History
In 1975, students leaving the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Lyon formed a band, Femme Fatale, playing songs by the Velvet Underground, Roxy Music, The Seeds and others. The band members were Marie Girard (1956 - 6 August 1996) (vocals), Patrick Vidal (b. 1957) [1] (bass, vocals), Erik Fitoussi (guitar), Christian Faye (guitar) and Philippe Girard (drums). After a few months, Philippe Girard left, and was replaced on drums by his sister Marie. Vidal took over as lead singer, Jean-Marc Vallod (bass) joined the band, and, on the advice of Marc Zermati of Skydog Records, they changed their name to Marie et les Garçons. Faye left soon afterwards. [2]
Roxy Music were an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry, who became the band's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. Alongside Ferry, the other longtime members were Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson. Other members included Brian Eno, Eddie Jobson, and John Gustafson (bass). Although the band took a break from group activities in 1976 and again in 1983, they reunited for a concert tour in 2001, and toured together intermittently between that time and their break-up in 2011. Ferry frequently enlisted members of Roxy Music as session musicians for his solo releases.
The Seeds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group became known for psychedelic rock music and is considered a prototype for garage punk rock bands.
In June 1977, the band performed at the Mont de Marsan Festival at Zermati's invitation. Their demo records were heard by Michel Esteban, founder of the leading Paris rock merchandise shop Harry Cover, who soon signed them to his new label Rebel Records. Vallod then left the band, being replaced by bassist Jean-Pierre Charriau. The band's first single, "Rien à dire", produced by Esteban and, like most of their material, written by Vidal and Fitoussi, was released in December 1977. Esteban played demos of the band to John Cale, who offered to produce the band in New York City. In March 1978, they recorded another single, "Attitudes" / "Re-Bop", in New York; Cale played piano and marimba on the record. The record was released on Esteban's Rebel label in France, and then on Cale's SPY label in the US. The band also played at CBGB, supporting X-Ray Spex, before returning to Paris where they supported Patti Smith and, later in the year, Talking Heads. Later in 1978, "Re-Bop", coupled with the band's version of the Village People's "Macho Man", was issued as a single on ZE Records, the new label formed in New York by Esteban with Michael Zilkha. [2] [3] [4]
A demo is a song or group of songs recorded for limited circulation or reference use rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed format, such as cassette tape, compact disc, or digital audio files, and to thereby pass along those ideas to record labels, record producers, or to other artists.
Michel Antoine Gaston Esteban is a French record producer, record company executive, cultural center director and former magazine editor, who founded the Paris shop Harry Cover in 1973, was influential in the early development of punk rock, and, together with Michael Zilkha, established the New York-based record label ZE Records in 1978.
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his five-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, drone, classical, avant-garde and electronic music.
The band were on hold for several months while Fitoussi and Charriau undertook national service, and on their return Esteban and Vidal sought to lead their music more towards the mutant disco style of other ZE artists. While recording their first album in New York, Marie Girard left the group and returned to France, and the band became "Garçons". Their album, Divorce, was released in March 1979, together with a single "French Boy", but neither were commercially successful; a re-recorded version of "Re-Bop" was also released. The band toured in 1979, with an augmented line-up including Jimmy Young (drums), Eric Melon (guitar), Allen Wentz (keyboards), Milton Cardona (percussion), three horn players and two singers, as well as Vidal, Fitoussi and Charriau. Fitoussi also played on the debut album by Lizzy Mercier Descloux. Vidal then left the band, and Fitoussi, Charriau and Melon, plus Chris Levrat (keyboards), undertook a final short tour in Europe in early 1980. [2] [4]
National service is a system of either compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term national service comes from the United Kingdom's National Service Act 1939. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes. Compulsory military service typically requires all male citizens to enroll for one or two years, usually at age 18, while voluntary national service requires only three months of basic military training. The US equivalent is Selective Service. In the United States, voluntary enrollments at the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps are also known as national service.
Martine-Elisabeth "Lizzy" Mercier Descloux was a French musician, singer-songwriter, composer, actress, writer and painter.
Later careers and reunions
Marie Girard joined the band Electric Callas, and also released a solo single, "Les Indiens", in 1983. She later worked as a fashion designer. Fitoussi and Charriau formed a band, Tabou. [2]
Patrick Vidal recorded an album, Paolino Park, in 1983, with Franck Darcel and the band Octobre, and a single with Darcel, "L'Océan", in 1987, under the name Senso. [2] He then formed Discotique and Sutra with Thomas Bourdeau, before becoming resident DJ in various clubs in Paris and London. He has also composed music for fashion shows and shops. [1] [5]
Marie et les Garçons reunited in 1987 to re-record "Re-Bop", and performed on stage together in 1988 and again in 1990. A compilation album, 76-77, was issued in 1989.
Marie Girard died of an aneurysm in 1996, aged 40. [2] [3]
