 2007.
- The Tube Bar . Teen-Beat. 3 June 2015.
- The Tube Bar. Teen-Beat. 3 June 2015.
- The Tube Bar Deluxe. Teen-Beat. 3 June 2015. 15 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150215022643/http://www.teenbeatrecords.com/items/081.html. live.
- Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar (CD, Album) at Discogs. Detonator Records. 3 June 2015. 8 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141208233009/http://www.discogs.com/Bum-Bar-Bastards-Tube-Bar/release/853758. live.
- Bum Bar Bastards – Tavern Tour at Discogs. Padded Cell Productions. 3 June 2015. 11 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160311221235/https://www.discogs.com/Bum-Bar-Bastards-Tavern-Tour/master/513619. live.
- The Official Bum Bar Bastards Homepage. https://web.archive.org/web/20040610231503/http://bumbar.tripod.com/index.html. 10 June 2004. Padded Cell Productions. 3 June 2015.
- Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Collector's Edition at Discogs. T.A. Productions. 3 June 2015. 17 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210317121848/https://www.discogs.com/Bum-Bar-Bastards-Tube-Bar-Collectors-Edition/master/513617. live.
- Bum Bar Bastards – Drunk, Dirty And Disgraceful at Discogs. T.A. Productions. 3 June 2015. 18 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210218075511/https://www.discogs.com/Bum-Bar-Bastards-Drunk-Dirty-And-Disgraceful/master/513618. live.
- Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Red's Bootleg Tape [Remastered] (CD, Album) at Discogs]. T.A. Productions. 3 June 2015. 22 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210222084514/https://www.discogs.com/Bum-Bar-Bastards-Tube-Bar-Reds-Bootleg-Tape-Remastered/release/4215765. live.
- Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Legendary Prank / Crank Calls [The Ultimate Collection] (CD) at Discogs]. T.A. Productions. 3 June 2015. 9 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160309191750/https://www.discogs.com/Bum-Bar-Bastards-Tube-Bar-Legendary-Prank-Crank-Calls-The-Ultimate-Collection/release/4219170. live.
- Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Prank Calls 35th Anniversary Complete Collection (CD, Album) at Discogs. T.A. Productions. 3 June 2015. 9 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160309220626/https://www.discogs.com/Bum-Bar-Bastards-Tube-Bar-Prank-Calls-35th-Anniversary-Complete-Collection/release/4220358. live.
- Bum Bar Bastards – Tube Bar Vol. 4: Rummies, Bums & Dummies (CD, Album) at Discogs. T.A. Productions. 3 June 2015. 13 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160313220142/https://www.discogs.com/Bum-Bar-Bastards-Tube-Bar-Vol-4-Rummies-Bums-Dummies-/release/4457534. live.