Telephone (group)

See also: Telephone (homonymy)

Téléphone was a group of Rock French founded the November 12th 1976 and which separated the April 21st 1986. It was one of the rare groups French to practice a Rock pure and hard.

Members of the group

Biography

Beginnings

The history of Telephone begins the November 12th 1976 in the American Center of Paris, Boulevard Raspail. This evening must take place a concert of the young people Jean-Louis Aubert and Richard Kolinka, two musicians who already belonged to some groups, of which Masturbation and Sémolina (with which they managed to leave single an individual face has " Plastic rocker" , face B " And I go there déjà" ). They prepared the concert with a very youthful heat: pose of posters, free concert and impromptu at the exit of the college… Only problem: they do not have anybody to accompany them. They thus make the turn of the friends, and in extremis manage to find two musicians qualified and free: Louis Bertignac and Corine Marienneau, both old of the group Shakin' Street.

Future the Telephone are thus already complete, even if they are still called “! ”. In front of a public of 500 people, they play some compositions of Aubert (whose Hygiaphone and Métro, it is too! ) and of the resumptions of English rock'n'roll (The Who, The Rolling Stones…), and a success out of the commun run for an unknown small group gains. Artistically, the experiment appears outstanding: the four musicians will state later to have felt at the time of this first concert an alchemy as mysterious as exciting, which pushes them to remain together. With the assistance of a buddy of Aubert, François Ravard, who acts as managing, they thus leave upon research engagements, playing in MJC, the dances, and soon the theaters under the name of “Telephone”, to make the promotion of a group called “! ” being revealed a at the very least difficult task.

In this end of the Years 1970, the French rock'n'roll almost does not exist in France. What approached some the most is the movement “Yéyé” (Johnny Hallyday, Dick Rivers…), flirtant with the variety and still far away from the pure and hard rock'n'roll of Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin. The young people Telephones, with their sound without concession inspired of the English groups, thus create sensation everywhere where they pass. They are not long in playing Gibus, prestigious Parisian club, then become accustomed ends of evening to the studios of Radio France with Jean-Louis Foulquier.

The following months, the rise of the group is striking down:

The March 26th 1977, on the initiative of the RATP, the group gives a free concert to the République subway. In results an enormous congestion and blocking from the line.

The May 2nd, they ensure the first part of Eddie & the Hot Rods the house of Paris, their wheel the high-speed motorboat.

The June 7th, benefitting from the defection of Bleached, they plays Olympia in first part of the English group Television. The concert gains a very great success, and enthusiastic criticisms in the newspapers. As of the following day, the group records its first 45 turns in public with the Bus Palladium. The 45 turns, own-produced with 2000 specimens and sold 5 francs at the exit in the concerts by the group, then republished by the label Tapioca , includes/understands Hygiaphone and Métro (it is too) . The disc, however left without any other promotion which the concerts of the group, gains a very encouraging success.

One month later, following a article published in the magazine “Rock'n'roll & Folk”, Téléphone is approached by the Pathé-Marconi recording company. The August 25th 1977, less than one year after its formation, the group is already signed.

The titles were signed Téléphone/Aubertignac (formed name bag of the two names: Jean-Louis Aubert and Louis Bertignac).

Anna , the 1e album

In the tread of this signature, Téléphone fate, the 25 November 1977, an album éponyme, always without another promotion that their concerts. Recorded in 17 days with the Eden Studio of London and produced by Mike Thorme, the disc is sold with more than 30.000 specimens in a few months. In February 1978, it is n°1 sales in France. The following year, supported by the recording company which decides to ensure to him a promotion worthy of this name, this first disc will be gold disc.

The group, as for him, share for its first French round. The services are often explosive, and sometimes not only on scene: the 16 December, a free concert with the House of Paris degenerates, and two subway trains are destroyed by 6000 over-excited fans. Telephone becomes the French musical phenomenon of the moment, the group which incarnates with him only the Rock-and-roll in France. It turns even in England, gaining a certain success.

