Crazy Frog ringtone tops British charts, beats out actual music

Remember the good old days of five minutes ago when you could count on the singles charts being topped by (albeit, often crappy) conventional musical productions? Stop holding on to the past, yo. Otherwise top-of-the-chartsters Coldplay were given a sound 4-1 trouncing by one supremely ridiculous ringtone known as Crazy Frog Axel F, which moved in to the top slot on the British singles chart yesterday. It's the first time a lowly ringtone hath entered into battle with conventional full-length tracks and won. Please don't ask us why.

[Via Mobiletracker]

[-G- @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I live in Britain, and I hate it. OMG! How can anyone download this crap. Its only cuz the singles chart now contains downloads too.

Aaah!! The song sucks SO much!!

[Woolly Mittens @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Is this better of worse than "Schnappie"?

[semi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

i hate the frog and all its tunes but its something about this modern british culture that loves to play out the sillyness, i give it another month, then after 10 years it will come back again :D

[lyam @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I like how his genitals have been blurred out. Thank you!

[jack @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

it blows my mind how many billions of dollars are generated by ringtone sales worldwide, us human beings are really trivial pathetic creatures

[GunForHire @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This f**king thing is why I don't watch TV here any more.

You can't turn on a goddamn TV in the UK without being assaulted by this godawful piece of crap. Not only is it INCREDIBLY annoying, it's on every channel, at least once during EVERY ad break.

If anyone I knew bought this I'd disown them. The people who buy this should be rounded up and shot, for the good of the gene pool. Seriously, you have to be REALLY stupid to pay �3 for a ringtone,when you can get any ringtone off the internet for FREE, but it's even worse to go out and buy a single of this thing.

It's my dream that some day soon a mob will set Jamster's offices on fire, with the guy who invented this thing inside.

[GunForHire @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This f**king thing is why I don't watch TV here any more.

You can't turn on a goddamn TV in the UK without being assaulted by this godawful piece of crap. Not only is it INCREDIBLY annoying, it's on every channel, at least once during EVERY ad break.

If anyone I knew bought this I'd disown them. The people who buy this should be rounded up and shot, for the good of the gene pool. Seriously, you have to be REALLY stupid to pay �3 for a ringtone,when you can get any ringtone off the internet for FREE, but it's even worse to go out and buy a single of this thing.

It's my dream that some day soon a mob will set Jamster's offices on fire, with the guy who invented this thing inside.

[semi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

haha..thats how i felt as well, i wanted to shoot everyone who owned this ring tone,
but you know how the media is in britain,

#7 its not the british people, its the media, its dumbing down the whole country, get rid of ITV, channel 4 and channel 5, and also the tabloids, The sun and the Mirror

british IQ will rise by 50!!

[Buck Q. Fitch @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Beverly Hills Cop tules

[legacye @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

That stupid bleeding rubbish ringtone is played like every 10 minutes on tv here - I HATE Jamster, the M**** fu******* who came up with the Crazy frog and all its incarnations (..little birds singing AHHH)

You really would think living in Britain people would have more sense...but no!.

FYI - its the all the 8-12 year olds that actually control the charts these days anyway - theres no point to it at all.

[Joseph @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

They spent �5,000,000 promoting this crap. With single sales so low at the moment, you only need to sell a few hundred records to get into the top 40. Five mil is a very expensive way of getting to number one.

I'm off to surf the internet now, no doubt the crazy frog will be singing to me in banner ads for the next hour.

[Shaun @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

#10, I'd agree about ITV and Channel 5 (even though I don't get Channel 5 here) but Channel 4?

...

...


Oh yes, Big Brother. Sorry, you're right.

At least the BBC is free of Jamster adverts.

[Riggzy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Arrg! STOP IT!!! Nooo!


This drives me nuts... and I still think its ripped from that "Insanity Test" flash movie.

[Wo0t4g3 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

The guy who made it actually made a public apology for selling the copyright to jamster.

So fucking annoying

[acetonic @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This story is getting picked up in the media a lot. What often gets lost is that it is not the ringtone that is number 1 on the charts, it's a crappy techno song that samples the ringtone. Annoying all the same.

[Matthew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

#10 & #14...

