FOG#2 : Les CalamitésNew Frenchies Oldies but Goodies installment, spurred by a recent post on Skatterbrain...
Early 80es, three chicks from Beaune (a small town in Burgundy), Caroline Augier, Isabelle Petit and Odile Repolt decide to keep boredom at bay and to form a rock band. Les Calamités (the Calamities) are born. After placing a song on a compilation, the girls release a first 9-tracks album in 1984, "A bride abattue", which could be translated as either "Riding like the wind" or "All straps down". Distributed on New Rose in France, the album was released in the US on Posh Boy. About half the songs are covers (The Who, The Troggs, The Dovells, The Isley Brothers), but the original songs in French are cute and refreshing, which prompted many TV shows to invite them. A single was excerpted from the album, "Toutes les Nuits" ("Every Night"), about the predicament of having a sleepwalker for boyfriend. A second 4-track will be released in the same year.
College brought their career to an halt, with Caroline relocating to London (UK), until Isabelle and Odile reformed in 1987 for a last 45, "Les Vélomoteurs" (the Mopeds). More produced than their earlier songs, with a sleeve photographed by the at that time omnipresent Pierre et Gilles, the single will be a huge hit, topping in 13th place. The last one: cooled off by six months of relentless promotion, Odile and Isabelle throw the towel early 1988. A compilation, "C'est complet" will eventually be released in 1997. Rideau.
More info about the Calamités here.
An extract of the clip for "Les Vélomoteurs":
The clip of "Toutes les Nuits":
MP3:
Toutes les Nuits (my boyfriend is a sleepwalker)
Vélomoteurs (screw your car, I prefer mopeds that go papapapa)
Le Supermarché (no malls in France, so kids hang around supermarkets...)
[Edit 02/18: moved files to fileden]
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