Indochine

Besides being, obviously, the name of former French colony Indochina, Indochine is the name of a French 80s band. In 1982, the quartet of teenagers, with no previous musical experience, gets on stage and find almost immediate fame, after a single concert, followed by a tour where they surpassed the band they were opening for, and finally albums that cemented their style. With catchy lyrics, simple music and a new-wave style that made them cousins of Depeche Mode and The Cure, they found success... or at least for a while.

When their musical style became less popular and other bands like Noir Désir emerged, band members started leaving. The sudden death of Stéphane Sirkis leaves brother Nicola as the only remaining band member, but in 2002 Indochine makes an unexpected come-back with Paradize, an almost immediate popular success and critically acclaimed album.
Somehow, the childish simplicity survived, and will remain Indochine's trademark. Some of their famous tracks include:

• L'aventurier (The adventurer)
• Trois nuits par semaine (Three nights a week)
• 3ème sexe (3rd sex)
• Salômbo
• J'ai demandé à la lune (I asked the moon)

Sing with me:

"Et soudain surgit face au vent
Le vrai heros de tous les temps
Bob Morane contre tout chacal
L'aventurier contre tout guerrier"
L'aventurier

Amazon.fr has an audio sample of this song, and others.

And now, the French Word of the Day takes a two week vacation, so the email and blog archives will have to do in the meanwhile...