This French
band was founded by Francis Lemonnier (sax and vocals) and Serge
Catalano (drums and percussions) in May 1970 after they left Red Noise
due to musical and political disagreements. The name chosen gives you a
clear indication as to their political views. The band released one
album called "Le Bal Du Rat Mort" in 1971 and one single "Fou, roi,
pantin" and were active until 1975. The musicians that joined them were
Michel Musac (guitar), Olivier Zdrzalik (bass, vocals, organ and piano)
and Pascal Chassin (guitar). At first they were less focused on
composing only music but more on mixing it along with satiric theater - a
sort of "cabaret satirique", in order to express their extreme left
views. They used their music to enhance their message, and they did it
in a manner that mixed several styles of music that would fit their show
and the message to be passed on to the crowd/listeners. They were
related to extreme left movements such as the "Ligue Communiste
Révolutionnaire" and they toured in the summer of 1970 in, among other
places, universities and factories that were in strike. In July 1971
they manage to get into a recording studio of Pathé Marconi with the
help and influence of Philippe Constantin et Etienne Rodagil. They are
joined by guests musicians such as the Quintette de Cuivres lead by
trombonist Raymond Katarzynski, trumpet players Pierre Thibaud et Fred
Gérard, Joss Baselli on accordion and vocalist Jeanne de Valène. The
producer Philippe Constantin does some editing of their texts and leaves
out two texts that were recited without any music and replaces the
booklet which featured originally a painting by Diego Ribeira. Le Bal Du
Rat Mort (The Dead Rat's Ball) is released in December 1971 and 2000
copies are sold. This release did not exhibit the true face of the band,
but it did however show their talent as musicians and as composers and
ability to combine different influences. This album is a mixture of
rock, free-jazz, fusion, folk, oldies tunes, chanson Francaise and a
general theatrical and quirky approach to composing. The overall result
is a well-done mixture of styles and atmospheres. This may not be
groundbreaking but it is different than the average output of French
bands at that time and can be seen as avant-garde in their musical
approach in this album Line-up / Musicians Francis Lemonnier/saxophone,vocals Serge Catalano/drums,percussions Michel Musac/guitar Olivier Zdrzalik/bass,vocals,organ,piano Pascal Chassin/guitar Discography Le bal du rat mort 1971
