Paris on a song over Zizou head-butt

Paris: France has a case of summer blues over its World Cup soccer defeat but captain Zinedine Zidane's head-butt on Italy defender Marco Materazzi in Sunday's final is already the subject of a song that aims to be a holiday hit.

Coup de Boule, the French translation for head-butt, was written after France's defeat by the three associates of Plage Records, www.laplagerecords.com, a small label specialising in advertising music.

Zidane, widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, was sent off for head-butting Materazzi after exchanging comments with the Italian defender. Italy won the final after a penalty shoot-out.

The label's founders, brothers Emmanuel and Sebastien Lipszyc, and composer Franck Lascombes penned the Caribbean zouk-influenced song and its chorus Zidane, il a tape ("Zidane, the hit man"), as a

cure to their post-defeat disappointment.

"What really amazed me is that France had been so shocked by the Zizou event, and especially, that it had been such a drama. We thought that it wasn't that dramatic, on the contrary, it's a rather great exit. So we needed to put the event back in its context, it's not that serious, it's not that serious," Lascombes explained.

But what started as a therapy and a prank to cheer up their friends could turn into a lucrative business.

Initially e-mailed to some 50 contacts, the song has been posted on the Web, with French radio SkyRock putting it on its play-list and record labels and ringtone sellers fighting for its rights.

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Big labels could fork out as much as 100,000 euros for the rights, some industry sources estimate.

"The case, what we saw, is unprecedented, the way the song spread so fast, and that it was immediately picked up by the media, in just four hours, that's... that's unbelievable," Lascombes added.

The three are talking to big labels and were expected to sign a deal by Thursday evening (July 13). They planned to film a video on Saturday (July 15). And they don't rule out an Italian version.

"It would be cool to do an Italian version, we will see. We have been asked to do so many versions over the last two days, an English version, an Italian or a Spanish one. I don't know, it seems so absurd for us, so...But why not?" Lascombes wondered.

Lascombes, who gives an African accent to the lyrics, said he was influenced by zouk because of its Gabonese origins.

A poll published this week showed 61 percent of French people have forgiven Zidane for the outburst that earned him a red card. Zidane's

sponsors have pledged to stick with him.

And no doubt, France will hear much more about the infamous head-butt.

"Zidane did kick, Zidane did hit, head-butt, head-butt... Careful, this is the head-butt dance, head-butt to the right, head-butt to the left, head-butt, head-butt," may just become a summer hit.