Channel 5 I can tolerate because a) they show CSI/L&O etc and b) there's no pretense as to any degree of sophistication. They do what they do, and IMHO, it's fine.

ITV I'm never disappointed in because they've always shown mass-audience junk and I almost never watch it at all.

Channel 4, however, is such a let-down as of the past few years. They should really know better, but all we get now is awful reality TV.

I certainly agree that we could increase the nation IQ though, especially if all the reality stuff was taken off the air...

[semi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

#14

haha i was gonna put "channel 4 (big brother)" in my initial post, as my reason for getting rid of channel 4

thank god for BBC! its worth every penny of licence fee! it surprises me how much they do with just �121 per house hold!

[Fluidity @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Yes I'm so ashamed of this, its time to emigrate, I just have a bad feeling this type of thing is gonna sweep up and conquer the world. Is this the same as dance music is to my parents or rock and roll was to my parents parents? They always said that something would appear that i wouldn't 'get' and this certainly looks like it could be it. Its commercialism gone mad, so incredibly innane. I have decided to start abusing anyone I hear play the tune and boycotting channels that show the adverts. I think their should be a concerted backlash against this thing to try and stop this kind of cultural destruction. Bring back the spice girls, and least I could physically hate all of them, this sodding frog doesn't even exist apart from in the minds of some strange German company workers from ilove Gmbh. May they all suffer some horrible disease.

[it @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

arghh.. i'm ashamed to be british, i really am. please, tourists, think twice about coming here to spend your money - hooded tops, feral children roaming the streets, binge drinking, the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in europe, (i could go on) and a sodding ringtone beating coldplay to the top of the charts - this country is finished. please, go to prague instead, it's lovely at this time of year.

[amin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

LOL

come on guys chill out!

its just a one off and it aint tht bad neway! its kinda catchy!

it'll get knocked off the no1 spot next anyway!

[Hug-me @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I agree with no.7

no.7 is right

:)

[Hug-me @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

22 - its not just a ringtone - it is the principle and the sign of things to come - anyway, things have been going worse and this is a stark reminder

[JC @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

lol. you silly brits.

[damien morton @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I like it and think its funny. But then, its the first time Ive heard of it, and since I dont live in the UK, I dont have to live with it everywhere.

[CW @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

It's a remix of the Beverly HIlls Cop Theme. This is garbage.

[Michael May @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

http://www.headstaggers.com/?shoe=flash&moo=show&id=23
http://www.headstaggers.com/?shoe=flash&moo=show&id=22
^ this is what i think of ringtones like that!
arrrgh it's so annoying, but what's worse is the banner ad, it crashes firefox as well as being the most annoying creation in the history of mankind.

[Wouter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I have not yet had the distinct displeasure of hearing that song and seeing it on television. I have, however, seen the countless ads which luckily only invade cartoon channels in the Netherlands. All others are still free from this scourge. Anyway I feel sorry for the UK...

And 27: get AdBlock: free plugin which simply blocks URLs (with wildcards) when you choose to. I have never ever encountered a Jamster/Jamba (NL version) ad since. Works brilliantly.

[Peter da Silva @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

All I can say is "Bing Bing bing bing Bam bam bam!"

[Ben Haddock @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I absolutely loathe the crazy frog, jamster, all its stupid animal things, and anyone who likes them.

[Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

axel f, i just remebered, is the name of that song from beverly hills cop. I had a mod of it.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

How is this any different from Eiffel65's "Blue" from a few years ago. Seems rather similar in style and I don't remember a big stir about that. Granted I'm in the US so I guess I'm not being inundated with these ades like it sounds is occuring in the UK.

[Callum @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

these people need to die. its that simple.

btw - i'm sure weblogs inc don't get much choice in placement of advertisements, but earlier this week I started logging on to TUAW only to find this fucking ad playing (from somewhere on the screen). I just closed the window... I've done a little work in advertising and was once instructed (by a publication) to tone down an ad's graphical content as it was too loud for the page it was on... Editorial always gets one over advertising - why can't you tell these bastards where to go??

Oh, for Christs' sake - just noticed - the two Google Text ads below this are for "3 FREE Polyphonic Tones" and "Crazy Fron Ringtone" - Lets find where Jamster live and petrol-bomb the fuckers.

