Ulterior Motives (song)
Imagine a forgotten melody, tucked away in the digital dust of an old backup, suddenly sparking a global internet detective hunt. That's the extraordinary journey of "Ulterior Motives," a mysterious 1980s synth-pop track that vanished into obscurity, only to be resurrected decades later by thousands of online sleuths. This isn't just a story about a song; it's a testament to the power of collective curiosity and digital archaeology. "Ulterior Motives" was a 1980s pop song originally used in a pornographic film as background music. A 17-second snippet ignited a massive, multi-year online search due to its captivating sound and unknown origin. The song's discovery led to a re-recorded release by its original creators, highlighting the enduring mystery around lost music masters.
AI Summary
Imagine a forgotten melody, tucked away in the digital dust of an old backup, suddenly sparking a global internet detective hunt. That's the extraordinary journey of "Ulterior Motives," a mysterious 1980s synth-pop track that vanished into obscurity, only to be resurrected decades later by thousands of online sleuths. This isn't just a story about a song; it's a testament to the power of collective curiosity and digital archaeology.
- "Ulterior Motives" was a 1980s pop song originally used in a pornographic film as background music.
- A 17-second snippet ignited a massive, multi-year online search due to its captivating sound and unknown origin.
- The song's discovery led to a re-recorded release by its original creators, highlighting the enduring mystery around lost music masters.
A Forgotten Melody
In October 2021, a Spanish user known as carl92 uploaded a short audio clip to WatZatSong, a website dedicated to identifying mystery tunes. He claimed to have found the 17-second snippet among old files from a DVD backup, speculating it was a leftover from audio recording experiments.
The enigmatic clip quickly captured attention. Its distinct 1980s synth-pop sound, reminiscent of acts after 1983 — thanks to tell-tale instruments like the LinnDrum drum machine and Yamaha DX7 synthesizer — hinted at its vintage origins. This was no ordinary forgotten track; it was a genuine riddle.
The Internet Search Begins
Initially dubbed "Everyone Knows That" (EKT) or "Ulterior Motives" based on its debated lyrics, the snippet went viral across social media and internet communities. The hunt was on, transforming WatZatSong's submission into its "most infamous and enduring," sparking countless theories—some even suggesting it was a deliberate hoax.
What started as a niche search eventually gained significant traction, especially in late 2022 and 2023. A dedicated subreddit launched in June 2023, attracting thousands of detectives. Its cultural impact grew so large that in February 2024, The Guardian newspaper declared it "one of the biggest and most enduring musical mysteries on the internet."
Online sleuths brainstormed possibilities, from it being a lost MTV broadcast track to production music or a commercial jingle. Then, a crucial breakthrough: in August 2023, Reddit user u/HeyScarlett found a registered song named "Ulterior Motives" in the Canadian music database SOCAN, attributed to "Booth Christopher David" and "Booth Philip." The trail was getting warmer.
The Original Creators
Christopher and Philip Booth, British-Canadian musicians and filmmakers, were indeed the original creators. In the mid-1980s, working out of their home studio in Encino, Los Angeles, they took on various production assistant roles to "make money."
A friend, who happened to make pornographic films, needed music for one of his productions. As Christopher Booth recalled, they were paid "quite a bit of money just to give them some music to use behind the scenes." This led to "Ulterior Motives," originally conceived as a pop song, finding an unexpected home.
On April 28, 2024, Reddit users finally identified the specific film: the 1986 pornographic film Angels of Passion. This monumental discovery, spearheaded by a lead from user u/One-Truth-5867 and confirmed by user u/southpoleball, definitively linked the snippet to its original, if controversial, debut.
The song itself was inspired by personal experience. Christopher Booth shared that the lyrics stemmed from a "girl that cheated," capturing the feeling of someone "saying one thing and you found out that she did another thing." The track was firmly rooted in the popular new wave and synth-pop genres of its era.
