'mad World' Appeals To International Audience

The U.K.'s surprise Christmas No. 1 hit is speeding around the world this quarter, fueled by the perfect marriage of two independent partners.

"Mad World" by Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules, the stark piano/vocal cover of Tears for Fears' 1982 British hit, catapulted the longtime friends and low-key industry veterans to a new commercial plane.

Released in Europe as a joint venture by London-based independents Sanctuary and Adventure, "Mad World" has shipped 650,000 units in the U.K. through distributor Pinnacle, according to the labels.

"I could not say enough about [Adventure] and Sanctuary," Jules says. "They were so smart about getting out of the way and letting [the song] do whatever it was going to do, and they just supported it where it needed it."

As it begins to chart through Europe, "Mad World" is about to revive Jules' dormant U.S. career, through a licensing deal there with Universal.

The song was featured in the cult 2001 movie hit "Donnie Darko" and on its soundtrack. The music for the movie was otherwise composed by Andrews, who, like Jules, hails from San Diego.

The score was first released by U.S. independent label Enjoy in 2002. The soundtrack brought the song to the attention of Adventure CEO Paul Conroy, formerly president of Virgin Records U.K.

Conroy describes the subsequent liaison with Sanctuary as a "perfect marriage." The tie-up was "the result of an 'aside' conversation" with Sanctuary senior VP of A&R John Williams, he adds.

Adventure/Sanctuary simultaneously reissued the film score in Europe Jan. 19 and released Jules' sophomore album, "Trading Snakeoil

for Wolftickets," which debuted on the Official U.K. Charts Co. album listing dated Jan. 31 at No. 12. The album has sold 25,000 units across the counter in the United Kingdom, Conroy says.

Jules lived in the United Kingdom before embarking on a European promotional tour of Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Portugal, leading up to the Feb. 12 start of a nine-date British and Irish tour. Jules is booked in Europe by ITB and managed by Los Angeles-based Bill Silva Management.

"Mad World" has made the top five of the Mega Charts Top 100 singles sales listing in the Netherlands, one of several territories where the single has been released on Adventure/Sanctuary through BMG. Other territories covered by BMG include Denmark, Finland, France and the Benelux markets (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands).

In Germany, Switzerland and Australia, the single is distributed through Rough Trade, by PIAS in Spain, Edel in Italy, VMW in Norway and Showtime in Sweden.

"The single has captured the imagination of the international market exactly as it did the U.K.'s prior to Christmas," Sanctuary VP of international marketing and promotion Julian Wall says.

The single has now been released throughout Europe and the album is available everywhere except France, Italy and Spain, where it is due in March.

March 16 sees the U.S. release of "Wolftickets" by Universal; the album first appeared in America in 2001 as a self-issued project by Jules, before the recording of "Mad World" gave it new momentum.

Under the one-album Universal deal, Jules also won ownership of his debut album "Greetings From the Side," released there by A&M in 1998 shortly before the Seagram/PolyGram deal terminated the old label.

"The contract stack that the lawyers [were] going to go through started with Sheryl Crow and worked its way down to Gary Jules after about a year," he says.

Responding to the idea that he has effectively put his head back into the "major lion's mouth," he says: "It's always the same lion, but I learned a few tricks since the last time. I got a chair and a whip, finally."

Conroy says Jules' success has "helped no end in putting Adventure on the map." He runs the company with his wife, Katie Conroy, the former EMI director of international promotions.

Adventure recently confirmed the worldwide signing of former Fleetwood Mac member Christine McVie. She has an album due in May.

A Japanese deal with Avex has been secured for Adventure's Danish rock band Nu, and the company will soon launch U.K. female rapper Verbalicious.

Ahead of the planned U.K. release of Jules' "Broke Window" as a follow-up single in late March, there is no shortage of onlookers ready to dismiss him as a one-hit wonder. "It's a huge hit for the sort of musician I consider myself to be," the artist says.

"That's not making any more claims to legitimacy than anybody else," he adds, "but my album cost 100 bucks; I made it in a basement with my best friend. 'Mad World' went to the top of the charts, and if that didn't happen again for a while, that would be OK with me."