Sheila & B. Devotion was a disco group fronted by French singer Sheila

Sheila (singer)

Sheila is a French pop singer, who became successful as a solo artist in the 1960s and 1970s and later fronted a disco act called Sheila and B. Devotion. Sheila has sold over 24,000,000 copies of records in France and was the top selling artist in France in the 1960s and 1970s...

  between 1977

1977 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1977.-January–February:*January 1 – The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy....

 and 1980

1980 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley....

. This formation briefly reached popularity in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and to a lesser extent in the US club circuit during the disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 era. It recorded two albums (Love Me Baby and King of the World

King of the World

King of the World is a 1980 album by French disco act Sheila and B. Devotion. The album which was both written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of American R&B band Chic includes the hit single "Spacer" which reached #18 on the UK charts in early 1980 and was a Top 10 hit in most of...

) before dissolving in 1980 when Sheila returned to her solo career.

Formation

Before the group's formation, Sheila

Sheila (singer)

Sheila is a French pop singer, who became successful as a solo artist in the 1960s and 1970s and later fronted a disco act called Sheila and B. Devotion. Sheila has sold over 24,000,000 copies of records in France and was the top selling artist in France in the 1960s and 1970s...

 (born Annie Chancel in Créteil, France on August 16, 1946) scored numerous hits in her homeland during the 1960s and the 1970s. Among her chart toppers were L'Ecole est Finie (1963) , Vous les Copains (the French cover version of Manfred Mann

Manfred Mann

Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...

's Do Wah Diddy Diddy

Do Wah Diddy Diddy

"Do Wah Diddy Diddy" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and originally recorded in 1963 by the American vocal group The Exciters.It was soon covered by British R&B, Beat and pop band Manfred Mann...

 in 1964), Petite Fille de Français Moyens (1968) and Les Rois Mages (the cover of Tweedle Dee Tweele Dum originally performed by Middle of the Road in 1971). Her success helped her producer Claude Carrere to launch his label Carrere Records. The Yé-yé

Yé-yé

Yé-yé was a style of pop music that emerged from France, Québec and Spain in the early 1960s. The term "yé-yé" derived from "yeah! yeah!" The style expanded worldwide, due to the success of figures such as the French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg....

 artist was initially presented as a girl next door

Girl next door

The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...

. In 1977, she completely changed her public image when Sheila & B Devotion was formed. She attempted to convey a more mature style in her music. Three American back-up singers/dancers (Dany Mac Farlane, Freddy Stracham and Arthur Wilkins) known as B. Devotion were hired to accompany her. She updated her bubblegum repertoire by performing disco tracks sung in English.

Breakthough and success

Because Carrere did not want to shock Sheila's public and the French media, the debut single of the group (Love Me Baby) was released anonymously in May 1977 in France. The first pressings of the record mentioned the obscure name of S.B Devotion. The song was an instant radio and club hit. The identity of the group was rapidly revealed and the quatuor was officially named Sheila & B Devotion. Love Me Baby became a mainstream Top 10 hit in Europe. The follow-up single was a disco version of Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain (song)

"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. However, it is unclear exactly when the song was written with some claiming that the song was written and performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as Number 3 on AFI's 100 Years.....

 and was more successful. In early 1978, it was licensed to Casablanca Records

Casablanca Records

Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...

 to be released in the USA where it became a club hit. In the meantime, the Love Me baby album (featuring the two above-mentioned hits) came out. The group promoted their records on the major European TV shows (Musikladen

Musikladen

Der Musikladen was a West German music television programme that ran from December 13, 1972 to November 29, 1984. The show continued the 1960s Beat-Club under a new name, and in turn was replaced by Extratour.-History:...

, Disco

Disco (TV series)

Disco was a pop music program that aired in Germany on the ZDF network from 1971 to 1982. It generally aired on the first Saturday of each month at 7:30PM, each show running 45 minutes. 133 shows were produced. The show was hosted by German actor and comedian Ilja Richter...

, Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

...).
Sheila & B. Devotion scored other songs on the charts (I Don't Need A Doctor, Hotel De La Plage, You Light My Fire and Seven Lonely Days).

Collaboration with Chic

In 1979

1979 in music

See also:Record labels established in 1979* 1979 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.-January–February:*January 1...

, Sheila

Sheila (singer)

Sheila is a French pop singer, who became successful as a solo artist in the 1960s and 1970s and later fronted a disco act called Sheila and B. Devotion. Sheila has sold over 24,000,000 copies of records in France and was the top selling artist in France in the 1960s and 1970s...

 collaborated with Nile Rodgers

Nile Rodgers

Nile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...

 and Bernard Edwards

Bernard Edwards

Bernard Edwards born in Greenville, North Carolina, was a bass player and record producer, both as a member of the Funk/Disco band Chic and on his own. He died of pneumonia while touring in Japan.-History:...

 of Chic

Chic (band)

Chic was an African American disco and R&B band that was organized during 1976 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. It is known best for its commercially successful disco songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance " , "Everybody Dance" , "Le Freak" , "I Want Your Love" , "Good Times"...

 on the King of the World

King of the World

King of the World is a 1980 album by French disco act Sheila and B. Devotion. The album which was both written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of American R&B band Chic includes the hit single "Spacer" which reached #18 on the UK charts in early 1980 and was a Top 10 hit in most of...

 album which featured Spacer (which peaked at #18 on the UK singles charts and sold well in France, Benelux, Germany and Scandinavia).

Break-up

Shortly after the release of the King Of The World single, Sheila & B. Devotion disbanded. Due to the disco backlash, Sheila chose a pop-rock style and recorded in 1981 an album (Little Darlin') with Keith Olsen

Keith Olsen

Keith Olsen is one of the most prolific and successful music producers in the industry.-Career:With over 120 albums produced netting a 1 in 4 Gold or better ratio, of which more than 24 are Platinum or better, and more than 14 are multi-Platinum, sales from Keith Olsen’s work exceeds 110 million...

. It was her last international project.

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions
		Europarade	NL (Top 40)	NL (Nationale Hitparade)	D	UK	SW	IT	U.S. R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	U.S. Dance Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
1977	Love Me Baby	11	24	19	9	-	-	3	-	-
1977	Singin' In The Rain	3	3	4	11	6	2	3	-	30
1978	You Light My Fire	16	-	-	36	44	-	-	-	-
1979	Seven Lonely Days	-	-	-	50	-	16	-	-	-
1979	Spacer	-	19	22	9	18	-	6	28	44

Singles

• "Love Me Baby" (1977)
• "Singin' in the Rain
  Singin' in the Rain (song)
  "Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. However, it is unclear exactly when the song was written with some claiming that the song was written and performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as Number 3 on AFI's 100 Years.....
  
  " (1977)
• "I Don't Need A Doctor" (1978)
• "Hotel De La Plage" (OST) (1978)
• "You Light My Fire" (1978)
• "Seven Lonely Days" (1979)
• "No No No No" (1979)
• "Spacer" (1979)
• "King of the World" (1980)
• "Your Love Is Good" (US promo - 1980)

Albums

• "Singin' in the Rain" or "Love Me Baby" (in certain countries) (1977)
• "King of the World" (1980)

External links

• Discogs webpage about Sheila & B. Devotion