Comment: 5
[Add Comment]
Great ringtone (by billyoung, Jul 10th, 2007) Bomb, i'll send it to my close friend. |
Surprise (by nautin, Jul 9th, 2007) ...Bomb...It makes me surprise! Hi hi! |
Let's rock !!! (by kitty, Jul 9th, 2007) Bombin' everywhere, fool. Let's get loud. |
Great! (by forestgum, Jul 7th, 2007) It is a great sound, yet hoping not wake me up at night with this sound. |
Wow, that's great (by All-for-good, Jun 22nd, 2007) Perfectly fit to postcard sound. |
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Can Crazy Frog revive a career that croaked?
By Adam Sherwin
Michael Jackson has appointed Guy Holmes, the London-based music entrepreneur,
as his manager and the boss of a Bahrain-based record company that will release
the star’s comeback album.
Jackson, 47, has been living in self-imposed exile in the Gulf state as a guest
of the ruling family since his acquittal on child abuse charges in the United
States last year.
Yesterday he announced the creation of Two Seas Records, a joint venture between
himself and Prince Abdullah Hamad al-Khalifa, the son of Bahrain’s ruler, Sheikh
Hamad.
The move comes as the tarnished musician reached a refinancing agreement with
the music giant Sony, which could see him lose control of the $1 billion (£558
million) Beatles back catalogue.
Holmes, 46, has taken on the daunting task of revitalising the career of pop’s
bestselling star, which was left in shambles after the molestation trial.
Jackson’s last album, Invincible, released in 2001, sold only two million
copies, despite heavy promotion.
Holmes has a reputation for rebranding older stars for the contemporary market.
In 1999 he relaunched Tom Jones, then 59, with an album of duets that matched
the Welsh veteran with stars such as Robbie Williams.
The single Sex Bomb made Jones an unlikely dancefloor hero and the Reloaded
album sold five million copies worldwide.
However, Holmes, who has spent 30 years in the British music industry, has
inflicted several novelty acts on record-buyers.
When record companies turned down the dance-pop act Right Said Fred, Holmes
released their I’m Too Sexy track on his own Gut Records. The song topped the
British and US charts in 1992 and their debut album sold five million copies.
Last year Holmes spotted the hit single potential of the irritating Crazy Frog
ringtone. A dance version topped the international singles charts and, under
Holmes’s tutelage, the ringtone spawned an album of Crazy Hits and a Christmas
single. Gut has also released records by Aswad, Jimmy Somerville and 1970s
survivors, Sparks.
Jackson observers are sceptical, but the 350 million-selling star, who once
recorded for the Motown label, is said to be planning a pop comeback.
Unveiling the partnership, he said: “I am incredibly excited about my new
venture and I am enjoying being back in the studio making music.”
Holmes, the head of Two Seas Records, will divide his time between London and
Bahrain, oversee the recording of Jackson’s album and managing the star’s
business interests. The album will be released in “late 2007”, according to a
statement on behalf of the singer.
Jackson’s recording contract with Sony has expired, along with residual goodwill
between label and artist. Holmes will shop the album around record companies,
who would still be interested in an album demonstrating signs of the form that
produced the 52-million selling Thriller.
Holmes will seek to license Jackson tracks to film and advertisements and is a
believer in mobile download sales as the music industry’s future. He recently
said: “My view is that the iPod is an antique, and that phones should be iPods.”
Jackson hopes to concentrate on his music after negotiations with financiers
produced an agreement to ease debts of about £200 million. |