A 35-year-old recording of 'most mysterious song' drove the internet mad — it has finally been identified

In the digital age, we often tune into some amazing songs without mentioning the singer. Often, these numbers are remastered versions of the historically “lost songs.” A pop masterpiece from the 80s involving a tape recording remained a mystery, so much so that a movement on the internet had to be started to find its vocalist and composers. Now, the riddle has been solved. u/marijn1412 on Reddit has found the song titled “Like the Wind” was created by an ages-old German band.

The Reddit user who managed to find the origins of what was described as “the most mysterious song” believed their search was over. It all started with a person recording the number with a “rigid beat” off the radio on a cassette tape. The individual failed to realize the hype around the song developing over time until decades later, one of their family members started seeking help online.

“In the beginning, there were many unknown songs on my brother’s tapes. Most of them were solved within a couple of days or weeks because many radio DJs used to play their favorite songs more than only once. When the song in question got aired again, my brother, mostly was able to get the band and the title,” u/SegelXXX quoted the family member in a separate post on social media. This led internet sleuths-cum-digital detectives to initiate a hunt for the singer who sang the record.

Additionally, a community called r/TheMysteriousSong was launched for forces to join in decoding the mystery. Its over 59,000 members, along with support from several YouTube creators, started the search, attracting the attention of Rolling Stone. However, they couldn’t find the source for years until a few days back when a revelation came through some old and archived German newspaper.

“About two weeks ago, I came across an old newspaper article in the Nordwest Zeitung archive. The article was about a band called FEX from Kiel, who won a talent contest in Bremen in Sep 1984,” u/marijn1412 wrote, adding that they got in touch with one of the rock band’s members. Upon inquiring about some old material, the member (also part of another band, Phret) entertained their request to share some of the songs he made. One titled “Subways of Your Mind” finally matched with the mysterious song.

Despite a slight difference in the two versions, the song-loving community was thrilled about the finding. u/Justaboredstoner commented, “I can see this being turned into a movie.” Calling it a “fun story,” u/mikemadmod said, “It’s always happy to see people collaborate to find something beautiful.” “It’s amazing how a global search effort can bring fans together to solve music mysteries like this,” u/EnchantedRealmX added. The original post concluded by confirming that the FEX and Phret crew were unaware that their lost song was a secret rage all this while. Others lauded the initiative led by musical lovers by uniting the community under one umbrella for the marvelous discovery.