The Fratellis - Flathead (US Version)

OCT 01 2007 · 12:00

The Fratellis - Flathead (US Version) (2007) Director: Jam Sutton (James Sutton) Era: British Indie Rock Breakthrough Era (2006–2007) - Glasgow-originating indie rock crossing to US mainstream via iPod/iTunes synch licensing and MTV rotation High curatorial value as a time-capsule artefact of the 2007 British indie rock US crossover moment, documenting the intersection of synch-licensing commerce and music video aesthetics. The video is directly linked to a paradigm-shifting iPod advertising campaign and a BRIT Award-winning band at their commercial peak, making it a strong candidate for preservation as both a music video art object and a cultural industry document. Context: Released in 2007 on Universal Island Records, the Flathead (US Version) music video arrived at the apex of the mid-2000s British indie rock export wave, when bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight, and The Fratellis were achieving significant transatlantic crossover. The video's US-specific release was catalysed by the song's prominent placement in an Apple iPod advertisement in early 2007, which drove the track onto the UK Singles Chart at #67 on downloads alone despite having no official UK single release. The band had won the BRIT Award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 2007, cementing their cultural moment. The video's theatrical retro-glamour aesthetic, warm palette, coloured dresses, lounge-bar staging, visually reinforced the song's swaggering, gender-coded lyricism while providing a distinctly British indie visual identity for American MTV audiences. Director notes: Multiple independent web sources attribute direction of the Flathead video to James Sutton. The video features the band in a single theatrical interior performance setting alongside three female dancers who mirror the figures on the Costello Music album cover. The US Version designation reflects its release tied to the Flathead EP issued in the United States following the song's prominent use in an Apple iPod television commercial in early 2007, which significantly boosted the band's profile in the American market.