Gunther

Macho Euro-dance man Günther ("real" name Günther Pleasureman) is the mullet-wearing hunk from Sweden who set out to be "the international ambassador of champagne, glamour, sex, and respect" in 2004 with his massive club hit "Ding Dong Song." A campy, silly, and titillating track, "Ding Dong Song" topped the Swedish charts the year of its release thanks to an inescapable hook and a sexually charged video featuring Günther's backup singers, the Sunshine Girls. A year later the campy phenomenon spread across Europe as indie rockers Franz Ferdinand were heard performing the song acoustically on Dutch radio. Meanwhile, clubs across the continent were welcoming the follow-up singles "Teeny Weeny String Bikini" and "Touch Me" — a cover the Samantha Fox club smash with the "page-three girl" herself on backup vocals. The album Pleasureman appeared by the end of 2005 in both CD and digital download formats in Europe, while the U.S. only received the download version. In 2006, Rhino released the album on CD in the U.S. with the new single "Like Fire Tonight" added as a bonus.