Circus Martin
Evolution Francaise 1969 -1985
Label: Born Bad
Genre: 60s / 70s Rock / Pop / Progressive / Kraut
Availability
- LP €23.99 In Stock
Martin Circus was formed in the late 60s by bassist and composer Bob Brault as well as lyricist and multi-brass player Gérard Pisani. Both eclectic and talented personalities, they lived between Paris and various French provinces, constantly moving back and forth. By having their friends Patrick Dietschand and Paul-Jean Borowsky sing in French – both of whom came from different backgrounds, namely rock n’roll and free jazz – Martin Circus invented a whole concept. Despite the groups of their generation singing in English, Pisani made lyrics typically French, almost outrageously so, therefore choosing to disconnect from the yéyé scene. By summoning figures such as Bluebeard, Asterix, Robert Desnos and Frank Zappa, they infused words with bold, playful references to French poètes maudits and countercultural material. They soon became quite famous locally and the band played at the Rock'n'Roll Circus on a regular basis – a trendy club in the Paris 6th arrondissement, which also gave its name to their first album. However, unable to stand to their success, the band split rather quickly. Dietsch left for the United States, Borowsky withdrew and disappeared from sight, soon followed by drummer JF Leroy.
Brault and Pisani put together a new band. They picked up musicians among his pal Alan Jack’s friends who regularly paid him a visit on his farm. Bob recruited Alain Pewzner on guitar and René Guérin on drums. Then, as the band needed a good organ player, he asked Sylvain Pauchard, a talented musician who was conveniently already working for Vogue, the label they were signed to. The latter accepted to join on the condition he would bring along his buddy Gérard Blanc, with whom he was already playing in a group called Balthazar. His presence wasn't really necessary, as Martin already had a guitarist and everyone sang in the band. Nevertheless, as the sessions progressed, the young Gérard made a true imprint. Through his unconventional singing, he brought authenticity and an emotional sincerity to Pisani's declamatory lyrics which proved decisive and irreplaceable.
This re-formed group gave birth to an explosive second album, Acte II, filled with dazzling finds and baroque lyrics. The label agreed to release it thanks to an unexpected hit, "Je m'éclate au Sénégal", which was first meant to be the B-side of a mediocre song they had created as a joke to enrage the Vogue management. It was a big surprise to everyone when the song came to be massively played by the hippest radio stations in town. With its offbeat rhythm and burlesque lyrics, it sounded like a Scopitone dressed-up in funny costumes. The musicians even played in the French film Les bidasses en folie, and that’s when Martin Circus found themselves on a tricky path, coming close to being considered a total farce. Yet, the people who saw them on stage witnessed another more dangerous and violent aspect to them. There was screaming, there were challenging lyrics blurted out, the audience was exhorted to face their own dullness. Sometimes an angry mood would run through the set and everybody seemed on edge, making the atmosphere even more electric. Fifty years later, the success of "Je m'éclate au Sénégal" still crushes all the band's greatest hits.
As expected, fame brought about money issues. First, their policy was that all benefits were to be shared between the group members. But the big profits made by "Senegal" caused trouble. Brault and Pisani, its authors, refused to cede the slightest amount of money. For this reason, they were gradually ostracised from the very group they had founded. Pisani left first while Brault, the main composer, stayed on for the next album, Acte III. The psychedelia which had been pervasive on Acte II was abandoned in favor of drawing inspiration from US artists such as Paul Revere & The Raiders and Stevie Wonder. Meanwhile, the band continued to put out previously unreleased singles, as was the custom at the time. In 1973, the Martins were invited to join the huge cast of a musical called La révolution française, alongside young Bashung, Balavoine and Les Charlots. They produced some of the best songs on the record. They were also heard on the credits of the À vous de jouer Milord series, which they cowrote with François de Roubaix. This was a first phenomenal step into the world of TV, radio and advertising where they would later achieve great success. As internal tensions grew bigger, Bob Brault also left. The only remaining members were Gérard Blanc, René Guérin, Sylvain Pauchard and Alain Pewzner, who were to become the face of the group for the years to come.
Behind the scenes, since the very first days of the band, one man had been pulling all the strings. Manager and artistic director Gérard Hugé used to work for both the band and the label – this has never been good news. What he cared about the most was getting records out, no matter who played on them. In the mid-70s, he registered the Martin Circus name, granting himself full power over the band. Deciding that it no longer had either a lyricist or a composer, he made the remaining musicians embark on a series of American 60s hits adaptations. As a result, they made tons of money : "Marylène" was a huge hit and gave them a new impulse. The Martins adopted a new look by wearing shiny Courrèges-style suits and platform boots, and on stage they performed dance moves choreographed by the eccentric Amadeo. They completely fit into the disco craze which was about to take over. Still, their music blended doo-wop and rockabilly with glam rock and funk music. They eventually hit disco when starring in a really bad, corny film called Les bidasses en vadrouille, which was first intended for Les Charlots – but the latter were finally put aside for being too square. Working with arranger Gilles Tinayre, they composed the soundtrack in the manner
of French disco groups such as Space and Voyage. Effortlessly, they released the epic 14- minute "Disco Circus", a track which was to become a real underground gem. DJ and remixer François Kevorkian then released it on the American Prelude label in a self-edited version, shortened to 7 minutes while retaining all the dazzling passages of the original track. It came to be a hit in the clubs of New York and Chicago, making a lasting impression on everyone who heard it. It got sampled on at least 40 tracks over the following decades and featured in dozens of bootlegs and prestigious compilations – by Laurent Garnier, Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Joey Negro, The Beatnuts, The Rapture, and by Danny Krivit in the DJ culture film Maestro.
Vogue label president Léon Cabat and his lieutenant Gérard Hugé harbored dreams of greatness for their band. They commissioned a new disco album sung in English. René Guérin having left the ship, only three musicians were left in charge, who heavily resorted to some Bee Gees/Village People-aesthetics. Unfortunately, at the time, the disco wave was coming to an end. As the 80s arrived, Martin Circus once again changed the way they looked and their style. Inspired by Devo and their cold dance music, by Buggles’ synthpop and Plastic Bertand’s postpunk, the three of them crafted a highly modern album, in which Gérard Pisani returned as a lyricist and a saxophone player. As inspired as ever, he wrote genuine punchlines for lyrics, managing to encapsulate and reveal, here and there in just a few words, what was the epitome of the early decade. The song “Bains Douches” is one relevant example. Despite its clear-sighted views, the album De sang froid was a bitter failure and signaled the beginning of the end for the group. Gérard, Sylvain and Alain began to focus on careers as musicians, arrangers and songwriters.
The band would never record another album; however they did meet up in the studio once in a while, just to see if anyone could be interested in their music. In 1983, they released the Solange single, with a digital Italo-disco track called "J't'ai vu dans le canoë" as a B-side, featuring synthetic arrangements borrowed from the emerging house scene. They also put out only one other single in 1985, and yet another B-side ("Pourquoi tu m'lâches pas") proved able to challenge the big hits of the time, such as those by Sade or Matt Bianco. Then, Gérard Blanc's solo career finally peaked with "Une autre histoire". Despite a few revival attempts without him, the band eventually really came to an end. Throughout their career full of ups and downs, Martin Circus nonetheless managed to keep up with one stable element: contrary to what they seemed, the musicians never took the easy way out. Their playing and arrangements were consistently flawless and polished, they relentlessly dedicated themselves to playing quality music and this can only compel admiration. As Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion goes out of fashion, style never does."
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