Les Forbans is a French group formed in 1978 in Ivry-Sur-Seine by Albert Kassabi and Michel Papain. Who will be joined by Patrick Papain, Jean-Louis Bergerin, Dominique Lupo and Christophe Camilotte.
They will have to wait 3 years and the year 1981 before seeing the release of their first single "Le rock des copains", a single that goes completely under the radar. Single from their first album which bears the same name and which was released the same year. An album which, too, will go unnoticed.
This is not the case for the next album titled "Chante". Album released a year later in 1982 and from which the single of the same name will be extracted. The track, in truth a cover of Ernie Maresca's 1962 track “Shout shout”, hit the mark, sold over 1.8 million copies and propelled the group to the front scene.
In the process, “Lève ton fut de là” came out, again a cover of a title this time by Danny and the Juniors dating from 1958. The single did not have the same level of success as its predecessor but enjoyed a good esteem success.
New album "Flip-Flap" in 1984, album which allows the group to confirm its status of sure value of the moment with titles like "Flip-Flap" and "Tape des mains".
Unfortunately, the end of the decade will be more complicated to manage than expected and the albums "Fête la fête" in 1986 and "De toi à moi" in 1990 will not experience the success of the previous opus. Ditto for everything that will come out during the 1990s ...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Le rock des copains 1981
Hot dog 1981
La fille du flipper 1982
Chante 1982
Lève ton fut de la 1983
Flip Flap 1984
Tape des mains 1984
Diana 1984
Banana’s boulevard 1985
C’est la fête 1986
Valérie 1987
La bamba 1990
Sale caractère 1990
T'as tout compris 1990
Miss madame tout le monde 1991
Solitude city 1992
Hey mambo 1994
Clips :
1978 ... the beginnings to say the least confidential. It's nice but they still have work to do before they can play in the big leagues ...
1981 ... a linear evolution which sees the group slowly but surely growing in strength. Not much is missing ...
1981 ... the style is refined and the melody is slightly more inspired. The group is on the right track, it's obvious
1982 ... despite a totally atypical style for the time, the group delivers tracks that fly at the speed of light. Crazy bet ? Not so sure ...
1982 ... then comes THIS title, a luxury cover of the title 'Shout ! Shout ! (Knock yourself out)' by Ernie Maresca dating from 1962. A cover so well done that it makes them fit One Shot into the musical legend of the 80s on the French side and literally explodes their notoriety at the same time. A very simple title but with formidable efficiency. HU-GE !
1983 ... luxury covers are doing them pretty well, to say the least. This time, it's the title dating from 1958 of Danny and the Juniors, 'At the hop' which they bring up to date. New cover paying off because new notorious success !
1984 ... the group has really found the style that goes well and has success after success. At the time of excessive electronic sounds, the group plays it vintage with an aplomb to say the least incredible and it works like hell !
1984 ... a dynamic which does not weaken an Iota and which makes them one of the biggest phenomena of the moment. That was also the magic of the 80s, a mixture of styles and the most diverse and varied sounds
1984 ... the Intimist page of the group. They deliver here an Ultimate Slow which will not remain as the most extraordinary of the decade but which obviously holds the road
1985 ... after 3 years spent in the big leagues, the group unfortunately does not see coming the major changes in the musical trend of the mid-1980s. A failure that they will pay at a high price ...
1986 ... violent deceleration which will be accentuated title after title, year after year. It must be said that with such an atypical style, it was obvious that the group was not going to last for decades ...
1987 ... a revisited version for the less punchy of Solomon Burke's title dating from 1964. But it is above all the version of the Blues Brothers dating from 1980 which will undoubtedly remain as the most famous ...
1990 ... the group will totally lose its footing at the end of the 80's. They try the crazy bet to move on to the following decade but it is already too late unfortunately ...
1990 ... but they still believe in it and do not demerit, far from it. The proof with this title which proves that they are not quite finished
1990 ... well, the problem is that they still haven't realized that Rock à Billy no longer had its place in this decade of the 90s where pure and hard Dance reigns overwhelmingly over everyone the Dancefloor ...
1991 ... and it is unfortunately not this title which will put them afloat. It's nice once again, but the competition is light years ahead. Everything is played now, game over as they say ...
1992 ... come on, it's not quite over. But it is clear that the group does more some figuration than anything else. But who would blame them to still believe it ...
1994 ... what will have characterized their entire career is this ultra punchy side. Trademark they will have kept until the end ...
Wiki :
Official Website :
https://lesforbans.com/ Greatest Hits :
Discography :