chameleon

The Rise and Fall Of The NEW Four Seasons - Chapter 8 - The 'Break-Up'

 

It is a sad anniversary to remember but exactly 33 years ago today The NEW Four Seasons we had come to love in 1976 and 1977 performed for the last time together at The Aladdin Las Vegas. Coincidentally it is today that The Rise and Fall of The NEW Four Seasons reaches it’s most surprising section. Chapter 8 – The ‘Break-Up’ documents the last days of the group that gave us the ‘Who Loves You’ and ‘Helicon’ albums and memories of great ‘live’ concerts we would never forget. 

It is a story that may shock some but perhaps not those who knew the music business back then. Why did it have to happen?. Well we have some clues and ideas but when and how it happened is now revealed. Click the links below to download the pdf’s for the Chapter in two parts 

Part 1

Part 2

We hope to have the last Chapters ready before  Christmas covering the ‘Aftermath’ and the attempts to recover the reputation and record sales of Valli and a partially ‘Re-united’ group along with our final editorial.

Casey Chameleon 

Photo above is our last of the group performing together at the Radio City Music Hall ‘Farewell’ concert on October 8^th 1977. Photo courtesy of Frank Rovello

 

 

Hey Guys…whatever happened to your other ‘lead singer’..Frankie somebody?

[Gerry Polci - outside Southport Theatre 1980 -courtesy of Brian Lomas]

Perhaps the most striking news of Thursday night’s concert for the debut of the Hit Men was the fact that Gerry Polci’s two children were able to see him perform the songs he made famous in the 1970’s with The Four Seasons for the first time and suddenly me being reminded that they are Frankie Valli’s grandchildren!! I'd forgotten that he married the bosses daughter.

And ‘Oh! What a night it was as the Mexicalilive showroom New Jersey sold out for the debut of the Hit Men. And whilst the group did a great repertoire of 70s numbers they also did the Seasons hits they performed on tour and their solo numbers as the Four Seasons as well as Decemeber 63 and Who Loves You even without former lead singer Frankie Valli. The crowd went wild and now all we are waiting for is the official revue and the video highlights.

The band thoroughly enjoyed themselves and as Lee said after the show….”when Gerry and Don and I looked at each other across the stage as we played we all felt transformed back to those days and the great feeling we always had playing as a band” And although one former member couldn’t be there, he was there in spirit. John Paiva sent us this message…”I love that you are letting everyone know about "The Hit Men." Lee, Don and Gerry are friends and all so talented, I feel it correct that they be out there showing what they can do. Teamed up with other great artists now, I predict the show will be a gas. If I were living in the States, I am confident I would be part of the show and naturally I would just love to do exactly that. But as this is not possible, I reside here on the side lines (in Germany) wishing them great happy success with "The Hit Men."

So stay tuned to this blog for news of future NYC dates and the possibility of a European visit if we can find an agent who will make it happen.

 
 
 

The Rise and Fall Of The NEW Four Seasons - Chapter 7

So ‘Jersey Boys’ 5^th Anniversary has been the big news this week but for us long-standing fans (call us ‘purists’ if you like) the Jersey Boys Show is NOT the “Story Of The Frankie Valli and Four Seasons” as it is billed. Well perhaps the first half is close to the truth but with no credit to the guys who recorded ‘Who Loves You’ and ‘December 63’ it falls short of the ideal. But it is a great show and we have all flocked to see it and been hugely entertained every time.

But in the spirit and aims of this ‘collectors’ group we are able to 'put the record straight' to some extent as we publish  the real story and this time we present Chapter 7 of our epic e-book ‘The Rise and Fall Of The NEW Four Seasons’ titled ‘The Plans for a NEW Four Seasons’. It tells the story of how the Four Seasons Partnership told us all and the group that they would be launched as ‘The Four Seasons’ under the Warner-Curb banner as Frankie Valli went 'solo' and how we all bought into it. Packed with unique stories of 1977 and the World Tour and using rare and in some cases unique photos Frankie Valli and  of the Four Seasons tell how they planned to ‘split’ and pursue separate careers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For ease of download the 17 page Chapter is in 4 parts below. Click to download the pdf files

 

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

 

And by sheer coincidence 3 of the stars of that 1977 line-up are appearing as the Hit Men on Thursday Night at Mexicalilive in New Jersey Thursday 11^th November 2010. Catch them if you can.

