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Zidane's head-butt inspires summer song
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France has a case of summer blues over its World Cup
soccer defeat but captain Zinedine Zidane's
head-butt on Italy defender Marco Materazzi in
Sunday's final is already the subject of a song that
aims to be a holiday hit.
"Coup de Boule", the French translation for
head-butt, was written after France's defeat by the
three associates of Plage Records,
www.laplagerecords.com, a small label specialising
in advertising music.
Zidane, widely regarded as one of the finest
footballers of his generation, was sent off for
head-butting Materazzi after exchanging comments
with the Italian defender. Italy won the final after
a penalty shoot-out.
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Italy's Marco Materazzi falls on the pitch after being head-butted by France's Zinedine Zidane (R) during the final match of FIFA World Cup 2006. |
The label's founders,
brothers Emmanuel and Sebastien Lipszyc, and composer
Franck Lascombes penned the Caribbean zouk-influenced song
and its chorus "Zidane, il a tape" ("Zidane, the hit
man"), as a cure to their post-defeat
disappointment.
But what started as a
therapy and a prank to cheer up their friends could turn
into a lucrative business.
Initially e-mailed to some 50 contacts, the song has been
posted on the Web, with French radio SkyRock putting it on
its play-list and record labels and ringtone sellers
fighting for its rights.
Big labels could fork out as much as 100,000 euros for the
rights, some industry sources estimate.
"It just went incredibly fast and by Tuesday it was sheer
madnesss," Sebastien told Reuters.
"We are talking with four big labels and we could sign a
deal tomorrow ... Yes, it could become lucrative but if we
can make everybody dance to it this summer, it will give
us a good laugh," he added.
A poll published this week showed 61 percent of French
people have forgiven Zidane for the outburst which earned
him a red card. Zidane's sponsors have pledged to stick
with him.
--Reuters
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