Téléphone

Biography

Téléphone (French pronunciation: [telefɔn]) was a French rock band formed in 1976. Their first, self-titled album was released in 1977; by the end of the decade they were one of the biggest French rock bands in the world, opening shows for The Rolling Stones in Paris, Quebec, the United States and Japan. The band split in 1986 for personal reasons. They have sold around 10 million albums to date, a record still unbeaten for a French rock band.
Among their best-known songs are "Hygiaphone", "Métro c'est trop" ("Metro's Too Much"), "La bombe humaine" ("Human bomb"), "Argent trop cher" ("Money Too Expensive"), "Ça c'est vraiment toi" ("That Is So You"), "Cendrillon×CendrillonNovember 1982 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA1Cendrillon3:57B1Ex-Robin des Bois3:23" ("Cinderella"), "New York avec toi×New York avec toi1985 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA1New York avec toi2:23B1In Paris3:36" ("New York City With You") and "Un autre Monde×Un autre monde7 May 1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Les Dunes4:102New York avec toi2:233Loin de toi (un peu trop loin)3:02466 heures2:185Ce que je veux3:046Le Garçon d’ascenseur4:577Oublie ça4:148T’as qu’ces mots2:519Le Taxi las3:5510Electric cité4:0711Un autre monde4:31" ("Another World").

Members

Jean-Louis Aubert - guitar, piano, vocals
Louis Bertignac - guitar, vocals
Richard Kolinka - drums
Corine Marienneau - bass, piano, vocals

Reformation as "Les Insus" (2015-2017)

The band reunited briefly for a concert at the Point Éphémère on 11 September 2015 under the name "Les Insus" (pronounced [lezɛ̃sy]; insupportables, meaning insufferable. The elided name also suggests the word portable, meaning "cellphone" in French, thus implying an upgrade to modern times). Les Insus was composed of Aubert, Bertignac and Kolinka but with the bassist Corine Marienneau replaced on the bass guitar by Aleksander Angelov (hence the reason they were not able to use the name "Téléphone"). Another concert was held in Lille on 15 September. Les Insus also gave a concert in Lyon, at Le Transbordeur, on 6 October 2015. On 29 November 2015 the new group announced a real tour in France (in which Corine Marienneau would not participate) for 2016. The tour was scheduled from 27 April to 11 November in several major cities and several festivals. On 12 November, they announced a tour of the festivals in summer 2017 and a final gig at the Stade de France on 15 September. The live album Les Insus Live was released on 8 September.

Studio albums

Téléphone (1977) - peaked in FRA at #2
Crache Ton Venin (1979) - peaked in FRA at #2
Au Cœur de la Nuit (1980) - peaked in FA at #3
Dure Limite (1982) - peaked in FRA at #1
Un autre monde (1984), featuring John Entwistle of The Who - peaked in FRA at #2

Live albums

Les Insus
2017: Les Insus - Hygiaphone (Live 2017)

Singles

2012: "Ça (C'est vraiment toi)" (re-release) - peaked in FRA at #133