Monaco - What Do You Want From Me

1997

Monaco - What Do You Want From Me (1997) Era: Britpop/Post-Baggy Alternative Peak (1997) - Mid-to-late 1990s British alternative rock boom, post-Madchester, with electronic undercurrents inherited from New Order's Haçienda era High curatorial value as the signature visual document of Monaco's most commercially successful and culturally enduring single. The video's theatrical casino treatment, distinctive under-glass cinematography, and dual-environment structure make it a technically interesting and historically representative artefact of mid-budget 1990s British alternative music video production. Its placement in mainstream television (Daria, Tigger Happy TV) extended its cultural footprint well beyond the initial promotional cycle, cementing its status as a recognisable period piece of the British Britpop/post-Madchester crossover moment. Context: Monaco were formed in 1995 as a side project of New Order bassist Peter Hook alongside guitarist David Potts, the sole survivor of Hook's earlier Revenge project. Their 1997 debut album 'Music for Pleasure' was released on Polydor and sold over half a million copies, with 'What Do You Want From Me?' peaking at number 11 on the UK singles chart. Critics frequently noted the album's sonic proximity to New Order, owing to Hook's signature pulsating bass style and Potts' vocal resemblance to Bernard Sumner. The song subsequently gained renewed cultural reach through placement in the MTV animated series 'Daria' (Season 2) and the British television programme 'Tigger Happy TV' (Season 1). The video's casino setting directly echoes the band's name and aligns with a broader mid-1990s trend of British alternative acts adopting cinematic, narrative-driven promos as Britpop reached peak commercial visibility. Director notes: The video is set across two primary environments: a minimalist white performance space and a glamorous casino interior. Band members enter the casino alongside an ensemble of glamorous and eccentrically dressed characters. A distinctive visual motif involves the performers playing and singing from beneath a glass table surface. The narrative weaves multiple comic-dramatic social vignettes across the casino floor, concluding with the band departing the venue. The single was released February 24, 1997 on Polydor Ltd. (UK) and reached number 11 on the UK singles chart.