Indochine bandIndochine is a French rock band. It was formed in 1981. Indochine was created in May 1981 by two young men in their early twenties, Nicola Sirkis and Dominique Nicolas. It only took them a few months to write their first songs. They soon took on Dimitri Bodianski, the cousin of one of Nicola’s friends. They gave their first concert at "Le Rose bonbon", a café in Paris on 29 September 1981. This brief performance on stage earned them their first contract with a record company. They recorded their first single in November 1981. It included 2 songs, Dizzidence Politik and Françoise, but drew more attention from critics than from the media and only reached a limited audience. Stéphane Sirkis, Nicola Sirkis’s twin brother who had already performed with the band on stage officially joined the band and, in April 1982, the quartet supported another band, Taxi Girl, on stage. The Indochine following increased after each of their turns on stage, to the extent that Taxi Girl’s manager decided to remove them from the Paris tour. The group then recorded their first album: L'aventurier, which sold more than 250 000 copies. The album was well received by the press and by a young new wave audience. In 1983, Indochine released a second album entitled Le péril jaune which sold 225 000 copies. Indochine had now become one of the big players. In 1984, Indochine toured all over France. They were also successful in Scandinavia. By 1985, they had conquered an audience which encompassed all generations with such songs as 3e sexe, Canary Bay, or 3 nuits par semaine all of which caused a sensation. Their third album, 3, sold 750 000 copies in Europe. Serge Gainsbourg directed the video to Tes yeux noirs, one of the group’s most successful songs. In 1986, to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the band, Indochine decided to release the recording of the concert given at the Zénith in Paris. Indochine’s growing success was indeed due in large part to their ability to give a good performance and connect with their audience on stage. Their fourth album, 7 000 Danses was released in 1987. It sold about 320 000 copies making it a successful album though one not as successful as 3. This may have appeared to some as some sort of setback but it seems that there was a deliberate effort on the band’s part to produce a less commercial album. The album was also released amidst a polemic stemming from rock critics claiming that Indochine was but a mere copy of British band The Cure. In spite of the polemic, the public continued to support the group. In March 1988, Indochine started their world tour. They gave four concerts at the Zénith in Paris and also performed in Montreal and in Peru where Indochine still have fans to this day. The story goes that Indochine sold more albums that Madonna there! Drained after many months on the road, the band then took a break. Their 5th studio album, Le Baiser was released in early 1990. Fans were shocked to discover that Dimitri Bodianski was no longer part of the group, having decided to leave the band in January 1989. His departure can be attributed to a number of reasons. First of all, Indochine’s sound had evolved over the years and Dominique found he had less and less to do as a sax player. He was also feeling pressure at home having recently become a father. All this contributed to tension between him and the rest of the band. Dominique remains a much beloved member of the original Indochine line-up and has since his departure guest starred with the band on stage, much to the fans’ delight. 1991 marked Indochine’s 10th anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, the Birthday Album was released. It includes eighteen essential titles as well as a new one, La Guerre est finie, which was released as a single. The album’s success was considerable (it sold 600 000 copies across Europe) and rekindled interest in the group. However, the single’s title proved more than unfortunate in view of the fact that the Gulf War had just started at the time – the title means "the war is over" - and it was boycotted by French radios. Un Jour Dans Notre Vie, their 6th studio album was released in 1993. Still boycotted by French radios and maligned by critics, it did not have the same success as their previous releases but the trio decided to carry on nonetheless.
Composition of the group
Other members
The current members are in bold. Discography
Biography
Videos
Nicola Sirkis’s solo album
External links
Categories: French musical groups | Rock music groups |
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