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During the Worcester shows of the Re-Invention Tour, a change has been introduced in the live version of Madonna's Don't Tell Me.
Instantly labeled by her fans as the "Bittersweet Simphony" version, the song uses some Music that brings with her an entire part of the British music history. MadonnaTribe's columnist DiscoHub tells you all about it.

"Out Of Our Heads" is a must-have for every Rolling Stones fans. Released in 1965, this album features one the band’s most exciting tunes, "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction".

An enormous hit that has lived through four decades and still makes people dance all around the globe.

Back in 1965, three songs from this LP became singles, among which "The Last Time".

It was the first single penned by the band’s leading pair, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.

In the lyrics, the singer is warning his girlfriend : for "the last time", if she isn’t nice to him, he’ll leave her?
"Last time baby / I don't know / Well, I don't know?"», Mick ends singing.

But it was not the last time this melody was recorded.

The Rolling Stones included it in many compilations, played it on stage and "The Last Time" can also be heard performed live on "Got LIVE if You Want It !" (1966) and "No Security" (1988).

Being one of the band’s hit in the sixties, it was then taken up on an offbeat project.

Andrew Oldham, the young co-manager of The Rolling Stones, hired an orchestra to record instrumental versions of their hits.

As the leader of the orchestra bearing his own name, he picked up David Whitaker, one of Britain’s most interesting arrangers of the moment.

This concept album pays homage to Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, re-interpretating the fine pop melodies with emphatic strings, and has this era’s typical touch that would be called today "intrumental lounge", "easy listening" or "cocktail music".

These orchestral recordings were soon forgotten until 1997, when the new sensation "The Verve" released "Bittersweet Symphony" as the first single from their "Urban Hymns" album.
In this song, singer Richard Ashcroft complains about his difficult life, "try[ing] to make ends meet".

Ironically, one of the first lines written by Ashcroft could be read as a premonition : "You’re a slave to money".
The strenght of this tune, which became one of 1997’s biggest singles, was the strings loop introducing the chant with melancholy.

The songs credits indicated : "performed by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, lyrics by Richard Ashcroft, produced by Andrew Oldham" and mentionned Chris Potter additional production.

At that time (not so long ago), sampling rules were not as strict as today’s and The Verve’s brilliant musical idea turned out to be a trap.

Chris Potter explained on band’s official website : "That loop, just for the record, is very little. It's a basic chord progression and a couple of bongos, it's not the string riff. It's no big deal. I've seen a couple of things where they say the strings were pinched, that's bullshit.".

Authorization had been given by copyright owner Decca, but ABKCO, the Rolling Stones’ historical label, didn’t share this opinion as far as another recording was concerned.
As a story from MTV reports, this company had already taken legal actions against George Michael for quoting "You Can’t Always Get What You Want" on "Waiting For That Day" (from "Listen Without Prejudice", 1990), and Janet Jackson for singing "Hey hey hey, that’s what I say" from "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction" in "What I’ll Do" (from "Janet", 1993).

Richard Ashcroft and Hut Recodings, the band’s label, poorly defended themselves, declaring that the sample was "barely audible". The Verve had to give up 100% of the royalties on "Bittersweet Symphony".

Unfortunately, The Andrew Oldham Orchestra wasn’t as lucky as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Nobody heard of it and it is not sure that it received any further compensation for the unauthorized sample.

Only in 2002, French label Tricatel released "The David Whitaker Songbook" which featured "The Last Time" in its instrumental version. In the booklet, Andrew Loog Oldham writes : "Some of the music we have created stuck beyond the first glitter when, in 1997, on of our 60’s recordings, "The Last Time" by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, became the foundation of the international hit, "Bittersweet Symphony", by the British group Verve".

In 2004, some of the Andew Oldham Orchestra works have been re-issued in "The Rolling Stones Songbook" (Decca).

So, barely audible? Have the "Re-Invention Tour" crowds "barely" recognized the Verve’s hit in Madonna’s Show?

Fans first claimed online that Madonna’s band was sampling "Bittersweet Symphony" on her last tour, including the famous strings loop at the end of the first verse.
In fact, it is pretty sure that the loop is played live by Stuart Price’s synths. In strict terms, this melodic quotation cannot be called a "sample" as it is actually performed.

And, of course, with the "London" backdrop displayed on stage, it can be read as a reference to Verve’s hit, in order to raise new interest in the live rendition of the song, and a reference to the Rolling Stones, one of Britain’s biggest pop acts.

A way for Madonna to assert her bonds to this country, its history and undeniable musical influence over the years.
And her "Please don’t tell me to stop" would answer to Mick’s "Well, this could be the last time".

Morevoer, another clue about this "bittersweet" interlude: "Don’t Tell Me", second single from "Music ", was originally written by Madonna, Mirwais and Joe Henry.

Insistent strings layers were arranged by another famed musician, the late Michel Colombier.

With David Whitaker, he had a lot in common : they started their carriers in the sixties, arranging pop songs and composing scores, have worked with Serge Gaisnbourg, and have given huge inspiration in many musical directions.
And they have come to a duel when "Don’t Tell Me" featured the strings written by the Englishman in the place of Michel Colombier’s arrangements.

This special variation was first performed in Atlanta and raised huge reactions from the audience. Later, during the tour, the Re-Invention band would either play this version or the first collage : "musette" style, inspired from a French old-fashioned popular genre based on accordions.

Paris Bercy, September 2nd.

The crowd was impatient.
Despite my experience of this place with Lenny Kravitz, Massive Attack, Bjork, even Madonna’s Drowned World Tour, I had never seen this (ugly) arena so hot.

The show began in a amazing human roar. Madonna never had to call out for us to stand up.

When the image of a kitsch Eiffel Tower was displayed on the screen, Parisians went incredibly partying and singing.
No one could even hear the notes for "Don’t Tell Me" guitar introduction.

Madonna started the first words, and the whole crowd perfectly finished the verse.
She couldn’t believe it, made a step backwards and looked at her band, with her eyes saying "How come these French people know the song better than me?", and then the accordions ball opened.

No "Bittersweet Symphony" that night, she had won the game and didn’t tell us to stop.