Les Irrésistibles (The Irresistibles) were a boy band during the late 1960s and early 1970s, whose members were
Americans living in
France. The lineup consisted of lead singer Jim McMains on keyboards and rhythm guitar, his identical twin brother Steve McMains on bass, Tom Arena on lead guitar, and Andy Cornelius on drums. They returned to the US in the early 70's.
Origins
The band formed in 1968 as The Sentrys, when the members were teenage classmates at the
American School of Paris. They developed a following among the local American community by playing
cover versions of contemporary hits. They came to the notice of recording scouts, and eventually signed with
CBS, who marketed them as Les Irrésistibles. The arrangement included British carmaker
Triumph as a corporate sponsor, and the company's
TR5 roadster featured prominently in the group's first
video and early publicity photos.
The band's first release was "My year is a day", written by
William Sheller, which came out as a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
in 1968 and achieved certain success, remaining the greatest of all their releases. It is an English version of
Dalida's French song "
Dans la ville endormie
"Dans la ville endormie" ("In the sleeping city") is a French language song recorded by singer Dalida, first released on EP during summer of 1968. It is the product of Dalida's collaboration with composer William Sheller with whom she worked on ' ...
", and not the vice versa that Dalida covered their song as it was thought. The notes on the record sleeve contained a fictional account of their origins, claiming that the band formed in
Los Angeles with the name The Beloved Ones, of which Les Irrésistibles was the French equivalent. They continued to publish songs in France for several more years which achieved some success, before leaving back to the US. There is rumor that one of the brothers lives in Western North Carolina, while others are in California.
Discography
Albums
*1968: ''The Story of Baxter Williams''
Singles
*1968: "My Year is a Day"
*1968: "Lands of Shadow"
*1969: "Dreams of Dolls"
*1969: "Why Try to Hide"
*1969: "Girl I Love You" / "Universe of Love"
*1970: "Peace of Love"
*1971: "Baby I Need You Back Again"
*1972: "Christmas Bells Will Ring (Petit Papa Noël)"
Two of the group's singles, "My Year Is A Day" and "Sunshine And You", were released in the United States under the band name Arch Of Triumph.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irresistibles, Les
French pop music groups
French rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1966
Musical groups disestablished in 1972
1966 establishments in France