Betchadupa “Awake”

2000-betchadupa-awakeIt’s morning and the Betchadupa boys are in bed. But not all in the same bed with each other (which has happened in other videos) – no, we see a four-way split screen with each band member in a different corner. And the video continues like this, with each corner focusing on the domestic goings-on of its allocated band member.

In the top left is Liam. He wakes up and jumps in the shower, which is filmed so the bottom of the shot ends mere millimetres above his area. Oh my. But he’s out of the shower and has a play with his Scalextric set. He then grabs his guitar for some rocking out, and ends the day writing some lyrics. (Not seen – the bit where he grows a beard and gets all serious.)

Down in the Matt corner, he wakes up, snaps on a sweat band, has some toast, idly does some authentic knee drumming as he watches the telly, and then gets on his drumkit to rock out at the same time as Liam.

Next to Matt is Joe, the more metrosexual band member. He awakes with cucumber circles on his eyes, enjoys a healthy breakfast, grooms his thick eyebrows (he must have consulted Petra Bagust’s beauty book) and rocks out on the deck, to the appreciation of a group of kids, before tidying up with a spot of vacuuming.

As for Chris, well, like Jeff Wiggle he spends most of the video alseep. When his three bandmates all rock out, he just lies there. Why could this be? Is he a lazy arse? Hungover? No, as we discover right at the end, Chris is tired from being up all night with the three young women who are sharing a bed with him. Three? That’s just greedy. Think of your bandmates, Chris!

For a short song (less than two minutes) this video packs a lot in. I kind of wish there was more connection between the four situations than the rocking out. But it’s a fun video that captures the spirit of Betchadupa’s early years.

Best bit: Liam’s near-naked hip wiggle. Crikey!

Note: The YouTube clip is annoyingly geoblocked to viewers in New Zealand and Germany, but should work anywhere else. The clip also includes the Betchadupa video for “Sleepy News”.

Director: Gerald PhillipsNgā Taonga Sound & Vision

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One thought on “Betchadupa “Awake””

  1. I have rather a soft spot for early Betchadupa, given when they were popular they were pretty much the same age as me (*cough* rather fancied Liam *cough*). At the time, they really were a breath of fresh air, probably the most all out fun band since Supergroove (which I didn’t know as I was too young for them), and perhaps later on picked up by Elemenop. I reckon you can see that through the funded vids from around this time.

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