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SONY'S WES HOPES TO RELAY
EUROPEAN HIT ALBUM INTO U.S.

Dateline: PARIS

Epic is presenting Cameroonian artist Wes to U.S. audiences with the supreme confidence of 3 million singles and close to 700,000 albums sold in Europe.

His debut album, "Welenga," was recorded and produced by Deep Forest producer Eric Sanchez for Columbia France's Saint George imprint. It bows in the U.S. June 20. Meanwhile, his first single, "Alane," is set to break the record on Music & Media's Eurochart Hot 100 for the longest-charting single: This week is its 53rd on that chart.

In Europe, Wes Madiko's career is to be given another push by his involvement with Sony's World Cup compilation, "Allez! Ola! Ole!" (Billboard, April 25). A single, "Midiwa Bol" (I Love Football), has European releases that began May 18 to tie in with the World Cup football tournament taking place this summer in France. With the second single, Sony is hoping to spread Wes' popularity into southern Europe and the Nordic region, which did not respond as favorably as central Europe did to "Alane."

About half of Wes' single and album sales to date have been in France, his country of signing. TV was the initial key for the impact of "Alane," a song in Wes' native Bantu language with a straightforward dance/pop beat and an irresistible choral refrain. The song was the official "summer song" at French TV station TF1 last year, guaranteeing frequent exposure during promotional spots and between programs.

Radio showed strong interest in "Alane" from the start, and the single benefited from a tie-in campaign with French networks RTL and Fun Radio last summer.

Sony says the single's popularity directly spurred album sales: In France, Wes has sold some 1.5 million singles, and the album has gone platinum with 300,000 sales.

In France, the Wes phenomenon went far beyond traditional world music buyers and into mainstream outlets, such as hypermarkets, as Ruby Rungen, head of the musiques du monde (world music) section at FNAC's Montparnasse store in Paris, attests. She says she was surprised by Wes' massive success, "as at the very same time there were many record releases which were potential summer hits and which enjoyed massive advertising."

Once Wes was established in France, neighboring territories, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland, fell like dominoes to the single, which again helped promote sales of the album. The single is slowly working its way southeast in Europe, with a current No. 1 in Austria.

Columbia France managing director Olivier Montfort comments, "First you need a success in your own country, and then you look at the territories that are most likely to be interested. In our case, it was Belgium, which opened the doors to Holland and then Germany." A performance on German TV show "Wetten Dass" was instrumental in breaking the artist in Germany. The video was also extensively played on music TV stations across Europe.

The song first started to cross over into neighboring regions of Belgium and Germany before vacationers returning from France made it a hit in the Netherlands.

Fritz Lauterbach, music editor at regional German top 40 station Radio SalY in SaarbrYcken, is serviced directly by French record companies and picked up on "Alane" in February. "Our signal covers the French border region up to Metz," says Lauterbach. " 'Alane' is one of those songs that just become popular on both sides of the border."

In the Netherlands, Sky Radio music director Frans van Dun heard "Alane" while on vacation in France: "When I got back to Holland, I phoned Sony and told them they have a hit on their hands."

Richard Ogden, senior VP for Sony Music Europe, says, "We did this with old-fashioned methods. We had a great video which appeals to kids as well as adults, and also we had an artist who was prepared to promote everywhere."

Wes, who lives in France, says, "I didn't expect such a success." That a song sung in Bantu can find fans across Europe is, he says, "a symbol of a new era where music is the only remaining common language on Earth."

Sony Music Entertainment Europe president Paul Russell says, "Wes has an incredibly upbeat and happy personality." He adds that "one of the key reasons for his success is that he is not trying to be something that he isn't."

For the week ending Saturday (6), "Alane" is at No. 33 on Music & Media's Hot 100 Singles, set to surpass the previous longest-charting single, Ace Of Base's "All That She Wants (Mega)," with 55 weeks five years ago.

Sony Music is hoping that the club route will help Wes make inroads into the U.S. market, just as it did in the U.K. British sales of 100,000-plus for "Alane" were helped by the tune's popularity at clubs, aided by mixes from the likes of Todd Terry and Trouser Enthusiasts.

However, during this summer's World Cup, the artist will be in demand in Europe, where Wes' home team, Cameroon, has qualified for the World Cup in France. The second single, "Midiwa Bol," recorded for "Allez! Ola! Ole!," has been added to new pressings of the European version of "Welenga" and is on the U.S. version. Scandinavia, Italy, and Spain are potential candidates for using this single to break the album. Says Ogden, "We want him in Europe for the World Cup." As a result, intensive promotion of "Welenga" in the U.S. will come later this year.

In the U.S., "Midiwa Bol" will also be released as a single, but Sony is pinning its hopes on a third single, "We Don't Need No War," a duet with U.S. singer Laurnea that is due for a fall release.

PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Sony Wes

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BY DOMINIC PRIDE and EMMANUEL LeGRAND

Assistance in preparing this story was provided by Christian Lorenz, talent and music business editor for Music & Media, and Cecile Tesseyre in Paris.