You may know the band Eiffel 65 for their hits Move Your Body or Too Much of Heaven. They're an Italian eurodance group, and they have maybe 3 hits in America: the two previously-mentioned songs, and (I'm) Blue. If you heard the song, you'd recognize it for its catchy beat and mostly-gibberish lyrics. The song came out in America in 1999, so if you're older than 15 you may have heard it. Chances are, though, that you haven't heard the story behind song. In their recent biography, Eiffel 65 reveals the truth:

Originally, there were 4 members in Eiffel 65: Jeffrey Jey, Raimondo Sanguine, Maurizio Lobina, and Gabry Ponte. After a few unsuccessful one-hit blunders, the four of them decided to seek inspiration serving as missionaries with their church. Soon, they were off to the heart of Africa to build irrigation systems for land-locked villages. None of them were really built for physical labor, but the word of God had brought them down there and there they would work.

Construction was rather boring, despite being short-staffed. The watering systems came with enough instructions that the pipes fit together within a few weeks, saving the local farms and winning over the hearts of the villagers. Out of all the volunteers, the 4 bandmates were selected by the villagers to celebrate that night. A grand feast was to be prepared for them. Sick of the MRE shipped to them from some rusty American warehouse, they gladly accepted.

That night, Jeffrey, Raimondo, Maurizio, and Gabry entered the village and were greeted by a long table at the edge of a large circle, with a massive bonfire in the center. The four sat down, and immediately one of the villagers emerged from a nearby hut carrying a goat, bringing it to the bonfire. The four had lived in the area long enough that what came next didn't shock them, but Raimondo was still squeamish. The villager skewered the goat on a stick and roasted it over the bonfire, letting the animal's hair burn away as its flesh boiled off. After what seemed like an eternity, the chef removed the carcass from the fire and began hacking away at it. Every so often, he would cut an artery and hot blood would spurt out into the dirt, sizzling as it continued to boil. The four choice cuts went to the band, and the chef continued to serve the goat to the rest of the gathered villagers.

The band, more hungry than disgusted, began digging into the freshly roasted goat, but Raimondo was still disturbed by the goat's fate, and only managed to swallow three bites before his bandmates had finished their portions. Not wanting to offend his generous hosts, Raimondo split his portion amongst his 3 bandmates, and they quickly finished the leftovers. The villagers, having finished their main courses as well, began dancing in a circle around the bonfire. The villagers' shadows danced as much as they did, in time with the flickering of the flames. The sun had set by this point, leaving the flame as the last source of light for miles.

As the dancing continued, one of the villagers not entranced by the flame emerged from her hut, carrying a second course for the band. In the dim light, it looked like a wonderful pile of pulled pork, which the band was eager to consume. However, having eaten most of Raimundo's portion of the goat, the 3 band members were already stuffed, and so offered the lion's share of the meat to Rai. He heartily gulped down the familiar food, and was soon satiated. His satisfaction was not to last.

Soon, Rai rose from the table and joined the villagers in their dance. What had once been an unfollowable flurry of hands and feet became childs play as he matched the motions of his neighbors flawlessly. Entranced by the dance, Rai begun chanting

Im blu da ba

Dee da ba di

Da ba dee da

Ba di da ba

Dee da ba di

Rai's bandmates knew this was the inspiration they had been looking for, so they wrote down Rai's burst of musical inspiration and continued to watch him dance. His motions quickened, much faster than the rest of the circle, until Rai dropped his hands and stood motionless, continuing to chant. The circle closed around him and the band lost sight of Rai for a moment, until they saw him run forward and leap face-first into the fire, still chanting.

The three of them tried to break through the circle to save their friend, but every step they tried to get through was blocked by a well-placed dance step. All they could do is watch as their friend burned on the pyre, chanting his haunting refrain until his lungs were no more. The band ran, far off into the darkness, until they came across the volunteer camp they had been staying at. They didn't speak a word of what had happened to any of the other volunteers, and when dawn broke, the band left for the airport to return to Italy.

The three of them managed to compensate for Raimundo's musical talent, and produced the album Europop. Most of the songs were lackluster, but Blue made it to American shores and was an instant hit. The band made millions off of the album, but not without a cost. The band, as a tribute, had used Raimundo's final chant as most of the lyrics in Blue. The murder rate doubled in Italy that year, with most of the victims never being found, at least not in their entirety. Of the victims that were located, most were incomplete torsos, with most of their flesh eaten off, as if by savage animals. No forensic tests were able to identify what sort of animal consumed these people, nor were they able to find the rest of the victims.

It wasn't until years later that a researcher made the conneection between Blue's release and the mystery deaths. By reversing the lyrics, the researcher discovered Raimundo's secret message:

Hide the body

Eat the body

Hide the body

Eat the body