Les Poppys
Encyclopedia
Les Poppys is a French musical group of 17 children founded 1946
in Asnières
, France
by Jean Amoureux as Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières and renamed to Les Poppys in 1970. Francois Bernheim, former singer of the group Les Roche-Martin and artistic director for the record company Barclay
, discovered the singers in 1970 and decided to create a group called Les Poppys, named after the word 'Pop Music'.
Les Poppys originated from the Hippie movement
and made songs against the Vietnam War
. Seventeen boys from the choir were then selected and recorded their first single: 'Noel 70'. The success came very quickly and 600,000 copies were sold. This first single was then followed by other hits during the 70's: 'Isabelle, je t'aime' (500,000 copies sold). The most successful chanson
was Non, non, rien n'a changé which sold 1,200,000 copies and was a number one hit in The Netherlands and stayed in the Dutch Top 40
for 25 weeks.
Les Poppys became the first child stars in French music history and were quickly invited by other countries to sing in galas, concerts and TV shows. In The Netherlands and in Germany
, they even sold more records than the Beatles! In 4 years, Les Poppys sold more than 5 million records and produced four albums and 20 singles from 1970 to 1977. Their success inspired the New Poppys and other groups such as Mercredi Libre from members of Les Petits Chanteurs D'Asiniers.
The small singers of Asnières, as they were, consisted of the first generation of Poppys: Bruno Polius
, Harry Trowbridge, Philippe and Gabriel Képéklian, Thierry and Philippe Sellier, Philippe and Jean-Pierre Herman, Philippe Magnan, Jean-Jacques Gallard, Pascal Buffenoir, Pierre Puyhardy, Olivier Dubrez, Benoit Cabane, Christophe Normand, Bernard Carayon, Olivier Antignac. Some among them left since 1971 to yield to the second generation of Poppys which included Gérald Meunier, Pascal Oubrayrie, Alain Drexler, Pascal Réali and Daniel Danglard. The group ended in 1978 but Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières kept on recording, making backgrounds vocals for famous singers.
They also sang in 1983 for a TV musical covering songs by ABBA
called Abbacadabra. Their 2 albums made were called: Abbacadabra and La Fusée de Noé. They also had a one off success with the song Il faudra leur dire sung with Francis Cabrel
which went gold in 1987.
They have since tried a comeback firstly in the late eighties under the name The New Poppys and in 1992 as Mercredi Libre. Although these last recordings were not commercially successful the album La ballade des p'tits anges has become highly praised and sought after. Although it has been suggested that the singing is better on this CD it is most likely due to the new songs included on this CD. The music to Commandant de la Calypso, La ballade des p'tits anges, Je te demande pas and other popular songs from this album was written by Francois Bernheim. The Poppys still go on tour occasionally.
1946 in music
- Events :*January 6 – A somewhat revised and streamlined revival of Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat opens on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre, the same theatre at which the original production played back in 1927. This production features newly designed sets and costumes, new, more extended...
in Asnières
Asnières
Asnières is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Asnières, Eure, in the Eure département* Asnières-en-Bessin, in the Calvados département* Asnières-en-Montagne, in the Côte-d'Or département...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by Jean Amoureux as Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières and renamed to Les Poppys in 1970. Francois Bernheim, former singer of the group Les Roche-Martin and artistic director for the record company Barclay
Barclay
-People:* Barclay , people with the surname Barclay* Clan BarclayFictional* Andy Barclay, the protagonist in the first three films of the Child's Play series* Reginald Barclay, character in Star Trek: The Next Generation-Business:...
, discovered the singers in 1970 and decided to create a group called Les Poppys, named after the word 'Pop Music'.
Les Poppys originated from the Hippie movement
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
and made songs against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Seventeen boys from the choir were then selected and recorded their first single: 'Noel 70'. The success came very quickly and 600,000 copies were sold. This first single was then followed by other hits during the 70's: 'Isabelle, je t'aime' (500,000 copies sold). The most successful chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
was Non, non, rien n'a changé which sold 1,200,000 copies and was a number one hit in The Netherlands and stayed in the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
for 25 weeks.
Les Poppys became the first child stars in French music history and were quickly invited by other countries to sing in galas, concerts and TV shows. In The Netherlands and in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, they even sold more records than the Beatles! In 4 years, Les Poppys sold more than 5 million records and produced four albums and 20 singles from 1970 to 1977. Their success inspired the New Poppys and other groups such as Mercredi Libre from members of Les Petits Chanteurs D'Asiniers.
The small singers of Asnières, as they were, consisted of the first generation of Poppys: Bruno Polius
Bruno Polius
Bruno Polius or Bruno Polius-Victoire is a French singer. In the 1970s he was the lead-singer/soloist of the boyband Les Poppys.Although the line-up of Les Poppys changed several times Bruno was the lead-singer on the bands largest hit Non-Non Rien na change.Bruno also recorded several records as...
