Noir Désir - Bertrand Cantat - Un destin Rock

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With six studio albums, one remix album and two live albums, Noir Désir have become the most perfect and vibrant embodiment of French rock.
The band, comprising Serge Teyssot Gay, Denis Barthe, Jean-Paul Roy, Bertrand Cantat and Frédéric Vidalenc (until 1995), began reshaping the French rock scene as early as 1987, infusing it with a sense of social commitment, electric energy and a steadfast refusal to compromise.

The ‘Noir Désir’ story encompasses their humble beginnings on the Bordeaux scene of the 1980s, their signing with Barclay, their unstoppable rise to fame, their social activism, and an impeccable and prolific discography.

A lengthy chapter entitled ‘Le feu de l’enfer’ (The Fire of Hell) examines the Vilnius incident, attempting to explain how everything came together that night to lead to the tragedy. Here, the author draws a parallel with other high-profile cases involving rock stars, such as Phil Spector, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sid Vicious and Keith Richards’ partner, Anita Pallenberg.

Beyond the human tragedy that will henceforth be associated with his name, ‘Noir Désir’s perpetual struggle against mediocrity and conformism’, to quote the foreword writer Jean Fauque, is far from over.

No biography to date has traced the journey of the ‘four angry boys’ with such comprehensiveness and attention to detail, from their early wanderings in Bordeaux to their now eagerly awaited forthcoming album.

Artists 2

• Bertrand Cantat 1964 · France
• Noir Désir 1980 – 2010 · France

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