[Callum @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Oh - sorry to double post - but if any publicity is good publicity.. don't be fooled Jamster; we have Bluetooth! You are redundant.

As is decaf in my household. :D

[DIJ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

#33
It's a bit different to the Blue song. We didn't have it assaulting our ear-drums every advert break.

DIJ
http://www.dijster.com

[Paul Goscicki @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

If anyone looks for either the original Crazy Frog video or the new Axel F one, I have uploaded them to my site:

http://paulgoscicki.com/archives/2005/05/crazy-frog-axel-f/

[Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Be careful what you wish for, #20:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,15421191%255E2902,00.html

Spice girls Reunite is the title of that article

[crazy frog @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

ding ding

[Robert @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I live in the UK and this thing is the most annoying thing that has ever been on TV. It's not just one channel either, it's every single channel as the ads are shared.

PS: Love the podcasts, just picked up a flash stick mp3 player.

[Kim Laughton @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I used to be full of hate for crazy frog and Jamster in general. The mouse over banner ads are inexcusable. That said, it is really nice to see so many people so pissed off over it all. The advert itself admits that it's annoying. I would rather see an annoying advert with a catchy tune that doesn't take itself seriously than the usual "This toilet paper is so soft...(cuts to child squeezing roll)". Also I would rather see some random bit of inane music from the internet in the charts than a manufactured boyband. People DID like the 'bring ding ding ding" thing when it was 'underground'. It's rubbish, but if you are watching TV and listening to the kind of radio that will air it, you should accept rubbish these days.

[bhaalspawn @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

No.27 This is not a one off. You know those damn birds that are even more annoying than the frog. Expect to see them as number one in a few weeks. Then there's that dragon, oh God how I hate Jamster.

Britain used to give the world good music. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Oasis (before they went a bit shit) to name but a few and the guys over the Irish Sea came up with U2. Now all we get is manufactured boy bands and techno crap that insults our ear drums every ad break. How far we have fallen.

[obo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Yeah, see? I keep telling everyone Coldplay sucks. Beat by a fugging MIDI file!

[Spencer @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Why, god? WHY!?

[Jazzay @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

i have given up on listening to new music, its all crap, where did it all go?

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This is the most annoying advert on Australian tv in a long long time.

[Ted @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

On the picture they used for engadget they've censored the penis... in uncensored form 'it' has... yep!
Help! It's anarchy!
VERY VERY frightning! Galileo, Galileo! Easy come, easy go! Will not let you go! Let me go!

[amin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

man you guys have got to chill out!

the teletubbies and mr blobby got to number one in their day and look where they are now!

the tune only made it to number one because of the beverly hill cop music anyway - which in my opinion is one of the best theme tunes for a movie ever just after rockys eye of the tiger and the terminator theme.

and as for britain only producing techno crap recently look at the urban music scene in the UK. i dont follow it much but look at Estelle.

[amin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

man you guys have got to chill out!

the teletubbies and mr blobby got to number one in their day and look where they are now!

the tune only made it to number one because of the beverly hill cop music anyway - which in my opinion is one of the best theme tunes for a movie ever just after rockys eye of the tiger and the terminator theme.

and as for britain only producing techno crap recently look at the urban music scene in the UK. i dont follow it much but look at Estelle.

[Adam Young @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

We first saw this monstrosity in the UK on Christmas Day, when during every commerical break the ad played *twice* - since then, it's got worse - every ring-tone seller now inundates the air waves with multiple ads during every commercial break - it's akin to brainwashing.

I blame the kids - it's the spoiled brats with too much pocket money who are buying this cr*p!

[Alexi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Whoever commented about this thing being ripped off of the insanity test is absolutely right...I've heard both more than a few times & am 100% positive! How is no one complaining about copyright issues yet??
Hear for yourself:
The original: http://www.frenzy.com/~jester/racecar.html

The frog ripoff: http://www.axelfrog.com/

[rhedgehog @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

to #50

The reason there are no copyright issues is that the german guy who recorded it sold the copyright to Jamster. If anything, Jamster are more likely to sue the insanity test sites for using it!