‘Emergency, paging Dr Beat’: Where the inescapable TikTok sound actually comes from

If your TikTok FYP is anything like mine right now, your entire feed will have been taken over by a sound that people either love or can’t stand: Emergency, paging Dr Beat. You know the one. People changing outfits with slick transitions, accompanied by a Frankenstein TikTok sound that takes the line “Emergency, paging Dr Beat” and loops it with a repetitive instrumental. But what the hell is this sound and where did it come from?

Well, to be honest – I’m raging everyone doesn’t already know. Get the schools opened! This is pop music history!

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Miami Sound Machine dropped Dr Beat in 1984 and lives were changed. The band had vocals from Cuban icon Gloria Estefan – and the song absolutely rips. 80s pop perfection. It got a new lease of life in 2005 when Mylo released Doctor Pressure – a remix that became a club classic and mashed up his hit Drop The Pressure with the classic Dr Beat.

The “Emergency, paging Dr Beat” comes right at the start of the song and that’s the bit that has been sampled for the viral TikTok sound.

The new remix on TikTok is by a group called Linear Phase. Their official Spotify description says they exist to breathe new life and remix classics. They’ve done that well, considering they’re now insanely viral.

How is it being used on TikTok?

Everyone is using the sound to either moan about how the song sounds Uncanny Valley, or praise it for scratching a certain itch and hitting their ear just right. The actual trend with the song has people changing outfits every time “Emergency, paging Dr Beat” is looped. It’s kind of hypnotic watching it happen, to be honest.

Here are a few examples of the most viral versions – and no, I won’t be posting the Paul Breach version. For all our sakes.

Hypnotic, right?

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