Téléphone

Telephone fused the swagger and energy of hard rock with the urban aggression of punk to emerge as the most admired and influential French band of the post-student revolt era. Their roots lie in Sémolina, an unheralded trio formed in late 1975 by singer/guitarist Jean-Louis Aubert, bassist Daniel Roux, and drummer Richard Kolinka. When their lone WEA single, "Et J'y Vais Déjà," vanished upon its mid-1976 release, Sémolina quickly split; Aubert and Kolinka remained roommates, however, frequently jamming in the cellar of their Paris home. In late autumn of 1976, Kolinka secured a gig at Paris' American Centre, but when his regular band was unable to commit to the date, he and Aubert recruited Louis Bertignac, a gifted guitarist previously known for supporting singer Jacques Higelin, and bassist Corine Marienneau to assemble a set list comprised of classic rock hits and Aubert's first original compositions. On November 12, Telephone made their debut performance, playing a largely improvised set to a few hundred patrons; loud, snotty, and defiantly primitive, the band effectively reinvigorated French rock in one fell swoop. Though by no means the classic frontman, Aubert nevertheless transcended his limits as a vocalist and guitarist with sheer aggressive energy, becoming the poster boy for a new generation of French rock icons, while Bertignac's raw, electrifying guitar solos evoked antecedents from Keith Richards to Jimmy Page. After a famously raucous March 1977 appearance at the Paris Metro, Telephone toured in support of British act Eddie & the Hot Rods, followed by a date opening for the seminal American band Television. A June 8th performance at Paris' Bus Palladium yielded Telephone's debut single, "Hygiaphone." Six weeks later, the quartet signed to...