Cocktail Chic were a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

female singing group, best known for their participation in the 1986

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. Although the Cocktail Chic name was a one-off for Eurovision, the group, consisting of sisters Dominique Poulain and Catherine Bonnevay and their cousins Francine Chanterau and Martine Latorre, had formed in the late 1960s, originally under the name of Les OP'4. They were spotted by singing star

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (c ...

, who renamed them Les Fléchettes (after Flèche, his newly formed

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

). They released several singles under their own name (including French-language versions of such as

The Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

' "

Elenore "Elenore" is a 1968 song by the Turtles, originally included on ''The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands''. Although written by Howard Kaylan, its writing was co-credited to all five members of the band: Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim P ...

" and

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

' "

Come See About Me "Come See About Me" is a 1964 song recorded by the Supremes for the Motown label. The track opens with a Fade (audio engineering), fade-in, marking one of the first times the technique had been used on a studio recording. The song became third ...

"), but spent most of the 1970s working as backing singers, both on stage and in the studio, for François and other big names. Chanterau and Latorre had Eurovision experience, having been among the backing singers for the victorious

Marie Myriam Marie Myriam (born Myriam Lopes, 8 May 1957, Luluabourg, Belgian Congo, (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a French singer of Portuguese descent. Career Representing France, she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977 with '' L'oise ...

in 1977, and provided backing vocals for four countries at the 1978 contest held in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Following François' premature death in 1978, their career went on hiatus. In 1986, they returned, now under the name of Cocktail, to take part in the selection for that year's French Eurovision entry, which they duly won with the song " Européennes" ("European Girls"). Having expanded their name to Cocktail Chic, they went forward to the 31st

, held on 3 May in

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. Critics who had branded "Européennes" as musically dreary and lyrically feeble appeared to have their fears confirmed as the song ended the evening in a dismal 17th place of 20 entries, France's worst result in 30 years of Eurovision to that date."Européennes" lyrics at diggiloo.net
/ref> Particularly galling to many in France was that the other three French-language songs in that year's contest (from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

), had finished the evening occupying the top three places. They largely vanished from sight again after their Eurovision appearance. Recent years have however seen a renewed interest in Les Fléchettes recordings in the

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

French pop market, and they have reunited to give several interviews in which they discuss their career.

References

External links

Les Fléchettes Myspace fan page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocktail Chic French pop music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants for France Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1986