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Off the record: David Smyth
By David Smyth, Evening Standard 16.02.07
Breakthrough: the Fratellis made the most of every minute of their first major award ceremony
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have announced that Ozzfest, their annual US tour, will be free this summer
Look here too
A Brit for the band with loudest fans
They may sound like a family-run firm of ice-cream manufacturers, but they are actually purveyors of ice-cool indie rock," said Jarvis Cocker of unruly Glaswegians the Fratellis as he beckoned the trio onto the Earls Court stage to pick up the British Breakthrough trophy at the Brits.
Unlike no-shows the Arctic Monkeys, they made the most of every minute of their first major awards ceremony. They arrived at the podium drenched in champagne, drummer Mince Fratelli clutching a bottle of Irn-Bru, mimicking Jarvis's famous bum-waggling dance. Later they would dance the night away at Oasis's after-party at the Cuckoo Club, Mayfair, before being chased down the street by paparazzi at 4am.
Bleary of voice but extremely good-humoured the morning after, singer Jon Fratelli (Ramones-style, all three share bassist Barry's real surname) sounds confident that the Radio 1 listeners who voted for their prize made the right decision. "I bet if you looked at the amount of work we put in last year, we did a hell of a lot more gigs than the others. We've packed as much into our two years together as some bands would manage in four."
Competitors in the category Corinne Bailey Rae, James Morrison, The Kooks and Lily Allen may have sold more albums or had more media attention, but this band have built their passionate fanbase the old fashioned way, by endlessly playing live anywhere that will have them. Between March and December last year, Jon reckons they went on tour nine times. In a fortnight's time they will play Brixton Academy four nights running. But don't expect to stand at the back nodding your head - Fratellis fans are not known for their restraint, even down here.
"I think our London crowds can be every bit as mental as the ones up north," says Jon. The other secret of their success is one simple chorus. Chelsea Dagger, a top-five single at the end of last year, features a rowdy, glam rock terrace chant that huge crowds love to sing (and is probably what has kept the Fratellis' debut album, Costello Music, in the Top 20 for almost six months). "It's a pretty simple thing to write a bunch of songs that people can jump about to. It's what rock 'n' roll was meant to be about in the first place," Jon insists.
Appropriately enough, in a year when Oasis were given the Outstanding Contribution to Music gong, the Fratellis come from the Noel-approved school of rock, where tunes, volume and attitude are all and adventurousness is for Blur fans.
Other fans include the team behind the hit comedy Shaun of the Dead, who have the band performing T Rex's Solid Gold Easy Action on the credits of their new film, Hot Fuzz.
America may start to sing along soon too, now that their riotous song Flathead is on the new iPod advert. They're a simple pleasure, perfect for bellowing along to in a big field, which is why the upcoming festival season should transform these ice-cool newcomers into redhot rock royalty.
Free festivals for us?
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have just announced that Ozzfest, their annual US tour featuring Ozzy as headliner and a host of hairy young hotshots, will be free for the first time this summer. The cost of entry will be met by advertisers, which means the big brands must be expecting serious access to the cash swilling round in all those baggy trousers. As the Osbournes already happily endorse Asda and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, this raises some worries about the extent to which they will permit adverts to dominate the rock.
Will Ozzy try to convince fans that Changes is actually about Wal-Mart's constant commitment to lowering their already low, low prices, or pause his set to bite the head off a delicious, low-in-fat Tracker bar?
Could the same thing happen here, and would we be prepared to pay the more subtle price for free music? We already have V, a festival conceived purely to flog mobile phones, and have to call the Reading Festival the Carling Weekend. Short of having logos stamped on our foreheads on entry, the brands could not be more prominent than they are already, so we might as well benefit financially from all that product placement. A shameless, fawning endorsement in this column to the first major British weekender to cancel entry fees ...
An early listen to...
Maximo Park
Our Earthly Pleasures (Warp)
Hard touring and a reputation as one of our more intelligent indie bands caused this North-Eastern quintet to rise to the extent that they headlined at Brixton Academy twice last year, although the first time they were somewhat overshadowed by their support act the Arctic Monkeys.
In April they release a second album and will be expected to do it all over again. They're hoping to retain our interest through volume - opening songs Girls Who Play Guitars and Our Velocity are frantic, thrusting reintroductions to their lively sound - but there is nothing here that will really shock existing fans. Singer Paul Smith's impressionistic lyrics remain a cut above, though, and the energy coursing throughout suggests no tiring of the rock game.
New on the net
Those who can't wait for the Spring's biggest albums can go to MySpace, where many bands are offering songs that have yet to reach the shops. Rockers Kings of Leon display an ambitious move away from their basic early sound on the moody On Call (www.myspace.com /kingsofleon), while Arcade Fire are showing off the thrilling Keep the Car Running (www.myspace.com /arcadefireofficial). Mellow Frenchmen Air continue to employ rolling piano and breathy vocals on forthcoming single Once Upon a Time (www.myspace.com/intairnet) and the Rakes are also coming back with the edgy, upbeat We Danced Together (www.myspace.com/therakes). Disappointingly, Kevin Rowland has decided to start up Dexys Midnight Runners again (now just called Dexys) and uploaded a new demo called It's OK Johanna (www.myspace.com/ dexysmidnightrunners). It consists of a dreary piano and Rowland talking, but does get funky near the end.
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