Telex was a Belgian

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

group formed in 1978 by

Marc Moulin Marc Moulin (16 August 1942 – 26 September 2008) was a Belgian musician and journalist (print, radio, TV). In the early-mid seventies, he was the leader of the jazz-rock fusion, jazz-rock group Placebo (not to be confused with Placebo (band), ...

, Dan Lacksman and Michel Moers, with the intention of "making something really European, different from rock, without guitar—and the idea was electronic music".

History

In 1979, mixing the

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and experimental

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

, they released a stripped-down synthesized

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "Twist à St. Tropez" by Les Chats Sauvages. They followed up with an ultra-slow cover of "

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...

", a relaxed and dispassionate version of

Plastic Bertrand Roger François Jouret (born 24 February 1954), better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgium, Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single "". Biography Early life ...

's punk song "

Ça Plane Pour Moi "Ça plane pour moi" () is a 1977 song by Belgian musician Plastic Bertrand. The music is also used in the 1977 song "Jet Boy, Jet Girl" by Elton Motello. The song has been covered by many artists, though the original recording was the most suc ...

", and a mechanical cover of " Dance to the Music", originally by

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

. Telex built its music entirely from electronic instruments, employing joyously irreverent humor. The group's debut album, '' Looking for Saint Tropez'', featured the worldwide hit single "Moskow Diskow". In 1980, Telex's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

asked the group to enter the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. The group entered and were eventually sent to the finals, although they apparently hoped to come in last. The group's song " Euro-Vision" was a cheerful bleepy song with deliberately banal lyrics about the

, which they competed with in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and placed 17th of 19 with 14 points. For their third album, ''

Sex Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...

'', Telex enlisted the US group Sparks to help write the lyrics. However, the band still refused to play live and preferred to remain

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

—common practice in the

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

music artists the group later inspired but, nevertheless, unusual in 1981. The fourth Telex album, ''Wonderful World'', was barely distributed. In 1986,

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

signed Telex and released the album ''Looney Tunes'' in 1988. In 1989, Telex revisited their old tracks and remixed them to resemble

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

and other genres then prevalent in electronic pop. The result was ''Les Rythmes Automatiques'', released in 1989. After a long hiatus, Telex returned in March 2006 with ''How Do You Dance'' on

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

. It contained five original compositions as well as five covers. The group's last single was a cover of " On the Road Again", originally by

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American blues rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and ...

. They also produced

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es for other artists' single releases, including "

A Pain That I'm Used To "A Pain That I'm Used To" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It is the opening track on their eleventh studio album, ''Playing the Angel'' (2005). It was released as the album's second single on 12 December 2005 through Mu ...

" by

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

and " Minimal" by the

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

. Following the death of band member

in 2008, the surviving members of the band announced their retirement from making music with the band's final release, a compilation album titled ''Ultimate''.

Discography

Albums

*1979: '' Looking for Saint Tropez''
*1980: '' Neurovision''
*1981: ''

'' (released in some countries as "Birds and Bees" with a slightly altered track listing)
*1984: ''Wonderful World''
*1988: ''Looney Tunes''
*2006: ''How Do You Dance?''

Compilations and remix albums

*1982: ''More Than Distance'' (includes singles, album tracks, B sides, and newly remixed/recorded tracks, two with English lyrics by Jo Callis) *1989: ''Les Rythmes Automatiques'' (album of re-recorded back-catalogue) *1993: ''Belgium...One Point'' (a

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

of the first five albums plus bonus tracks) *1994: ''Is Release a Humour? – We Love Telex'' (Japan only.

ed by Japanese DJs) *1998: ''I Don't Like Music'' (

ed by

Carl Craig Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969) is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980 ...

and others) *1998: ''I Don't Like Remixes: Original Classics 78–86'' (a 'best-of' compilation) *1999: ''I (Still) Don't Like Music Remixes Vol. 2'' (DJ remixes) *2009: ''Ultimate Best Of'' *2021: ''This Is Telex'' (1978–2006 tracks newly mixed with 2 unreleased covers—"Dear Prudence" from

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and "The Beat Goes On" from

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. ...

)

Notes

References

External links

*
SynSound Recording StudiosMarc Moulin
- Official Website *

* {{Authority control Belgian electronic music groups Belgian dance music groups Belgian new wave musical groups Belgian comedy musical groups Belgian musical trios Experimental musical groups Synth-pop new wave musical groups Post-disco music groups Musical groups from Brussels Musical groups established in 1978 Belgian remixers Sire Records artists Atlantic Records artists Virgin Records artists EMI Records artists French-language musical groups from Belgium English-language musical groups from Belgium Eurovision Song Contest entrants