Reconnecting with the Past
The Booth brothers quickly acknowledged the internet's detective work. Christopher Booth publicly posted on Instagram regarding the discovery, revealing that the original lyrics were "everyone knows it," not "everyone knows that," as many had initially theorized. He also clarified that the song wasn't written exclusively for the film.
While the song and its artists were identified, the full, original master recordings proved elusive. The vocal and synth tracks, in particular, seemed lost to time. Christopher initially believed they might be with a recently deceased friend's niece, who was sending them a box of old masters.
By June 7, 2024, the "box of masters" arrived, yielding other lost songs, but still no full vocal track for "Ulterior Motives." The guitar, bass, and drum tracks were located, but the crucial vocal and synth elements would need to be re-recorded for a complete version.
A New Beginning
Undeterred, the Booth brothers decided to re-record "Ulterior Motives" and other 1980s tracks they found during their search. They released a trailer for "Ulterior Motives - The Lost Album" on June 19, 2024, showcasing their new rendition of the viral song.
The album, credited to "Who's Who?" (a name they'd performed under in the 80s), dropped digitally on June 23, 2024, followed by a CD release two weeks later. While a rough mixdown of the original "Ulterior Motives" was partially used in the remake, the full original tape couldn't be released due to "dropouts"—audio imperfections common in old recordings.
Beyond the Title Track
"Ulterior Motives (The Lost Album)" not only featured the re-recorded title track but also included twelve other rediscovered 1980s recordings, unearthed during the intensive search for the original masters. One notable track, "Chemistry," was originally titled "You and Me Got the Right Chemistry" as a single.
The story isn't quite over. In October 2024, the Booth brothers announced a "new lead" in the quest for the original master of "Ulterior Motives." They believe a tape recording might be held by a copyright registration office and are actively seeking its release, promising to share it "as soon as [they] find it."
The Creative Team
Christopher Saint Booth – vocals, LinnDrum player Philip Adrian Booth – guitar synthesizer, LinnDrum player "Ira" – bass Unknown – Oberheim synthesizer
Article
Ulterior Motives (song)
"Ulterior Motives" is a song recorded by British-Canadian musicians and filmmakers Christopher and Philip Booth in the mid-1980s, first appearing in the 1986 pornographic film Angels of Passion. It gained popularity in 2021 after a seventeen-second snippet of the song, at the time unidentified, was posted online. The song was colloquially dubbed "Everyone Knows That" (commonly abbreviated EKT) or "Ulterior Motives", both derived from the then-debated lyrics of the snippet.
The snippet was uploaded to song identification website WatZatSong in 2021 by Spanish user carl92 who claimed to have discovered the recording in an old DVD backup. He speculated that the file was leftover from when he was learning to record audio. It was shared across various social media sites and internet communities, initiating a widespread search for the full song and information about its origin. In February 2024, The Guardian named it "one of the biggest and most enduring musical mysteries on the internet".
On 28 April 2024, Reddit users identified the snippet's origin as being from Angels of Passion. The vocals, guitar and synth tracks for the original recording were deemed lost. The Booth brothers re-recorded the song and included it on their album Ulterior Motives (The Lost Album), released digitally on 23 June 2024 and on CD two weeks later. The album was credited to Who's Who, a name the Booth brothers had performed under at various points in the 1980s.
In October 2024, the Booth brothers announced that they were investigating a 'new lead' in the search for the original master of Ulterior Motives. They suggested that a tape recording of the original version is in the possession of a copyright registration office whom they contacted to request its release. Christopher stated that if the office can return the tape to them, they will release it "as soon as [they] find it".
Upon official release, the song was well received by critics, who praised its remastered production and catchiness.
Background and composition
Ulterior Motives (song)
"Ulterior Motives" was recorded in 1985 by Christopher and Philip Booth at their home studio in Encino, Los Angeles. Because they were "doing anything to make money", they worked as production assistants on films. One of their friends, who made pornographic films, needed music for one of their works and, according to Christopher, "they gave us quite a bit of money just to give them some music to use behind the scenes". As such, "Ulterior Motives", which was originally recorded as a pop song, was used in the soundtrack of the 1986 pornographic film Angels of Passion. Christopher said that the lyrics of the song were inspired by "a girl that cheated", saying "she was saying one thing and you found out that she did another thing". The song has been described as new wave and synth-pop.
