Karaoke around the World
"And the Moose said Cuckoo"
By Britt McCary
Norwegians left their Viking habits way back in the centuries and we are pretty shy these days. We do not go to karaoke places alone - and we do NOT sing alone. However, with several beers "inside the shirt" we do get a bit braver and sometimes we even approach the microphone.
The first, and for some time only, karaoke establishment in Oslo was a public bath. This was in the mid 80's. They had covered the swimming pool and served beers by the gallon. Nothing about the place looked remotely like there ever had been any sports activities taking place. The outside of this building looked kinda snobbish. Victorian, white and with Greek columns on each side of the entrance.
Once inside, there was no resemblance with the taste queen Victoria's humble servants might have had. The cigarette smoke was thick enough to be cut by a knife. The main attraction over the bar was a huge head of a moose. His name was Ludwig, as was the name of the establishment. Every half hour Ludwig would open his mouth and say "Cuckoo".
We used to go to Ludwig when we had something to celebrate. So we would normally go there from work and start celebrating with beers and a pizza. Then when we all got brave enough (read have had enough beers) we would start singing for the person we celebrated. It was all highly improvised, and none of the singers ever became famous. But we always had a great time and we always knew when it was time to go home-Ludwig, the Moose would chirp "Cuckoo" 12 times in a row.
Unfortunately Ludwig closed down after a few years in service. Today there are quite a few karaoke places in Oslo - but none of them quite like the first.