Category: Music

Is It a Bird? A Plane? No! It’s Free Souffriau!

D.F. Rogers wants more Mega Mindy! He didn’t even have to ask, I just know. OK, so maybe I want more Mega Mindy too. She’s played by a woman with the unlikely name of Free Souffriau (SUE-free-oh). Free is quite versatile, and as you’ll hear her English is impeccable. I still haven’t heard how Karen, Kristel, and Kathleen of K3 are with English.

The first video has a live performance of the Mega Mindy theme song with a band and no lip-synching. Near the end she holds out her mic and you can hear the kids singing along. Isn’t that great? The second video on the playlist has Free out of costume, being interviewed with, and by, kids, followed by a video of a song from the show, “Toby Toby.” The last video is the most interesting, with Free as herself, free of Mega Mindy.

Cilla Black, British Import

Will the three K’s in the girl group K3 ever find fame beyond Belgium and the Netherlands? I suspect not, with language being the reason why. Do any American network television producers even know about K3? Oh, yes. As of yesterday I am 100% sure of that.

Cilla Black with George MartinBut now let’s go back to 1965, when Petula Clark had a string of hit records that was perhaps unprecedented for any solo female singer. Certainly no other British woman has met with such success before or since. Julie Andrews specialized in musicals, of course.

Dusty Springfield broke onto the U.S. charts some months before Petula, and she was quite successful, although she never had a #1 hit here. But there was also another female English solo singer seeking success in America. Cilla Black was, like the Beatles, from Liverpool, and she was likewise discovered and managed by Brian Epstein.

Cilla Black provides an interesting contrast to Petula Clark. They’re both petite, with strong voices, but where Cilla’s appeal was being cute and coy, Petula’s primary charm was sexiness. With great popularity in England, Brian Epstein behind her, and George Martin producing her records, Cilla had the necessary advantages to succeed in America. But it didn’t happen.

Cilla Black made one appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. It was on September 12, 1965, the same night the Beatles made their last live appearance for Sullivan. I featured a bit of it at this link eighteen months ago. And this is Cilla on that night.

[flv:/Video/2008/JUN/CillaBlackEdSullivan.flv 440 330]

In the recording studio, Cilla had the benefit of not only George Martin, but several songs written by Paul McCartney.

The first is “Love of the Love,” from 1963, which I think should have been done in a more laid back style.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/LoveOfTheLoved.mp3]

Then there’s “It’s For You,” from 1964, which I think has Martin making Cilla sound conspicuously like Shirley Bassey, who he had recorded recently singing the famous “Goldfinger” theme.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/ItsForYou.mp3]

… and “Step Inside Love” from much later, in 1968, with production values that point towards George Martin’s work with McCartney on “Live and Let Die.”

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/StepInsideLove.mp3]

The Making of K3’s “Kissing Day”

I’m still not ready with my intended posts, and embedding YouTube videos is so quick and easy that’s what I’ll do. And, guess what? Once again it’s K3’s greatest song, “Kusjesdag” — Kissing Day!

Most of you will run screaming from the room, or maybe just click away from here, but I think this is one of the best bits of pre-fab fluff I’ve ever heard. I love this song. It’s an anthem! An antidote to all of the terrible events, man-made and natural, on this Friday the 13th.

So here we go with a short “making of” about the “Kusjesdag” video. The ladies could be saying rude things for all I know, and if they are, you’d have to know Flemish to know that. Following the mini-documentary is another live (undoubtedly lip-synched) performance. This one was, I assume, done at one of the Studio 100 theme parks. I think I just about have the dance moves memorized. 😉

Belgian Beauties Belting It Out

More music from Belgium, but it’s very different from the Studio 100 pop stuff. This is the Scala & Kolacny Brothers Choir. The video player starts with their version of radiohead’s “Creep”, that you can see here I featured many months ago. There’s just a still picture for that one, but in the second clip you’ll see them performing a well-known U2 tune. And the last one is a video of “The Blower’s Daughter”, as featured in the the movie Closer.

Studio 100 Globalizes

K3 - Kristel Verbeke, Karen Damen, Kathleen Aerts
K3 (l-r) Kristel Verbeke, Karen Damen, Kathleen Aerts in their “Kissing Day” costumes

I’m preparing a lot of audio and video clips for what is turning into a long build-up to a Petula Clark post. One week ago I knew nothing of Studio 100 in Belgium, and now I’m intrigued by the outfit. D.F. Rogers has spotted a video about the history of Studio 100, and it’s at this link. The page is done in Flash, and the player starts automatically. (It misbehaves a tiny bit, so I suggest opening it in a new window.)

I had speculated on K3 being a good prospect for Disney, but now I see that Studio 100 feels they don’t need Disney, although it’s not K3 they’ll be exporting. Dennis also uncovered a detailed proposal by Studio 100 for the expansion of Mega Mindy into the UK. You can read it at this link. (It’s in PDF and it’s big, so it’s probably better to right-click and save it, rather than open in your browser.) Get a load of these talking points I’ve selected.

  • We are witnessing ever-increasing age-compression, a fact that is heavily influencing the programming and marketing of both Disney and Nickelodeon. In today’s World, Mega Mindy will appeal to ages 7 through 17 if thoughtfully produced, and well cast.
  • The insatiable drive for expansion through excellence has resulted in the decision to globalize Studio 100, using our formula for success, which is deceptively simple, but adhered to strictly in every instance.
  • There are distinct forces of attraction which combine to provide an irresistible argument that a well written, well shot United Kingdom Mega Mindy will be a huge success in the English speaking World. Let us note that it is already a hit in Belgium and in the Netherlands, which has only one home grown super heroine to speak of.
  • If Hillary Clinton affects the Worldview by becoming ‘leader of the Free World’, in the same way that Margaret Thatcher affected the British view in the 1980’s, Mega Mindy will be in a perfect position to benefit.

How about that last point? They won’t be able to capitalize on the Presidency of Hillary Clinton, but it was an interesting idea. OK, that’s enough for now about Studio 100, K3, and Mega Mindy! Next up… XUXA!