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Radio 1 listeners voted the Glaswegian trio Best British Breakthrough Act at this year's Brit Awards - in their acceptance speech Jon graciously thanked "the people at the beginning, the Fratelli fans"... 'Whistle For The Choir' gave the Fratellis their 2nd Top Ten hit in December 2006.No, I don't know where the song title comes from either, though it's an improvement over the alleged original title 'Knickers In A Handbag' (neither phrase appears in the lyric, of course). Either way, the song is something of a change from the irritating lad-rock of their previous hits (and most of the subsequent ones). Lead singer Jon Fratelli (not his real name) even drops the fake Yorkshire accent that gives the strong impression they were groomed to be the Arctic Monkeys for idiots. In fact this was such a refreshing change I even contemplated buying the 8" coloured vinyl format of the single, though I couldn't quite bring myself to in the end. Even if I'd liked them to start with I'd have been put off by the unimaginable amount of play all their singles seemed to get in the 2006-7 era.
Listening back now, the song is pretty slight but what impresses most is the production: it's by Tony Hoffer, whose work I don't generally like, but his touch is impressively light here, with the acoustic guitars especially well-captured and plenty of space to capture the slightly bleary-eyed but sweet early-hours atmosphere the song demands. The old-fashioned high-pitched guitar solo is a nice touch too and it was the right single to release at Christmas time. But I wasn't that disappointed that they never had a substantial hit again.
Also appearing on: Now 65
Available on: Costello Music
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