Spits Your Venom

A new album entitled Crache your venom leaves the 2 April 1979. Recorded in only 15 days with the Studios Redbus of London and produced by Morning Rushent, it is the album of the dedication: it is platinum disc, with more than 400.000 sold specimens. The individual emblématique one of the album, the human Bomb is immediately n°1, and remains classified in the Hit-parade of the time during 53 weeks of at a stretch.

This second album is more a collective work: Jean-Louis Aubert is always the singer of the group, but the other musicians start to also compose and sing. Success did not start anything of the sound of Telephone, always resolutely rock'n'roll, nor of the attitude of the musicians or the words of the songs, however criticized by some, which consider them too simplistic. The rétorque group that the rock'n'roll is a music teenager which does not have to be too intellectualized…

The group also supports its popularity on the concerts, very many and more energetic than those of any other French group of the moment: during only the Spring 1979, they realize more than 60 dates. One among it is filmed by Jean-Marie Périer for documentary the Public Phone , which leaves in rooms the 13 June 1980.

In September 1979, Téléphone plays in front of 100.000 spectators with the Fête of Humanity. The taste of the provocation of the group does not like everyone: arriving in a limousine at the tinted panes, the four musicians are taken with part because of the masks of Chirac, Giscard, Mitterrand and Marchais that they raise.

In the middle of the Night

Recorded during the be 1980 with the Pathé studio in Paris and the Electric Ladyland of New York, In the middle of the night , the third album of Telephone, leaves the October 20th 1980. In December, it is already double Disque of gold!

After a short passage in Italy, the group starts beginning 1981 a large French round: 3000 people per evening on average and an impressive quantity of material.

In May 1981, François Mitterrand becomes the first president of left of the Ve République. Telephone, which made mystery of its political tendencies forever, takes part in the gigantic concert organized the June 10th, Place of the Republic to celebrate the victory. The song Made Various , interpreted on line, holds place of credits with the Tv news of the night on Antenne 2.

In July, Téléphone turns in Germany and England to the sides of Iggy Pop.

Lasts Limit

In March 1982, Téléphone leaves to Toronto to record its fourth album, Dure limit , produced by Bob Ezrin, which previously occupied artists like Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Pink Floyd or Peter Gabriel. The 33 turns leaves in the vats on June 3rd, 1982. After three discs at Pathé-Marconi, the group signed fine 1981 at Virgin, in exchange of an advance of 5 franc million. The owner of Virgin, Richard Branson, for making them a group of international dimension. Indeed, in spite of some rounds abroad, Téléphone remains on the whole a purely Franco-French phenomenon.

Strongly supported by their label, which makes inter alia carrying out by the scenario writer Punk Julien Temple a video for That (it is really you) , with doubles of personalities such as Margaret Thatcher or Sid Vicious, the disc is the greatest success of the history of the group; in February 1983, it was already sold with 500.000 specimens.

However at that time, competition starts to exist in France: new French rock groups, such as Trust or Indo-China, go on the plat bands of Telephone. The referendum 1981 of the musical magazine Best place even Trust in first position in front of Telephone. It is also the fashion New wave of the boxes at rate/rhythm and the Synthétiseur S, which the group resists by preserving a sound very rock'n'roll, even if some consider the last album too produced.

The 14 June 1982, the members of Telephone carries out a dream by making the first part of the Rolling Stones in front of 80.000 spectators with the hippodrome of Auteuil. But the trac and of the engineering problems waste the festival somewhat. The French round, started at the beginning of October, does not occur either ideally: October 15th, Bertignac breaks the Clavicule while falling on scene. The group finishes the concert with three, but the remainder of the round must be deferred.

Under the impulse of Branson, the group makes a series of step towards the foreign public. The version " export" album six titles of which five in English language of Lasts Limit is carried out for the Anglo-Saxon market. the English texts were to be signed by Lou Reed, but Aubert, hardly satisfied with the result, sticks to it finally itself, and in 1983, the group leaves for an international round: Germany, Italy, Greece, Tahiti, Noumea and especially the the United States. Alas, the success of the round is very relative: only two spectators attend the concert of Chicago.