Visit WWW.THEHITMENSITE.COM

Anniversary News

5th Anniversary of Jersey Boys on Broadway

 

Jersey Boys premiered in 2004 at the La Jolla Playhouse and went onto win Tony, Olivier and Grammy awards.  It also became the longest running show in the 85-year history of Broadway's August Wilson Theatre after 2037 performances last month and globally has been seen by over 7 million people in New York, Las Vegas, London, Sidney and across the US on the national tour. in a series of anniversary events. 

To mark this 5th Anniversary the Empire State Building in New York will be lit up from top to bottom in Jersey Boys colours of white, red and yellow and on the 7th November a section of 52nd Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue will be renamed "Jersey Boys Walk" with Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli being joined by the show's co-authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and the current cast. After the Sunday matinee New York City Commissioner Katherine Oliver will present a Mayoral Proclamation honouring Jersey Boys for its five-year Broadway run.

On the 8th November Valli, Gaudio, Brickman and Elice will be honoured with caricatures that will be unveiled at a private reception. That evening, the four we are told will participate in "The Crowd Goes Wild: Five Years of Jersey Boys"--a discussion of the legacy of the Four Seasons and the production of Jersey Boys at the Paley Center for Media, where archival performance clips will also be screened.

See the crowd reaction here

The caricatures here

The Walk here

The Empire State Re-lit here

50th Anniversary of Sherry and The Olympic Games

 

Jersey Boys is set for its biggest ever global promotion. The 2012 Olympics in Great Britain coincide with the 50th anniversary of Sherry and the likely release of the Jersey Boys movie. Sir Philip Elms sent us details from The Times London’s Theatre Diary which says:

"The Spice Girls' performance of a song from Jersey Boys at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics remains unconfirmed, but to judge by their diary fixtures it's in the bag. Geri Halliwell attended the musical last week in order to gain the support of the cast and Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton are booked to see the show in the coming weeks. Apparently, Jersey Boys is a favourite and they want to perform a version of the Four Seasons' Beggin' at the opening ceremony. The idea is that the actors who play Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons will come on singing Beggin' followed by the Spice Girls singing a remixed version of the song."   That will well and truly put us on the global map and perhaps a good excuse for another get together and a big party!

 The story of Sherry’s success was told in our Billboard articles Blog post (click here)

And here for the full story of 3 successive Nr 1 records.

Russ McClelland tells us the 45 was released on 19th July 1962 but wouldn’t break until a crucial TV appearance re-created in Jersey Boys..but check out the only surviving screen shots to see the guys performed in ‘plaid’ suits….the red ones in ‘Jersey Boys’ are better of course

Lynn Boleyn

 

 

“Oh What A Night” For BBC Children In Need!

What could be better—seeing Jersey Boys and raising money for BBC Children in Need—there will be a special gala performance at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End on Wednesday 17th November 2010 and tickets are selling very fast.

BBC London's 94.9FM presenters Gaby Roslin, Paul Ross, Vanessa Feltz and Danny Baker will be introducing this special gala performance. All money raised will go towards helping disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. Gaby and Paul are both huge fans of the hit musical—Paul has seen the show 3 times now and says he is still hungry for more!  We’ve lost count now how many times Tina (aka Gypsy Woman) has seen the show—must be well over 100 times now! 

Julian Stoneman, Executive Producer of Jersey Boys London said he is thrilled and honoured to continue its association with Children In Need for a further year and said that the entire creative team, cast, musicians, technical crew and theatre staff know how important a collaboration with BBC Children In Need is in changing the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

The London cast is now headed by Ryan Molloy as 'Frankie Valli', Stephen Ashfield as 'Bob Gaudio',

Jon Boydon as 'Tommy DeVito' and Eugene McCoy as 'Nick Massi'.

Tickets from £20 can be purchased from the Prince Edward Theatre box office and online by clicking the above link. The 24 hour credit card line is 0844 482 5151. Booking fees apply for all purchases unless made in person at the box office. The face value of all tickets (minus VAT) will be donated to Children in Need. Booking fees apply. Booking fee donated to Children in Need if booking through the theatre or in person. Some credit card charges may apply.

To Donate directly to Children In Need Click here to donate