The Lovers (band)
Encyclopedia
The Lovers are a French
electronica/ Neo Burlesque band based in Sheffield, England, consisting of real-life lovers Fred de Fred and Marion Benoist. Their music is usually upbeat, satirising French stereotypes, with special fondness for songs about food and sex.
The couple started working on music after a chance meeting with Jarvis Cocker
, who wrote them the songs 'La Degustation', 'Fred de Fred' and 'Basque Country'. These songs feature on their self-titled debut album, "The Lovers", which was co-produced by Dean Honer and Parrot of All Seeing I
, Kevin Bacon and Jon Quarmby (Finley Quaye, Pretenders etc...), Leigh Devlin and Robin Downe.
The Lovers have been at the forefront of the 'Neo Burlesque'/'Gypsy Madness' mouvement, often playing with 'Lost Vagueness'.
They have collaborated in the past with Richard Hawley, Kings Have Long Arms
frontman Adrian Flanagan, Hiem
; they also formed part of I Monster
's live show.
In previous work, Fred worked for Sheffield studio FON, and has collaborated with acts such as Sweet Exorcist and Nightmares on Wax
and tracks from his electro - lounge project 'The Loungitude' has featured on many compilations, including Buddha Bar.
Marion is a former bunny girl, who has worked with producers such as Nellee Hooper
, and wrote the song 'Wonderland', which took Moloko
's Róisín Murphy
to number two in the dance charts.
Their music has attracted a rapidly growing audience, reaching from the duo’s adopted home of Sheffield to all over the UK, France,
The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore.
Their recordings have graced TV adverts ('La Le', used on TV advert for McDonalds; 'Crik Crak', on a number of others (Robinsons Fruit Juice etc...); 'French Kiss', on the soundtrack of legendary BBC TV series 'Sugar Rush' etc...)
and art installations and are even being used as a grammatical teaching tool by Linguascope
and the French Board of Education.
Debut album 'The Lovers' got the press hot under the collar - NME described it as “A record so seedy it would make Serge Gainsbourg blush”, just put it down to British reserve. As playful as a swingers party at Salvador Dalí’s house, it was also, as Mojo pointed out, packed with “peculiar pop songs with an electronic twist.”
Their 2nd album “Pardon My French”, is now released on ITUNES - AND AS A COLLECTOR LIMITED EDITION (WITH A PEELABLE STICKER :) - and was produced and mixed in Austin Texas by their longtime friends, Grammy Award Gabe Rhodes (Beth Nielsen Chapman, Willie Nelson, Kimmie Rhodes, Billy Joe Shaver etc. … ) and Joe Gracey (Steve Ray Van, Ray Campi, Butch Hancock, Joe King Carrasco, Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys etc...)
Here, The Lovers are back where they love to be - back in the speakers, recounting their sensual adventures. The tunes are bigger, the lyrics even more risqué (‘John (With The Magic Corkscrew)’), their wine-fuelled bid for entente-cordiale even more forcused. When they’re cheeky ("Friends”, “Chickaboom”) they’re irresistible. When they’re steamy, (“Reverie De Lolita”, “Striptease For Beginners”) you’ll be wondering why all pop isn’t this smart and sassy.
Their live performances are not to be missed, “The set climaxes with Fred de Fred dropping to his knees, sliding between singer Marion’s pins and convulsing with his guitar like a human sex toy” (NME), "Marion is stunning. She wears next to nothing, flirts with her all body, sings about stripping and makes every male and nearly every female trapped in an unavoidable lust. They play tight, they sound good, they seem to be having a great time, they are truly great. The set ends with Fred de Fred playing the guitar between his lovers legs; and that my friend was worth the ticket price and so much more" (THE LOVERS AT LOST VAGUENESS, HALLAM STUDENTS UNION), "The atmosphere here tonight has remained delightful; the audience totally rapt with the performance The Lovers give, which is a perfectly executed one. They are a pleasure to watch (or should that be 'experience'?) and the evening feels like a real event, a real breath of unselfconscious revelling..."