, Harry Trowbridge, Philippe and Gabriel Képéklian, Thierry and Philippe Sellier, Philippe and Jean-Pierre Herman, Philippe Magnan, Jean-Jacques Gallard, Pascal Buffenoir, Pierre Puyhardy, Olivier Dubrez, Benoit Cabane, Christophe Normand, Bernard Carayon, Olivier Antignac. Some among them left since 1971 to yield to the second generation of Poppys which included Gérald Meunier, Pascal Oubrayrie, Alain Drexler, Pascal Réali and Daniel Danglard. The group ended in 1978 but Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières kept on recording, making backgrounds vocals for famous singers.
They also sang in 1983 for a TV musical covering songs by ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
called Abbacadabra. Their 2 albums made were called: Abbacadabra and La Fusée de Noé. They also had a one off success with the song Il faudra leur dire sung with Francis Cabrel
Francis Cabrel
Francis Cabrel is a well-known French singer-songwriter and guitarist. Inspired heavily by Bob Dylan, he has released a number of albums falling mostly within the realm of folk, with occasional forays into blues or country. Several of his songs, such as "L'encre de tes yeux" and "Petite Marie"...
which went gold in 1987.
They have since tried a comeback firstly in the late eighties under the name The New Poppys and in 1992 as Mercredi Libre. Although these last recordings were not commercially successful the album La ballade des p'tits anges has become highly praised and sought after. Although it has been suggested that the singing is better on this CD it is most likely due to the new songs included on this CD. The music to Commandant de la Calypso, La ballade des p'tits anges, Je te demande pas and other popular songs from this album was written by Francois Bernheim. The Poppys still go on tour occasionally.
Selected discography
- Noël 70 (Christmas 70) (1970)
- Non, je ne veux pas faire la guerre... (No, I don't want to make war... ) (1970)
- Non, non, rien n´a changé (No, no, nothing has changed) (1971)
- Des chansons pop (Pop songs) (1971)
- Love, lioubov, amour (Love, love, love) (1971)
- Non, ne criez pas... (No, don't shout...) (1971)
- Laissez entrer le soleil (Let the sunshine in) (1971)
- Des chansons pop (Pop songs) (1972)
- Jésus revolution (Jesus revolution) (1972)
- L'Enfant do (The child do) (1972)
- Liberté (Liberty) (1972)
- Pénélopie (Penelope) (1972)
- L´école est finie (School's out) (1972)
- Septembre noir, Decembre blanc (Black September, white December) (1972)
- Non, non rien n'a changé (No, no, nothing has changed) (1973)
- American Trilogie (American Trilogy) (1973)
- Au nom de l'amour (In the name of love) (1973)
- Isabelle, je t'aime (Isabelle, I love you) (1973)
- Isabelle, je t'aime (Isabelle, I love you) (1974)
- Des chansons pop (Pop songs) (1974)
- Glory Alleluia (Glory Glory Hallelujah) (1974)
- En l'an 300 000 000 ) (1975)
- Il faut une fleur pour faire le monde (One needs a flower to make the world) (1976)
- Juste une question (Just one question) (1976)
- Demain c´est un autre jour (Tomorrow is another day) (1977)
- Quelqu´un viendra (Someone will come) (1977)
- Le mini minimum (The mini minimum) (1977)
- Non, non rien n'a changé (No, no, nothing has changed) (1977)
- Visite (Visit) (1980) with Lenny KuhrLenny KuhrLenny Kuhr is a Dutch singer-songwriter.In 1967 she started a singing career in the Netherlands, performing songs in the French chanson tradition. In 1969 she represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest with her own composition De Troubadour...
- Supercalifragilisticexpidelilicieux (SupercalifragilisticexpialidociousSupercalifragilisticexpialidociousSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious is an English word, with 34 letters, that was in the song with the same title in the 1964 Disney musical film Mary Poppins. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke...
) (1981) - Tous les enfants ont les yeux bleus (All the children have blue eyes) (1990)
- Si le monde appartenait au] (If the world belonged to) (1991)
- Les Années Barclay (The Barclay Years) (2000)
- Madame je t'aime (Madam I love you) (2002)
- Poppys:Master Serie (Poppys:Master Set) (2003)
- Bing-Bang (Bing-Bang) (2003)
- Les enfants (The children) (2003)
- La chanson de Gavroche (The song of Gavroche) (2003)
- Vous avez été des enfants (You were children) (2003)
- Le mendiant de l'amour (The beggar of love ) (2004)
- S'il suffisait d'aimer... (If loving was enough...) (2004)
- La planète amour (The love planet) (2004)
- Les trois cloches (All the Chapel Bells Were Ringing) (2005)
- L'oiseau (The Bird) (2005)
- Les jardins du ciel (Gardens of the sky) (2005)
- Non, non rien n'a changé (No, no, nothing has changed) (2005)
- Est-ce qu on sera chinois (Will we be Chinese) (2005)
- Il ' N'y a Plus D'etoiles de Mer (There are no more starfish) (2005)
- Gala 60 ans Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières (Extract of the 60 years official reception of the choral society of the Small Singers of Asnières) (2006)
- Pour fêter le 60ème anniversaire de la chorale, les chanteurs d'Asnières, connus sous le nom de "Poppys", vont... (Will celebrate the 60th birthday of the choral society, the singers of Asnières, known under the name of "Poppys"...) (2006)
- Il ' N'y a Plus D'etoiles de Mer (There are no more starfish) (2007)