Disco, the French revolution: should you watch this documentary on France 3?

Disco balls, rhinestones, sequins and bell legs… the mid-1970s saw the rise of a real cultural phenomenon: disco. Behind this planetary musical tidal wave, the French play a leading role that is still little known and manage to export many hits. “The musical revolution, currently French, exists all over the world, it’s called Disco!“, can we hear from the mouth of Claude François in the documentary broadcast this Saturday, April 15, 2023 on France 3. Cerrone, Patrick Hernandez, the unforgettable singer of Born to be AliveSheila, or even Jean-Michel Jarre, who recently opened up about his private life, return to this prosperous period in French musical history, called French Sound by the Anglo-Saxons.

du disc made in France

Many artists step out of their comfort zone to capture the rhythmic sounds of disco. From simple variety singer to king of the European dancefloor, the late Patrick Juvet sang in 1977 the very first disco hit sung in French: Where are the women, written by a certain Jean-Michel Jarre. Two years later, faced with the popularity of Patrick Hernandez (with Born to Be Alive) and Marc Cerrone in the United States, Sheila also begins to dream of America. Nile Rodgers, founder of the Chic group, then composed Spacer. Her B. Devotion and her are propelled number one on the charts across the Atlantic for three weeks.

From the shadow to the light

More than a simple artistic performance, the disco relies above all on the creative and marketing work of the producers. And in this little game, the Frenchie tandem Jacques Morali-Henri Belolo shows the way. In 1977, he created the American group Village People (YMCA, Macho Man…), a must on dance floors even today. The colorful boy band embodies the liberation of morals, very fashionable at the time. Their 80 million records sold put a big spotlight on the homosexual community, hitherto socially invisible.

A revival of disco

In the early 1980s, the party was over. The disco is no more. But during the 1990s it was reborn from its ashes to influence young French musicians, pioneers of the electro scene. It’s the French Touch. Among them, the masked duo Daft Punk and Cassius then Bob Sinclar are a hit abroad, just like their elders 20 years earlier. Nowadays, contrary to what the singer Juliette Armanet announces in her tube, The Last Day of Disco still seems very far away… To our delight!