Sandman Magazine (Rebecca Tattersall)
They are accompanied on stage by guitar player Bryan Day (Carmen Ghia and The Hotrods, Tony Christie) and drummer Marc Hoad (Pink Grease).
They also have just released on iTunes a remix album of their self titled debut album, called "Menage A Trois" from the likes of Hiem, Ross Orton
of Fat Truckers
, Robin Taylor-Firth of Nightmares on Wax and Budnubac, DJ Sophie Toes (Dirty Washing), Naum Gabo (Optimo, Kill The DJ), Leigh Devlin (Minus Blue), Kid Twist (Beat Down The Upset), Monsieur R. Downe (Sarah Jay)......
The band are not to be confused with Tom Hingley
's The Lovers
, a band formed by the former frontman of Inspiral Carpets
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
electronica/ Neo Burlesque band based in Sheffield, England, consisting of real-life lovers Fred de Fred and Marion Benoist. Their music is usually upbeat, satirising French stereotypes, with special fondness for songs about food and sex.
The couple started working on music after a chance meeting with Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
, who wrote them the songs 'La Degustation', 'Fred de Fred' and 'Basque Country'. These songs feature on their self-titled debut album, "The Lovers", which was co-produced by Dean Honer and Parrot of All Seeing I
All Seeing I
The All Seeing I is an English electronic music group from Sheffield, comprising Dean Honer, Jason Buckle and DJ Parrot...
, Kevin Bacon and Jon Quarmby (Finley Quaye, Pretenders etc...), Leigh Devlin and Robin Downe.
The Lovers have been at the forefront of the 'Neo Burlesque'/'Gypsy Madness' mouvement, often playing with 'Lost Vagueness'.
They have collaborated in the past with Richard Hawley, Kings Have Long Arms
Kings Have Long Arms
Kings Have Long Arms are an English "rocktronica" act, formed in Sheffield and masterminded by Salford-born Adrian Flanagan . Kings Have Long Arms have collaborated with Philip Oakey from The Human League on the track "Rock and Roll is Dead", Marion from The Lovers and Mira from Ladytron...
frontman Adrian Flanagan, Hiem
Hiem
Hiem is an electronic dance duo from Sheffield, England. Consists of Nick "Nico" Eastwood and David "Bozz" Boswell.-Background:Nick Eastwood was a former member of Venini, the band that featured former Pulp guitarist Russell Senior, and ran the near-legendary Le Citrus night at Sheffield's Casbah...
; they also formed part of I Monster
I Monster
I Monster are an English electronic music group, composed of the Sheffield based record producers Dean Honer and Jarrod Gosling. They formed in 1997, and released their debut album These Are Our Children in 1998....
's live show.
In previous work, Fred worked for Sheffield studio FON, and has collaborated with acts such as Sweet Exorcist and Nightmares on Wax
Nightmares on Wax
George Evelyn, better known as Nightmares on Wax and also known as DJ EASE , is a DJ from Leeds, UK. His music is released on Warp Records and was one of the first releases on the label. Evelyn got his start in the music industry through an interest in hip hop and on joining a local breakdancing crew...
and tracks from his electro - lounge project 'The Loungitude' has featured on many compilations, including Buddha Bar.
Marion is a former bunny girl, who has worked with producers such as Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
, and wrote the song 'Wonderland', which took Moloko
Moloko
Moloko were an Anglo-Irish electronic/pop duo consisting of Róisín Murphy from Wicklow, Ireland and Mark Brydon, from Sunderland, England.- Origin of band name :...
's Róisín Murphy
Róisín Murphy
Róisín Marie Murphy is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style.Murphy first came to note as part of the electronic music duo Moloko. Her partner in the band was then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her...
to number two in the dance charts.
Their music has attracted a rapidly growing audience, reaching from the duo’s adopted home of Sheffield to all over the UK, France,
The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore.
Their recordings have graced TV adverts ('La Le', used on TV advert for McDonalds; 'Crik Crak', on a number of others (Robinsons Fruit Juice etc...); 'French Kiss', on the soundtrack of legendary BBC TV series 'Sugar Rush' etc...)
and art installations and are even being used as a grammatical teaching tool by Linguascope
Linguascope
Linguascope is a publisher in the United Kingdom of online educational resources for Modern Foreign Language teachers for French, German, Spanish, Italian and English in the classroom...
and the French Board of Education.
