The 12 days of Christmas has four calling birds, sure, but how about four caroling bears?
Synth pop group Bearforce 1, comprised of three strapping Dutchmen and an equally burly Irishman, hit the scene in July 2007 with an extraordinarily gay pop medley simply titled “Bearforce 1“. This debut strung together classics like “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”, “I Feel Love”, and “You Spin Me Round” as the band went for a swim, danced in the rain, and worked it in polos and khakis.
The camp, the vocals, and the gays thirsting over the bears made it a viral YouTube sensation, racking up millions of views.
The self-described “Bearband from Amsterdam” followed up their first iconic entry with a lesser known, but equally energetic holiday single, “Christmas Is Here”. This wintry romp set standards like “Sleigh Ride”, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, and “Winter Wonderland” against bumping synthy Europop.
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While less viral online than its predecessor, “Christmas Is Here” actually hit #7 on the Netherlands’ singles chart that December.
Since then, the group has seen flickering bouts of activity, lineup changes, and even attempts at making it on Eurovision and Britain’s Got Talent. The judges for both competitions didn’t advance the band very far, possibly out of the understanding that Bearforce 1 would be so much better than their competitors as to make the competition unfair.
Anecdotally, the winner of the highly celebrated “Fat Bear Week” from Alaska’s Katmai National Park this year is named Bear Force One, a champion who received tens of thousands of votes. It’s a name for legends, apparently!
Ring in the holiday with four caroling bears in “Christmas Is Here”:
Chrisk
I think they need a better soundtrack. It feels like I’m at the store listening to some cheap synthesizer.
KellyRobinsonJr
They made this 16 years ago…
Caelestius
Big “meh.” The songs are fun, but not more than they were when originally born.
I love the idea of smash-bang success by gay artists, athletes, academics, thinkers, scientists, researchers, executives, politicians and leaders.
But when queer folk try to shine in the straight-star firmament, we should aim for brighter, or not bother. Even before medal-winning athletes, we have had high-achievers in every field of endeavor since the first Olympics (which, by the way, included poetry as an event): Sappho, Socrates, Hadrian, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Caravaggio, Humboldt, Cavafy, Tchaikovsky, Whitman, Rimbaud, Proust, Stein, Woolf, Copland, Auden, Britten, Lorca, Wittgenstein, Barthes, Cocteau, Henze, Turing, Forster, Williams, Baldwin, Genet, Foucault, Warhol, Bacon, Cage, Sontag, Johns, Louganis, Rapinoe, Kushner and Griner. And that list is shamefully abbreviated.
It was a lesson demonstrated by the Oscars, Grammys, Tonis, and Pulitzers, but especially , I think, by the controversy over Gay Games organizers being denied the use of the word “Olympic,” about 30 years ago. Soon after the denial of our plea to have our own safe space recognized as an olympics, we more than justified ourselves in the International Olympics proper, repeatedly winning medals while competing with the big kids. And that was followed by an astonishing wave of acceptance in many countries and much legislation around the world.
We can sing, dance and reveal our cleavage as good as anyone, but to impress the best audience–ourselves–we should do it better than anyone.
jackscott
I enjoyed the article/video… these guys are sexy!
The real Bruce
As Kelly Robinson Jr. stated, this was done 16 years ago. I loved it! Sure is festive and looked like a lot of fun to make. Some people are negative about anything and I guess the holidays bring out their petty bitterness. Screw ’em! Tis’ the season for love and joy and being ONE family. Season’s Greetings to you all.