Allez Allez was a successful but short lived Belgian
funk band founded in 1981 and disbanded in 1985. They subsequently reformed with a line-up change for several concerts in 2017.
History
On the verge of an international breakthrough in 1981, funky Belgian new wave band Marine lost their singer Marc Marine while in London to record a
Peel session
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
. Quickly replaced by
Sarah Osborne
Sarah Osborne (also variously spelled Osbourne, Osburne, or Osborn; née Warren, formerly Prince, (c. 1643 – May 10, 1692) was a colonist in the Massachusetts Bay colony and one of the first women to be accused of witchcraft in the Salem wi ...
of Repetition, they recorded the planned Peel session and changed their name to Allez Allez.
The group had local hits with "She's Stirring Up", "Allez Allez" and "African Queen", the latter a tribute to
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...
. Their mini-album "African Queen" achieved gold status and earned them an appearance at the
Torhout-Werchter festival in 1982.
The band then signed with major label Virgin and released the polished pop album "Promises" in November 1982, though Osborne subsequently left the group and married
Glenn Gregory
Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...
of
Heaven 17
Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), ...
. American singer Jackie Irwin replaced Osborne, but mainstream success still eluded the band.
Under the name
Marka
Marka may refer to:
Places
* Marka (river), Lower Saxony, Germany
* Marka, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province
* Marka, Malawi a town in Nsanje District
* Marka district, Jordan
* Marka refugee camp, a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan
* ...
their bass player later became a well-known singer in French music circles. He is also the father of the acclaimed singers
Angèle
Angèle is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Angèle (singer) (born Angèle Van Laeken, 1995), Belgian singer
* Angèle Dola Akofa Aguigah (born 1955), Togolese archaeologist
* Angèle Arsenault (1943–2014), Canadian-Acadi ...
and
Roméo Elvis
Roméo Johnny Elvis Kiki Van Laeken (; born 13 December 1992), better known by his stage name Roméo Elvis (), is a Belgian rapper and hip hop artist.
His career began with the release of two EPs in 2013 and 2014, titled ''Bruxelles c'est deve ...
. Christian Debusscher and Nico Fransolet became some of the members of ''
Les Snuls'', and both have subsequently worked as directors.
Members of the band decided to reunite to do some gigs in 2017, including their first appearance at the ''
Les Francofolies de Spa
''Les Francofolies de Spa'' is an annual music festival in Spa, Belgium.
It is usually held in the month of July of every year and aims at promoting francophone music. Those attending the festival in 2008 exceeded 200,000.
Best young artists
* ...
'' festival in July. This was followed by several other dates. As two key members - Fransolet and Osborne - declined to be involved, the group chose to work with two female singers: Kyoko Bartsoen (who had sung with
Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic is a Belgian band that formed in October 1995. Though originally categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a singular genre, but rather encompass altern ...
) and Marie. Paul Curtiz also joined them on guitar.
At the same time, bassist Marka wrote a book of memoirs about his time in the band, "Allez Allez", published by Lamiroy.
Allez Allez, Lamiroy
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Discography
Albums
* ''African Queen'' (1981 - EMI/Scalp)
* ''Promises'' (1982 - Virgin)
* ''African Queen + Promises'' (1997 - Virgin CD)
* ''Best of Allez Allez'' (2008 - Eskimo CD)
* ''Promises + African Queen'' (2013 - Les Disques du Crepuscule CD)
Singles
* She's Stirring Up (1981, Scalp)
* Allez Allez/African Queen (1981, Scalp)
* Valley of the Kings/Wrap Your Legs (1982, Virgin)
* Flesh and Blood/The Time You Cost Me (1982, Virgin)
* Don't Bother Me/Strange People (1984, Vogue)
* Boom Boom/The Brain (1984, Sounds of the Future)
References
Belgian pop music groups
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