Another World

In 1984, Téléphone is a tired group. The commercial pressure, the ceaseless rounds and the recent failures, in particular with the the United States, start to start environment within the group. This tiredness finds in the sound of Another World , their new album, recorded in the middle of the English countryside, in the studio of Glyn Johns which worked with several of the idols of the group: Rolling Stones, Who, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton…. The disc is by far their more melancholic person. It marks also the arrival of a more modern sound and less rock'n'roll, with Synthétiseur S. What by no means prevents it from being a success, and to be sold quickly with more than 600.000 specimens! , in particular thanks to the song which gives its title to the 33 turns and which becomes a at the end of tube 84 at the beginning of 85 by reaching the n°5 with the Top 50; the individual one remains classified there 25 weeks of at a stretch, and the Clip of the song realized by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, then in full rise, is undoubtedly not completely foreign with this success.

In May, Téléphone starts what will be its last world tour: the concerts are connected with the Japan, in Belgium, Holland, England, with the Denmark, and of course in France, where the group fills the Zenith of Paris five evenings of at a stretch. But the musicians, who are attended less and less apart from the scene, have evil to take pleasure with this round.

End of the group

Beginning 1985, the group enters in studio to produce a new album. But the tension was accentuated between the musicians, and only individual the the day rose leaves to make have patience the fans. It will be their last success; n°4 with Signal 50, classified 19 weeks at the end of 85, at the beginning of 86.

For a few months already, the members of the group have moved away from Telephone, collaborating more and more in external projects: Corine Marienneau and Louis Bertignac takes part in the original soundtrack of the film Subway , and Corine makes an appearance at the sides of Gerard Lanvin in the film Me want to you Patrick Dewolf.

The March 24th 1986, the manager of Telephone announces that the musicians will take one sabbatical year to conclude their personal projects. Precise Virgin: “To in no case this 12 months leave does not mean the separation of the group” .

However, less than one month later, the April 21st, Corine, Jean-Louis, Louis and Richard announce their separation. A disc live posthumous, recorded to the Zenith, leaves a few months later, and the members of the group concentrate, each one on their side, on their careers solo.

Although it is able at the group to be reconstituted for a session between friends, of the tensions, that Louis Bertignac qualifies “almost unexplainable” , remain between Jean-Louis Aubert and Corine Marienneau. However, the group was already reformed at the time of a concert of Louis Bertignac with the Bataclan in 1994 and, recently, Louis and Jean-Louis found themselves more and more regularly, as with the Olympia in 2005 when Jean-Louis is assembled to play a few pieces with Louis, or with the Telethon of this same year. The December 2nd 2006, Jean-Louis Aubert, Louis Bertignac and Richard Kolinka find on the plate of Taratata on France 2 for a particularly endiablée version of That (it is really you) , in which the pleasure taken by the three musicians is manifest, making once more to fantasmer the fans on a possible reformation of the group.

Discography

Albums studio

Albums live

Boxes

The Integral Albums (1993)

This box in 7 CD begins again:

Congas (2 ' 00) (Telephone)
  • Spits your venom (4 ' 30) (Aubert)
  • 2000 Nights (2 ' 40) (Bertignac/Téléphone)
  • I will miss You (6 ' 59) (Aubertignac)
  • Voodoo (5 ' 30) (Aubert)

    Special box 20th Birthday (1996)

    This box, him also in 7 CD, takes again the albums studio and live Integral.

    Last CD, entitled Inédits birthday wants to be a collector . It comprises 8 rare versions and 2 new titles:

    1. Take what you want live - live the 2/18/81
    2. Fleur of my city - the 2/17/81
    3. a Little your love - live the 2/16/81
    4. All that it is cinema
    5. In Paris
    6. At the end of the roller - acoustic version
    7. At the end of the roller - electric version
    8. I burn - sung by Corine
    9. the day rose
    10. Quelqu'un will come

    He is accompanied by a booklet of 64 pages and a poster of the group.

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