Les Charlots | |
|---|---|
 Les Charlots | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | France, |
| Genres | Rock, comedy, parody |
| Years active | 1966–2011 |
| Past members | |
Les Charlots, known as The Crazy Boys in the English-speaking world, was a group of French musicians, singers, comedians and film actors,[1][2] who were popular in the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s.
The group was active first from 1965 to 1966 as "Les Problèmes", under which name they made an album with the French singer Antoine. They renamed themselves Les Charlots and remained active from 1966 to 1997, then again briefly from 2008 to 2011 (as a duo). Charlots is slang for "clowns" or "idiots"[3] rather than being a direct reference to Charlie Chaplin, who was generally called Charlot in France.[4]
Their light-hearted comedy style was influenced by the style of popular Italian group Brutos and by the anarchist humor of the Marx Brothers.
The five members were Gérard Rinaldi (vocals / saxophone / accordion), Jean Sarrus (bass / backing vocals), Gérard Filippelli, a.k.a. "Phil" (guitar / backing vocals), Luis Rego (rhythm guitar / piano / backing vocals) and Jean-Guy Fechner (drums / backing vocals). Filippelli was nicknamed "Phil" as there were two "Gérards" in the group.
- ^ "Les Charlots". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014.
- ^ Clarke Fountain (2014). "Bons Baisers de Hong Kong". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014.
- ^ Definition of the word "charlot" on L'internaute.com : a person who lack of seriousness, a "clown".
- ^ Charlot on Larousse.fr.