It is June 2022 and its winter here in Australia, summer in Europe and it seems like going home will be less than time than I have been away. I think thats cause for a celebration. We kick off this exploration of French and Euro bangers by going deep into the collection. Some of these records were my very first experiments with crate digging French music, both here in Australia and in Montreal. I bought a lot of junk, but these survived even though they were not dance floor fillers. As time as worn on I can see much greatness in these obscure records (well some of them are obscure, and well only some are ‘great’).
Let’s kick the set off with the amazing Eddy Mitchell and his beat group, Les Chaussettes Noires and a track from 1962, followed by an early Claude Francois Beatles cover of From Me to You
Dactylo Rock – Les Chaussettes Noires
Des Bises De Moi Pour Toi – Claude Francois
Next up we have Quebecois band Les Sultans from 1966 and one of their only self-composed tracks on their debut LP, a lovely little blues jam. Followed by Sylvie Vartan from 1970 and a Japanese copy of one of her most famous singles.
Le Douzieme – Les Sultans
Irésistiblement – Sylvie Vartan
These are two tracks which have gone long unplayed in the collection, left here in boxes in Dundas, Australia for the best part of decade whilst I plied my trade in London. Both were left because I thought I would never DJ with them and I was right. What I was wrong about is how good both of these are. Christine Charbonneau is from Quebec with this elf titled LP released in 1966 and Pia Colombo is from France and this is from her 1971 LP Un Pays, a classic piece of PROPER chanson.
Le Beatnik – Christine
Vivaldi – Pia Colombo
I have rarely played Sheila on the show, as beautiful as she was her song selection was at times questionable. This is an odd little ditty, from 1965. A duet with Akim, this was a huge hit, spawning several other collaborations with Sheila and Sam Clayton. Amici Miei is an Italian track released on a Japanese compile single from 1965 with track by Bobby Solo and Wilma Goich. This track is from an American band leader who found himself living in Rome doing crooner type tracks, with this one featuring a groovy organ sound which is very, very break-friendly.
Devant Le Juke-Box – Akim and Sheila
Amici Miei – Don Powell
Two tracks now from the former Yugoslavia and we have the only single from the band CMOK, released in 1983, although it sounds like it was put out in the early seventies. Very boogie. And then we have the legendary Grupa 220 , a band first shared with us by DJ Kurac, with this single from 1971 being a prime example of their Yugo beat stylings.
Tražiosam Pravuljubav – CMOK
Prva Ljubav – Grupa 220
We have left the best to last. Here it is. Antoine. 1971. Covering Bolan. I mean, this is what we do this podcast for. What a discovery. This will be on the next Babypop set when the virus lets us tour again, touch records, kiss dancefloors and sweat like we are not worried its Omicron.
Un an Dans L’Amazonie – Antoine