Marc Zermati (21 June 1945 "Marc Zermati expose ses trésors punk", ''Salon du Disque'', 1 January 2009
Internet Archive Feb 20 2019 – 13 June 2020) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

producer and promoter of punk rock music, and businessman.

Life and career

Zermati, a

Sephardic Jew Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

,Philippe Garnier, "Mort de Marc Zermati, Parrain du Punk"
''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

'', 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020 was born in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

and arrived in France in the 1960s. A fan of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, he owned the Open Market record shop in

Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on January 12, 1973, after which it was "left to the demolition men who will knock down the last three of the eight iron-and-glass pavilions""Les Halles Dead at 200 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, selling mostly US garage and punk rock music from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The shop closed in 1977. In 1972 he co-founded the Skydog record label, which issued its first release, the

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage Head' ...

' ''Grease'' 7" EP in May 1973, pre-dating

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

by over 3 years, and formed the first independent shop distribution in France. In August 1976, and again in 1977, Zermati organised the "first European punk rock festival" in the French town of

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the ''Constantin Rozan ...

. He organised tours in France by bands including

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

, Dr Feelgood,

The Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry N ...

, and Eddie and the Hot Rods, as well as concerts by the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

. In 1976 he set up Bizarre Distribution with Larry Debay, an independent record distribution company in London that giving an outlet for new independent labels. Dave Thompson, ''The Music Lover's Guide to Record Collecting'', Backbeat Books, 2002
/ref> His Skydog label issued records by The Damned,

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

Iggy and the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

and dozens of others. He also managed bands including

the Lou's ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and

Stinky Toys Stinky Toys were a French punk rock band from Paris which formed in 1976 and featured Elli Medeiros (vocals), Denis Quilliard, alias Jacno, (a.k.a. Jan Colrth) (rhythm guitar), Bruno Carone (lead guitar), Albin Dériat (bass guitar), and Hervé ...

, and organised international tours by

Les Dogs Dogs (aka Les Dogs) were a French punk rock/ new wave band from Rouen, formed in 1973. Allmusic describes them as a "treasured cult band". Following two EPs in 1977/1978, their debut album ''Different'' was released in 1979 on Mercury Records ...

and Flamin' Groovies. In the 1990s he set up a record label called "Kind of Groove" as a Skydog subsidiary label, presenting experimental, electronic and acid jazz music. Bands like the Japanese/French U.F.O., the German Marc Ashmann or the French/American CFM Band did several records on this label. Zermati died on 13 June 2020 from a heart attack.

Festival and tour organiser

('76) * Eddie and the Hot Rods *

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

Wilko Johnson John Andrew Wilkinson (12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022), better known by the stage name Wilko Johnson, was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in t ...

Dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various mu ...

* The Damned *

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

* Mano Negra *

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

* Atom Rhumba

Productions

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...

* Wayne Kramer *

* Flambeurs *

Bebe Buell Beverle Lorence "Bebe" Buell (born July 14, 1953) is an American singer and model. She was ''Playboy'' magazine's November 1974 Playmate of the Month. Buell moved to New York in 1972 after signing a modeling contract with Eileen Ford, and garnere ...

. *

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

* 54 Nude Honeys * Marc Ashmann * Pimpi Aroyo/ City Zen *

United Future Organization United Future Organization (also known as UFO) is a nu-jazz trio made up of Japanese-born , and Frenchman . In 1994, the group appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, '' Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool''. The album, meant to r ...

CFM Band CFM or cfm may refer to: Organizations * Canadian Federation of Musicians, the Canadian branch of the American Federation of Musicians * Capital Fund Management, a French hedge fund * CFM International, a joint venture American and French companies ...

* Bossa Nova Beatniks

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zermati, Marc 1945 births 2020 deaths Algerian Jews French record producers Musicians from Paris Musicians from Algiers Pieds-Noirs