British fans of Frankie Valli and the Four
Season were delighted to hear
the news on Sunday that a re-edit of Beggin’ has entered the UK Top 40 Singles
at No.32. Even better, the 12” single went straight in at No.
1 in the Top 40 Dance Singles in the first week of release. It was a remarkable event, considering that
the original recording is just over 40 years old. Moreover it had not been a
hit in the UK back in 1967
and even in America it had only been a moderate hit, peaking at No 16 in the Billboard Hot 100.
So how did this song appear almost from nowhere to become a chart hit? Perhaps we’ll never know the complete truth but on the face of it the story goes like this. A Parisian DJ by the name of Pilooski had built a reputation for doing re-edits and issuing them on limited edition 12” white labels in a series called “Dark and Lovely”. It was the Seasons’ turn in late 2006, when Pilooski chose Beggin’ for the fourth edition in the series (co-incidentally shortly after the Springfield Remix, appeared in this blog , to which it is similar in many respects – Ed). Somehow his work seemed inspired by the muse, for he managed to lengthen the song and add a modern flavour without in any way detracting from the merits of the original recording.
The recording was soon in great demand in
certain cult and alternative dance circles both in Europe and the USA.
Suddenly the blog traffic grew and the cut was included in the top 50 dance singles of 2006 by an authoritative survey called CBS. At that time I was wondering whether this would become a commercial hit rising from the underground much in the same way that a reissue of The Night had been in the UK back in 1975.
The blog traffic about the re-edit continued
in the early months of 2007, but nothing seemed to be happening. Step forward
then the people at 679 Recordings, a small “indie” label that is, in fact, part
of the Warner Brothers music empire. As
is often the case, small labels are often quicker, more imaginative and
flexible than their big brothers. Some one at 679 had his (or her) ears close
to the ground and could see the potential for this to be a hit coming from the
leftfield. Equally, being part of the WB family gave 679 easy access to the
Four Seasons Partnership, which issues catalogue material in the USA through the Rhino label. So a formal licence was obtained and the re-edit could
now be promoted as a legitimate single.
The promotion of the single followed a path more typical of an alternative act than that of a current or oldies pop group. Much reliance was placed on the dance scene, getting well known DJs such as Errol Alkan and Laurent Garnier as “early adopters”. In April this club interest began to flow through to mainstream radio with, for example, an outing by Pete Tong on the BBC Radio 1. May 2007 saw more airplay, particularly on BBC Radio 1 in the evenings with DJs like Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and Rob Da Bank all singing its praises and predicting that it would be the “Tune” of the summer. This was the clever part of the marketing. By being on 679, the record had far more chance of being regarded as cool, and far more chance of being played by DJs specialising in indie, alternative and leftfield sounds. The release also matched a recent rise in interest in Northern Soul flavoured songs by artists such as Amy Winehouse.
That doesn’t mean that there hasn’t been strong marketing investment. The artwork for the cover sleeve is particularly good and the final released product looks very stylish in record stores.
The heaviest investment (surely a six figure sum) must have been in commissioning a pop video. Unfortunately this has evoked mixed reactions. The director says he was showing dance styles across the decades. Maybe, but if so, he was being too subtle for many punters, who felt that it was a sort of Grease influenced cliché. 679 must have become aware of such reservations, for they subsequently commissioned a much more imaginative animation from a guy called Cyriak.
Certainly it seems a hit on YouTube, though whether it will make the mainstream pop channels such as MTV or The Box remains to be seen.
Generally critical reaction to the release has been very positive including reviews from such varied sources as the Guardian, Channel 4 music, through to specialised dance music retailers and DJ magazines. These reviews and blogs might be a suitable subject for a lengthier article in the future.
But as an appetiser here is an entry from the mid-June edition of DJMag.
Who’d have thought that the Four Seasons would feature in a magazine like this in 2007?
Martin Wright
Editor...Thanks to Martin for contributing this piece and watch out for his future articles. Catch our original remix of Beggin' - The Springfield Remix here
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