Téléphone (French pronunciation: [telefɔn]) was a French rock band formed in 1976.[1] Their first, self-titled album was released in 1977; by the end of the decade they were one of the biggest French rock bands in the world, opening shows for The Rolling Stones in Paris, Quebec, the United States and Japan. The band split in 1986[1] for personal reasons. They have sold around 10 million albums to date, a record still unbeaten for a French rock band.

Téléphone
Téléphone in 2016
Téléphone in 2016
Background information
OriginParis, France
GenresRock, pop rock
Years active1976–1986 (Téléphone), 2015–2017 (Les Insus?)
LabelsEMI, Virgin Records
Past membersJean-Louis Aubert
Louis Bertignac
Corine Marienneau
Richard Kolinka

Among their best-known songs are "Hygiaphone", "Métro c'est trop" ("Metro's Too Much"), "La bombe humaine" ("Human bomb"), "Argent trop cher" ("Money Too Expensive"), "Ça c'est vraiment toi" ("That Is So You"), "Cendrillon" ("Cinderella"), "New York avec toi" ("New York City With You") and "Un autre Monde" ("Another World").

Members

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Reformation as "Les Insus" (2015-2017)

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The band reunited briefly for a concert at the Point Éphémère on 11 September 2015 under the name "Les Insus" (pronounced [lezɛ̃sy]; insupportables, meaning insufferable. The elided name also suggests the word portable, meaning "cellphone" in French, thus implying an upgrade to modern times). Les Insus was composed of Aubert, Bertignac and Kolinka but with the bassist Corine Marienneau replaced on the bass guitar by Aleksander Angelov (hence the reason they were not able to use the name "Téléphone"). Another concert was held in Lille on 15 September. Les Insus also gave a concert in Lyon, at Le Transbordeur, on 6 October 2015. On 29 November 2015 the new group announced a real tour in France (in which Corine Marienneau would not participate) for 2016. The tour was scheduled from 27 April to 11 November in several major cities and several festivals. On 12 November, they announced a tour of the festivals in summer 2017 and a final gig at the Stade de France on 15 September. The live album Les Insus Live was released on 8 September.

Discography

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Studio albums

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Live albums

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Year Album Peak positions Notes
FR
[2]
2000 Enconcert (Paris 81) 52 Tracklist: Tracklist: "Crache ton venin", "Faits divers", "Au cœur de la nuit", "Ploum ploum", "Fleur de ma ville", "Argent trop cher", "Ordinaire", "La bombe humaine", "Laisse Tomber", "Seul", "Téléphomme", "Hygiaphone", "Tu vas me manquer", "Le Silence".
2011 Le Live 133 Tracklist: "Au cœur de la nuit", "Fait divers", "Dure limite", "Un peu de ton amour", "La bombe humaine", "Cendrillon", "New York avec toi", "Electric Cité", "Le Taxi-las", "Juste un autre genre", "Ce que je veux", "Argent trop cher", "Ça (c'est vraiment toi)", "Un autre monde", "Hygiaphone", "Fleur de ma ville".
2012 Illimité 175 CD1: Compilation /
CD2: Live
Les Insus
  • 2017: Les Insus - Hygiaphone (Live 2017)

Compilation albums

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Year Album Peak positions Notes
FR
[2]
BEL
(Wa)

[3]
2015 Au cœur de Téléphone 11 31 Best Of 2CDs / Best Of 3CDs

DVDs

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  • 1980: Téléphone Public

Singles

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Year Album Peak positions Certification
FR
[2]
1982 "Ça (C'est vraiment toi)"  –
1984 "Un autre monde" 5
1984 "Le jour s'est levé" 4
  • 2012: "Ça (C'est vraiment toi)" (re-release) - peaked in FRA at #133

Awards

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Album Un autre monde won French awards "Victoire de la musique Album Rock" in 1985.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Téléphone Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b c "Téléphone". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Téléphone". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
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