The Nicest Guy You’ll Meet (Until You Try to Mug Him in Riga) : The Story Behind “Mr Soul”

Some songs begin with a melody. Some begin with a phrase. “Mr Soul” began with a friend, a stag weekend in Riga, and a story that still sounds completely unbelievable nearly 20 years later.

I’ve known this person since school. He has been there through a lot of years, a lot of changes and plenty of moments when having a good friend mattered. I feel extremely lucky to be able to call him one.

He is not actually known as “Mr Soul” among our friends. That name came from what he does as a soul DJ. Anyone who knows both of us will probably work out who the song is about fairly quickly.

The title is a bit of a disguise. The story is not.

From soul DJ to rock song

There was never any intention of making “Mr Soul” into a soul song. That would not really be me. I enjoy plenty of different styles, but my own music has always been rooted more in rock, alternative rock and electronic sounds.

What I did want was a little funk in the track.

The challenge was finding the balance. I wanted the rhythm to have some movement and swagger without losing the guitars and the rock identity. It needed to feel slightly different from some of the other songs in The Buey Project, but it still had to sound like it belonged here.

That combination seemed appropriate for the subject. He is familiar, dependable and easygoing, but there is more underneath the surface than people might expect.

The Riga story

The lyrics are based loosely around my stag weekend in Riga, Latvia. My friend was my best man, and the trip took place almost 20 years ago.

There were around 12 of us. After a heavy night of drinking, we gradually made our way back to the hotel in groups of three or four. Nobody was moving particularly quickly. It was one of those early-morning returns where everyone is tired and trying to work out whether they have any idea where they are.

Some of us were sitting outside the hotel drinking ourselves sober when my friend appeared with a couple of others. They were desperate to tell us about something that had just happened.

Apparently, someone had attempted to mug him.

The person demanded his wallet and produced what looked like a gun. At least, that was how it appeared to everyone else involved. My friend apparently did not even blink. Instead, he threw the attempted mugger over a hedge.

Then he carried on with his night.

That is the short version. It is also the version that still makes the least sense.

I have never seen him throw a punch in anger. He is one of the last people I would expect to get into a confrontation. If somebody had asked us to predict which member of the group would fight back, he would probably have been near the bottom of the list.

That opinion changed completely in Riga.

The story became one of those moments that gets repeated among friends because it reveals something nobody knew was there. He is kind. He is helpful. He is usually calm. He would probably avoid trouble whenever possible.

But there is a difference between avoiding trouble and being unable to deal with it.

The person behind the song

“Mr Soul” is not really about the mugging. That is the funniest and most memorable part of the story, but it is not the whole reason I wrote the song.

It is about the kind of person he is.

He can take a joke. He is the person everyone likes having around. He helps people without making a performance of it. He would not hurt anyone (without a very good reason). He has strong morals and a steady sense of right and wrong.

That is why the Riga incident was so surprising. It was completely out of character, yet somehow it also showed another side of his character. He was not looking for violence. He was not trying to prove anything. He simply refused to become an easy target.

The song exaggerates some of that for effect. “After a beer he’d take on Zeus” is not meant to be treated as a factual assessment of his fighting ability. It is a humorous way of describing how a quiet, unassuming person can look very different after a few drinks and an unexpected threat.

The important point is self-defence, not aggression. He was not searching for a fight. He was responding to a situation that had been forced on him.

That distinction matters to me.

There is no complicated metaphor hiding behind it. He is one of a kind, and it is an honour to be his friend.

That kind of friendship is worth writing about.

Why honest songwriting matters

The Buey Project has always been built around honest songwriting. The songs are drawn from real experiences, real people and real emotions. They are not always literal retellings, but they usually begin with something that happened or something that mattered.

“Mr Soul” is a lighter song than some of the others. It does not deal with loss, dependency or mental health in the same direct way. It is a celebration of friendship, loyalty and the strange stories that stay with a group of people for decades.

That matters too.

Not every meaningful song has to be heavy. Sometimes a song can simply say, “This person has been there for me, and I am grateful.” Sometimes it can also add, “He once threw an attempted mugger over a hedge, despite being the least likely person in the group to do it.”

That is the balance I wanted from the track.

It has a bit of funk in its movement, but it remains an alternative rock song. It has humour, but it is also sincere. It tells an entertaining story, but the real subject is friendship.

“Mr Soul” is available as part of The Buey Project’s ongoing journey. You can follow the project and listen to the music on The Buey Project’s YouTube channel.

If you have ever had a quiet friend who turned out to be far tougher than anyone expected, this song may feel familiar.

Just do not try to mug him in Riga.