Online search
Ulterior Motives (song)
On 7 October 2021, user carl92 uploaded a 17-second snippet of the song to WatZatSong and asked for help identifying it. He wrote that he "rediscover[ed] this sample between a bunch of very old files in a DVD backup. Probably I was simply learning how to capture audio and this was a left over." The song was thought to have been recorded in the 1980s due to its stylistic similarities to pop music of that time, specifically after 1983, since the LinnDrum drum machine and the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer were thought by the sleuths to have been used in the song. Some users created reconstructions from the original snippet to have an idea of what the full song could be like, while others theorised that the song was a hoax "planted by a troll". It became WatZatSong's "most infamous and enduring submission", receiving the most comments since the site's launch in 2006.
The song gained popularity online in late 2022 and 2023, and a subreddit dedicated to finding the song and its artist was launched in June 2023. On 7 January 2024, two members of the subreddit were interviewed by French commercial television network TF1.
The search for the song was initially slow to gain traction, but gained a dedicated following over time. Search participants theorised that the source for the song might be a 1990s MTV broadcast, a piece of production music, or a commercial jingle. In August 2023, user u/HeyScarlett found a registered song by the name "Ulterior Motives" in Canadian music database SOCAN under the shareholders' names "Booth Christopher David" and "Booth Philip".
Discovery
On 28 April 2024, following a lead from Reddit user u/One-Truth-5867 who had found a similar sounding song by the same artist, user u/southpoleball identified the song, including its name and artists. The snippet was discovered to be from the 1986 pornographic film Angels of Passion.
On 29 April 2024, Booth publicly made an Instagram post regarding the discovery of the song's source and the artists. He later uploaded a reel showcasing the original lyrics for the song within his recording studio, revealing that the original lyrics were "everyone knows it" instead of "everyone knows that". In a CBC News podcast, Booth claimed that the song was not written exclusively for the film. On 1 May 2024, in a Rolling Stone interview, Booth revealed plans to release a new album with songs similar to "Ulterior Motives"; he had already found the song's original "rhythm track" but not the vocal track. Several days later, he gave an interview with a Redditor, in which he clarified that he located the guitar, bass, and drum tracks, but not the original vocal or synth tracks. In another interview the Booth brothers conducted on 15 May, Christopher stated that he believed the rest of the masters for "Ulterior Motives" to be in the possession of his recently deceased friend, whose niece had planned to send the Booths a box of masters once in the possession of her relative. On 7 June 2024, when responding to a Redditor asking if the vocal track was indeed in that box of masters, Christopher confirmed that the masters had arrived and that he had located other songs from them, but not the vocal track, which he would re-record along with the guitar track.
On 19 June 2024, the Booth brothers released a trailer for Ulterior Motives – The Lost Album, showcasing their new version of "Ulterior Motives". The album was finally released on all streaming platforms on 23 June 2024, under the name Ulterior Motives (The Lost Album). In an Instagram Q&A conducted on 29 June, Christopher confirmed that parts of a rough mixdown of the original "Ulterior Motives" were used in the remake; however, the full tape could not be released due to suffering from dropouts.
Ulterior Motives (The Lost Album)
Ulterior Motives (song)
Ulterior Motives (The Lost Album) was released on 23 June 2024; it contains both the Booth brothers' remake of its title track as well as twelve other 1980s-era recordings found while searching for the masters to said song. Due to the DistroKid preview being leaked, the album was released ahead of schedule.
Personnel
Ulterior Motives (song)
• Christopher Saint Booth – vocals, LinnDrum player • Philip Adrian Booth – guitar synthesizer, LinnDrum player • Ira Ward – bass • Unknown – Oberheim synthesizer