Niagara was a French rock band that achieved popularity both in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The band, who was known under the name L'Ombre jaune from 1982 to 1984, was formed in
Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
by vocalist Muriel Laporte (later known as ) and keyboardist Daniel Chenevez.
["Duo makes Ottawa debut: New generation of rockers successful French export". '']Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The news ...
'', July 30, 1991. Early on, the band also included guitarist José Tamarin, although he left before the release of their first album.
["Les Années Niagara"]
RFI Musique
Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with D ...
, September 11, 2002.
Evolving from a
new wave and
synthpop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
style on their earlier albums to a more
rock-oriented style on their later ones, they were frequently compared to the
UK duo
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British Pop music, pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio alb ...
.
[
]
Biography
The band originally took their name from the 1950 Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
film '' Niagara''.[
They became famous in France when they issued in 1985 their first single, " Tchiki boum" (a Top 20 hit), which was followed in the summer 1986 by their second single and Top 5 hit, "]L'amour à la plage L'Amour may refer to:
People
* Louis L'Amour (1908–1988), American cowboy novelist
* Michelle L'amour (born 1980), American neo-burlesque performer
Other uses
* ''L'Amour'' (album), a 1983 album by Lewis
* ''L'Amour'' (film), a 1973 film
* L ...
". 200,000 copies of each single were sold in France. Driven by Laporte's charisma and vocal style, the duo released their first album in 1986, '' Encore un dernier baiser'' which included their first two successes and two new singles, "Je dois m'en aller" and "Quand La Ville Dort" (both also reaching the Top 20).
Their second and most popular release was the album '' Quel enfer!'' in 1988; the video for its single "Soleil d'hiver" received frequent airplay in Canada, leading to the group forming a following in North America. This song was also a hit in France, reaching n°12, and two other singles from the album ("Assez !" and "Flammes de l'Enfer") entered the French Top 50.
Their next album, ''Religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
'' (1990), introduced a harder-edged sound to their music. Its singles "J'ai vu" and "Pendant que les champs brûlent" became minor hits in central Europe and reached the French Top 50.
Around this time, they received some interest from record labels in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, but declined a deal as it was conditional on the band recording an English language version of the album.[ However, their tour to support the album included their first major concert dates in Canada, including five shows at The Spectrum in ]Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, one at the National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building.
History
The NAC was one of a number of ...
in Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...
,[ and one show in ]Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
.
They released their fourth and final album, '' La Vérité'', in 1992. They toured Canada again in 1993 to support the album, playing eight dates in Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
and New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
including a show at the Montreal Forum
Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by '' Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as t ...
.
Following ''La Vérité'', the band and the real-life couple of Laporte/Moreno-Chenevez separated. Both musicians went on to solo careers."Que deviennent les membres du groupe Niagara ?"
''Télé-Loisirs'', March 20, 2016.
In 2002, a compilation entitled ''Flammes'' was released as a double CD and DVD, containing all the band's hits.[ It hit No. 1 for three weeks on the French Compilations Chart.
]
Discography
Albums
* 1986 : '' Encore un dernier baiser''
* 1988 : '' Quel enfer !''
* 1990 : ''Religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
''
* 1992 : '' La Vérité''
Compilations
* 2002 : ''Flammes
''Flammes'' is a 2002 compilation album by the 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 ...
''
Singles
* 1985 : " Tchiki boum"
* 1986 : "L'amour à la plage L'Amour may refer to:
People
* Louis L'Amour (1908–1988), American cowboy novelist
* Michelle L'amour (born 1980), American neo-burlesque performer
Other uses
* ''L'Amour'' (album), a 1983 album by Lewis
* ''L'Amour'' (film), a 1973 film
* L ...
"
* 1986 : "Je dois m'en aller"
* 1987 : "Quand la ville dort"
* 1988 : "Assez !"
* 1988 : "Soleil d'hiver"
* 1989 : "Flammes de l'enfer"
* 1989 : "Baby Louis"
* 1990 : "J'ai vu"
* 1990 : "Pendant que les champs brûlent"
* 1991 : "Psychotrope"
* 1991 : "La vie est peut-être belle"
* 1992 : "La fin des étoiles"
* 1993 : "Un million d'années"
* 1993 : "Le minotaure"
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niagara
French alternative rock groups
French new wave musical groups
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups disestablished in 1993