Ange (band)


Ange is a French progressive rock band formed in September 1969 by the Décamps brothers, Francis and Christian.
Since its inception the band's music has been inspired by medieval texts and fantasy.
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History

Ange was initially influenced by Procol Harum and King Crimson, and their music was quite theatrical and poetic. Their first success in France was the cover of a Jacques Brel song, Ces gens-là, on their second album Le Cimetière des Arlequins. The band provided its first concert on January 30, 1970, at the cultural center "La Pépinière", in Belfort, France. They performed 110 concerts in England from 1973 to 1976, opening for Genesis at the Reading Festival in England, on August 26, 1973, fronting some 30.000 listeners.
One of the reasons for which the band was unable to break through into the British market was because they sang in French. Ange eventually released an English-speaking version of its fifth album Par les fils de Mandrin, which was hard to find and sold poorly, although this version has since been made available on CD. Unfortunately, after three albums, the quality of creation had started to decrease, and Par les fils de Mandrin was probably not a good choice to try to break into the British market.
Following Par les fils de Mandrin and the live double album Tome VI, the band issued a mellotron–centered album, Guet-apens, and then had a more rock-oriented change of direction, although various progressive reformations occurred over the years, e.g. for the 1992 album Les larmes du Dalaï-Lama. Sponsored by the French radio RTL, Ange relentlessly toured until the end of 1977, welcoming an average of 5,000 to 6,000 listeners per show. During their first years, the other three members of the band were Jean-Michel Brézovar on guitar and flute, Gérard Jelsch on drums, and Daniel Haas on bass. In 1995, Ange played their farewell tour.
Christian Décamps released a few albums as "Christian Décamps et Fils", before taking over the name "Ange" in 1999, and is backed by his band for his solo albums. The new lineup has issued several albums from La voiture à eau in 1999, performed on 2006 edition of NEARfest and is still on the road in 2025.
Francis Décamps and Jean-Michel Brézovar have also released solo albums.

Keyboards

The keyboard sounds of the '70s-era band, while reminiscent of a mellotron, were in fact generated from a Viscount organ through a modded Hammond reverb. However, an actual mellotron was played on the album Par Les Fils De Mandrin in 1976.

Studio discography

CaricaturesLe Cimetière des arlequinsAu-delà du délireÉmile JacoteyPar les fils de MandrinGuet-ApensVu d'un ChienMoteur!À propos de...La Gare de TroyesFouEgnaTout Feu Tout Flamme... C'est Pour De RireSève Qui PeutLes Larmes Du Dalaï LamaLa Voiture À EauCulinaire Lingus?Souffleurs De VersLe Bois Travaille Même Le DimancheMoyen-ÂgeÉmile Jacotey Résurrection
  • ''Heureux''

Complete discography

Christian and Francis Décamps era

Caricatures Le Cimetière des arlequins Au-delà du délire Émile Jacotey Par les fils de Mandrin Tome VI : Live 1977 En concert : Live 1970-1971 Guet-Apens Vu D'un Chien Moteur! À propos de... La Gare de Troyes Fou Egna Tout Feu Tout Flamme... C'est Pour De Rire Sève Qui Peut Vagabondages Les Larmes Du Dalaï Lama Mémo Un P'tit Tour Et Puis S'en Vont : Live 1995 Ad Libitum Tome 87

Christian and Tristan Décamps era

La Voiture À Eau Rêves Parties Culinaire Lingus ? Le Tour De La Question Zénith An II Souffleurs De Vers Souffleurs De Vers Tour Le Bois Travaille Même Le Dimanche Escale À Ch'tiland Moyen-Âge Emile Jacotey Résurrection Emile Jacotey Résurrection Live La Bataille du sucre
  • ''Heureux''

Christian Décamps & Fils

Le Mal D'Adam Juste Une Ligne Bleue Nu V'soul Vesoul V'soul 3ème Étoile À Gauche Poèmes De La Noiseraie Murmures Psychédélice
  • From 1997 on, Ange Fanclub Un pied dans la marge has produced at least 20 CD or DVD containing mostly live material.

Personnel

Current members

Former Members

  • Francis Décamps - Keyboards, Vocals
  • Jean-Michel Brézovar - Guitars
  • Jean-Claude Rio - Rhythmic Guitar
  • Patrick Kachanian - Bass, Flute
  • Daniel Haas - Bass
  • Gérard Jelsch - Drums, Percussions
  • Guénolé Biger - Drums, Percussions
  • Jean-Pierre Guichard - Drums
  • Claude Demet - Guitars
  • Gérald Renard - Bass
  • Mauro Serri - Guitars
  • Jean-Marie Schreiner - Drums
  • J. Frieden - Keyboards
  • J. Migaud - Keyboards
  • Robert Defer - Guitars
  • Didier Viseux - Bass
  • Frederick Chojnacki - Bass
  • Serge Cuénot - Guitars
  • Laurent Sigrist - Bass
  • Gabriel Troyan - Bass in Tout feu tout flamme
  • Jean-Claude Potin - Drums
  • Francis Meyer - Drums
  • Martine Kesselburg - Choir in Tout feu tout flamme - Vocals
  • Eva Santi - Choir in Tout feu tout flamme
  • Bruno Nion - Vocals in Sève qui peut
  • Fabrice Bony - Drums
  • Jean-Pascal Boffo - Guitars
  • Hervé Rouyer - Drums, Percussions
  • Caroline Crozat - Vocals, Choir

Timeline



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at:29/03/1977 color:black layer:back
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at:18/06/1981 color:black layer:back
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bar:brezovar text:"J.-M. Brézovar"
bar:demet text:"Claude Demet"
bar:serri text:"Mauro Serri"
bar:defer text:"Robert Defer"
bar:cuenot text:"Serge Cuénot"
bar:boffo text:"J.-P. Boffo"
bar:hajdi text:"Hassan Hajdi"
bar:kachanian text:"P. Kachanian"
bar:haas text:"Daniel Haas"
bar:renard text:"Gérald Renard"
bar:viseux text:"Didier Viseux"
bar:chojnacki text:"F. Chojnacki"
bar:sigrist text:"Laurent Sigrist"
bar:sidhoum text:"Thierry Sidhoum"
bar:rio text:"Jean-Claude Rio"
bar:jelsch text:"Gérard Jelsch"
bar:biger text:"Guénolé Biger"
bar:guichard text:"J.-P. Guichard"
bar:schreiner text:"J.-M. Schreiner"
bar:potin text:"J.-C. Potin"
bar:meyer text:"Francis Meyer"
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