Paperjam

Har Mar Superstar - Godiva Festival, Coventry

Gigs // Steve // 13th June 2003

Har Mar, and armpits

We were in a big sweaty tent in the middle of the rather lovely Memorial Park in Coventry on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and a big geezer with a mullet, wearing a dressing gown with his name written across the back has just announced that what we are about to witness will be fucking amazing and the best thing we have fucking ever seen and that we will rush out and buy the fucking record.

Then, apologising for the lack of his backing singers, he explained that he hopes that we'll just have to get naked too. Uh-oh. That dressing gown is going to come off then.

Take those
motherfuckers orf.

Introduced as the ex-porn star that had just recovered from a bout of shingles to be with us, the odd looking Har Mar then launches into one of his electro-perv-funk numbers. It might have been "Baby Do You Like My Clothes", and it all goes a bit karaoke to be honest. The dancing though, christ. Most impressive for a gent of his stature - imagine Bill Bailey standing in for Justin Timberlake, which I know he does, from time to time.

He does "Power Lunch" which is rather good, sings a version of the lascivious "No Chorus" to the delight of a baying underage crowd, and absolutely belts out an appalling Stevie Wonder song ("If you don't like this song you're a fucking idiot" says Har Mar) so well that people are wondering if he's miming, which he plainly isn't.

The photos go even
further downhill
from here...

There's an odd moment earlier on, when he tried to climb the lighting rig and nearly fell off, causing much worry amongst the uber-butch security guards. Said guards looked most concerned when Har Mar started stripping - their obvious embarassment was priceless. The vest was discarded, thrown into the crowd and a minor battle erupted at the front for this sweaty prize. He got down to his pants rather early - we thought they might be coming off too, but we were spared the sight of Har Mar's undercarriage, although it was all bit too risky when he bent over on the little stage to shake his arse...

Not sure what
he's doing here.

It's all a bit odd really. It's been said before, but there's similarities between him and Gold Chains; an unlikely looking popstar who absolutely loves what does and fully throws himself into it all. And he's actually quite good at it - particularly singing while pulling off his special breakdance move. Problem is with Har Mar, the stripping thing pushes it a bit too far into novelty territory. How many times can you take your clothes off? Got a reaction, mind - and that's not easy from a dry Midlands audience. Maybe you people won't be able to get enough of that large, sweaty gut.

Shaking they ass.

He's doing a residency at Manumission shortly - he'll probably go down very well there, and what with all the publicity over the posters for the new single 'EZ Pass', it'd be nice to see him strip on Top of the Pops.

Links

You can feel me

Official site

harmarsuperstar.com/

The official site, part 2

www.thefuckingbest.com

Shockingly good Har Mar fan site

Loads of Har Mar links

Har Mar links at Popex