Debut album 'The Lovers' got the press hot under the collar - NME described it as “A record so seedy it would make Serge Gainsbourg blush”, just put it down to British reserve. As playful as a swingers party at Salvador Dalí’s house, it was also, as Mojo pointed out, packed with “peculiar pop songs with an electronic twist.”
Their 2nd album “Pardon My French”, is now released on ITUNES - AND AS A COLLECTOR LIMITED EDITION (WITH A PEELABLE STICKER :) - and was produced and mixed in Austin Texas by their longtime friends, Grammy Award Gabe Rhodes (Beth Nielsen Chapman, Willie Nelson, Kimmie Rhodes, Billy Joe Shaver etc. … ) and Joe Gracey (Steve Ray Van, Ray Campi, Butch Hancock, Joe King Carrasco, Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys etc...)
Here, The Lovers are back where they love to be - back in the speakers, recounting their sensual adventures. The tunes are bigger, the lyrics even more risqué (‘John (With The Magic Corkscrew)’), their wine-fuelled bid for entente-cordiale even more forcused. When they’re cheeky ("Friends”, “Chickaboom”) they’re irresistible. When they’re steamy, (“Reverie De Lolita”, “Striptease For Beginners”) you’ll be wondering why all pop isn’t this smart and sassy.
Their live performances are not to be missed, “The set climaxes with Fred de Fred dropping to his knees, sliding between singer Marion’s pins and convulsing with his guitar like a human sex toy” (NME), "Marion is stunning. She wears next to nothing, flirts with her all body, sings about stripping and makes every male and nearly every female trapped in an unavoidable lust. They play tight, they sound good, they seem to be having a great time, they are truly great. The set ends with Fred de Fred playing the guitar between his lovers legs; and that my friend was worth the ticket price and so much more" (THE LOVERS AT LOST VAGUENESS, HALLAM STUDENTS UNION), "The atmosphere here tonight has remained delightful; the audience totally rapt with the performance The Lovers give, which is a perfectly executed one. They are a pleasure to watch (or should that be 'experience'?) and the evening feels like a real event, a real breath of unselfconscious revelling..."
Sandman Magazine (Rebecca Tattersall)
They are accompanied on stage by guitar player Bryan Day (Carmen Ghia and The Hotrods, Tony Christie) and drummer Marc Hoad (Pink Grease).
They also have just released on iTunes a remix album of their self titled debut album, called "Menage A Trois" from the likes of Hiem, Ross Orton
Ross Orton
Ross Orton is a musician/songwriter/producer based in Sheffield, England.He is known for his work as drummer in Add N to and as part of electro trio Fat Truckers, and since that band's split in 2004 has formed the Cavemen songwriting/production duo with Pulp's Steve Mackey...
of Fat Truckers
Fat Truckers
The Fat Truckers were a British electroclash band from Sheffield, comprising Ben Rymer, Mark Hudson and Ross Orton and briefly augmented by Jason Buckle and Ginger Dave as a part-time members....
, Robin Taylor-Firth of Nightmares on Wax and Budnubac, DJ Sophie Toes (Dirty Washing), Naum Gabo (Optimo, Kill The DJ), Leigh Devlin (Minus Blue), Kid Twist (Beat Down The Upset), Monsieur R. Downe (Sarah Jay)......
The band are not to be confused with Tom Hingley
Tom Hingley
Tom Hingley is a musician best known as the lead vocalist of the English rock band Inspiral Carpets.-Life:...
's The Lovers
Tom Hingley and the Lovers
The Lovers are a British punk rock band formed by singer Tom Hingley and brothers Steve Hanley and Paul Hanley - both former members of The Fall - with guitarist Jason Brown and keyboardist Kelly Wood....
, a band formed by the former frontman of Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
External links
- The Lovers – official website.
- The Lovers discography at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
. - 'La le' video clip.