Les Négresses Vertes ("The Green Negresses"), formed in 1987, is a French music group that combines

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

and some aspects of

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

. Tracks often feature

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

, with some containing other traditional instruments such as

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

History

Formed in 1987, Les Négresses Vertes arose from the alternative-music scene in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The original line-up included singer Helno (also known as Helno Rota de Lourcqua, born Noël Rota), Jo Roz (also known as l'Ami Ro; real name Joe Ruffier des Aimes) (piano), Stéfane Mellino (guitar), Jean-Marie Paulus (bass), Gaby (drums), Matthias Canavese (accordion), Michel Ochowiak (trumpet), Abraham Sirinix (also known as Abraham Braham) (trombone), and Iza Mellino (backing vocals). The original members were a group of friends, many of whom had not played their instruments before forming the band. The group's name translates as ''green negresses''; and arose from abuse hurled at the members at one of the group's first concerts. The insult is a comparison to the kitsch art of

Vladimir Tretchikoff Vladimir Grigoryevich Tretchikoff (Владимир Григорьевич Третчиков, 26August 2006) was an artist whose painting ''Chinese Girl'', popularly known as ''The Green Lady'', is one of the best-selling art prints of the twen ...

. The group was initially signed to the independent Off the Track label and released the punk protest song "200 Ans D'Hypocrisie" in response to its home country's French Revolution bicentennial celebrations. In 1989, they released their first album, '' Mlah'', to good reviews in both France and the UK, where the single "Zobi La Mouche" just failed to reach the charts. The group also toured and played the

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

festival. The group also made a controversial tour of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Their second album, ''Famille Nombreuse'', in 1991, featured new drummer Zé Verbalito. In 1990, Les Négresses Vertes contributed the song "

I Love Paris "I Love Paris" is a popular song written by Cole Porter and published in 1953. The song was introduced by Lilo in the role of La Mome in the musical ''Can-Can''. A line in the song's lyrics inspired the title of the 1964 movie '' Paris When It ...

" to the

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

tribute album ''

Red Hot + Blue Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

'', which was produced by the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

. By this time, Helno was struggling with serious

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

addiction, impacting his playing and writing abilities. He died on 22 January 1993. Several members left the band after Helno's death, but Les Négresses Vertes continued around the nucleus of Mellino, Canavese, Ochowiak, and Paulus. In 1995, the band released the album ''Zig-Zague'', followed by the live album ''Green Bus''. By 1999's ''Trabendo'', the group had shifted to a dub-oriented

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge or train lounge (e.g., Amtrak's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

style.

Discography

Albums

* '' Mlah'' (1988) * ''Famille nombreuse'' (1991) * ''An Aperitif'' (1994) * ''Zig-zague'' (1994) * ''Green Bus'' (1996), live * ''Trabendo'' (1999) * ''Acoustic Clubbing'' (2001)

Compilations

* ''10 Remixes (’87–’93)'' (1993) * ''Le Grand Déballage'' (2002) * ''L'essentiel'' (2004) * ''À l’Affiche'' (2006)

Singles

* ''Il'' (1989) * ''Zobi La Mouche'' (1989) * ''Voila L’ete'' (1989) * "I Love Paris" (1990) (Tribute album ''

'' produced by the

) * ''Face à La Mer'' (1991) * ''Famille Heureuse'' (1992) * ''Hou! Mamma Mia'' (1992) * ''Sous Le soleil de bodega'' (1992) * ''Apres La pluie'' (1994) * ''Mambo Show'' (1994) * ''A Quoi Bon'' (1995) * ''Easy Girls'' (1999) * ''Leila'' (1999) * ''Hasta Llegar'' (2000) (Promo CD; was never released) * ''Spank / Abuela'' (2000)

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20040325021454/http://www.negressesvertes.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Negresses Vertes, Les French alternative rock groups Sire Records artists Virgin Records artists Rhythm King artists Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 1987 establishments in France 2001 disestablishments in France Musical groups from Paris