Monday, July 11, 2011

Gennaro Castaldo Watch: It's not like it was when Bassey was young

Is it really so strange that a Welsh person gets to number one? Apparently so, as Sian Evan's ride to the top (albeit through "featuring" on a DJ Fresh track, Louder) has forced the Western Mail out to ask Gennaro Castaldo what he thinks about it all:

Music industry expert Gennaro Castaldo said the song’s popularity was down to a number of factors, including its timing in the music festival season and at the start of the summer holidays.

“Clearly it’s getting a huge amount of coverage and a huge amount of airplay, which is one reason for why it has done so well.

“In this particular case it has also been on the ad campaign of a well-known drinks product, which has given it a huge additional profile.”

He said the music industry had changed from when Dame Shirley and Sir Tom were among the first Welsh chart-toppers in the 1960s.

Fans are less interested in following a specific artist and more driven to listen to what fits in with their behaviour as a consumer and what their friends are sharing through social media, he said.

“It’s more about the song and how it fits in with people’s lifestyles.”
You'll note something surprising here - no, not the way that he falls into the "must mention Tom Jones" trap of "talking about Welsh music" but there's no mention of HMV attached to his name. This is, I think, the first time that Gennaro has turned up without his employer's name in the copy. An editing slip-up? Or is there something we should know?

(By the way, if you're really going to stretch back to Wales' original chart-toppers, isn't Ricky Valance, who had a number one half a decade before Tom Jones managed it, a more interesting name to bring up?)


2 comments:

Robin Carmody said...

Indeed. Remember that World in Action clip with him down the dumper?

Anonymous said...

i dont think you should let the curiosity of him appearing without hmv branding overshadow the second half of what he's quoted as saying being utter utter shite of the absolute lowest order

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