# Martin Circus > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Martin_Circus > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Martin_Circus.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Circus > Source revision: 1325337996 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) French rock band Martin Circus Origin France Genres Rock, pop, disco, dance, pop rock, progressive rock, progressive pop, psychedelic rock, new wave, glam rock, chanson, synthpop Years active 1968 (1968)–1985 (1985) 2001 (2001) 2016 (2016) Labels ZE, Disques Vogue Past members Bob Brault Gérard Pisani Patrick Dietsch Paul-Jean Borowsky Jean-Francois Leroi Alain Pewsner Gérard Blanc Sylvain Pauchard René Guérin Tom Bock Félix Sabal-Lecco Website www.martincircus.com **Martin Circus** was a French band formed in the late 1960s, whose musical style developed over time from [progressive rock](/source/Progressive_rock) through [pop](/source/Pop_music) to [disco](/source/Disco) and [new wave music](/source/New_wave_music) in the 1970s and 1980s. ## Career The band formed in 1968, at a time when the popular music scene in France was dominated by singers and bands performing versions of American and British songs, and established [yé-yé](/source/Y%C3%A9-y%C3%A9) and *[chanson](/source/Chanson)*-style singers. Martin Circus was one of the first French bands set up with the aim of writing and performing rock music with [French language](/source/French_language) lyrics.[1] Encouraged by English musician [Mick Jones](/source/Mick_Jones_(Foreigner_guitarist)), who had played in [Johnny Hallyday](/source/Johnny_Hallyday)'s backing group, the band was established by Gérard Pisani (b. 1941, saxophone) – who had also been in Hallyday's band – and Jean-Pierre "Bob" Brault (b. 1945, bass, vocals), soon joined by Patrick Dietsch (vocals, guitar), Paul-Jean Borowsky (vocals, keyboards), and Jean-Francois Leroi (drums). Their first single "Tout tremblant de fièvre", written by Dietsch and Pisani and released by [Disques Vogue](/source/Disques_Vogue), was successful in 1969, and they recorded an [LP](/source/LP_record), *En Direct du Rock 'n Roll Circus*.[2][3][4] By 1971, Dietsch, Borowsky and Leroi had left the band, to be replaced by Alain Pewsner (b. 1948, guitar), [Gérard Blanc](/source/G%C3%A9rard_Blanc) (1947–2009, vocals, guitar), Sylvain Pauchard (b. 1950, keyboards), and René Guérin (b. 1949, drums). Pewsner and Guérin had been members of the Alan Jack Civilization, and Blanc and Pauchard joined from the band Balthazar. They released a lavishly produced [double album](/source/Double_album), *Acte II*, in 1971, featuring the hit single "Je m'éclate au Sénégal", written by Brault and Pisani. The band toured widely, performed at many festivals, and appeared in the 1971 movie *[Les Bidasses en folie](/source/Les_Bidasses_en_folie)*. Pisani left the band in 1972, following which they appeared in the 1973 [rock opera](/source/Rock_opera) show *[La Révolution Française](/source/La_R%C3%A9volution_Fran%C3%A7aise)*. They released the album *Acte III* in 1974.[2][3][4][5] By now, a four-piece pop group comprising Blanc, Pewsner, Pauchard and Guérin, Martin Circus released the album *No. 1 USA Hits of the 60's*, on which they recorded French language versions of American pop hits. They had their biggest hit single in 1975 with "Ma-ry-lène", a version of [the Beach Boys](/source/The_Beach_Boys)' [arrangement](/source/Arrangement) of "[Barbara Ann](/source/Barbara_Ann)". The albums *Tu Joues Ton Cœur* and *Rock'n'Roll Circus* followed in 1976, and the band continued to perform live.[2][3][4] In 1978, they appeared in, and provided the soundtrack for, the movie *Les Bidasses en vadrouille*, one of a long-running series of *Bidasses* comic movies. The soundtrack album was released as *Martin 'Disco' Circus*, and featured a 14-minute track, "Disco Circus", written by Blanc and Pewsner and arranged by Gilles Tinayre, who also played keyboards. Several versions of the track were issued internationally, including a version edited by [François Kevorkian](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois_Kevorkian), and it has been widely [sampled](/source/Sampling_(music)) and appeared on several compilations of [dance music](/source/Dance_music). The album was issued in the US by [Prelude Records](/source/Prelude_Records_(record_label)) as *Disco Circus*, with a revised track order.[3][1] Guérin left Martin Circus as their use of [drum machines](/source/Drum_machine) developed, and the remaining trio of Pewsner, Pauchard and Blanc released the album *Shine Baby Shine* in 1979. The band then shifted towards a new wave focus with the album *De sang froid*, which featured the return of original songwriter and saxophonist Gérard Pisani. However, it was not successful, and the band split up in the mid-1980s.[2][3][4] In 2001, an early line-up of Brault, Pisani, Borowsky, Dietsch, Blanc, and Guérin came together to record the album *Origines*, comprising a mixture of new and re-recorded material. Blanc died in 2009.[2] Another reunion under the Martin Circus name, this time of Pewsner and Pauchard with singer Tom Bock and drummer Félix Sabal-Lecco, took place in 2016. ## Discography - *En Direct du Rock 'n Roll Circus* (1969) - *Acte II* (1971) - *Acte III* (1974) - *No. 1 USA Hits of the 60's* (1975) - *Tu Joues Ton Cœur* (1976) - *Rock'n'Roll Circus* (1976) - *Martin 'Disco' Circus* (1978, aka *Disco Circus*) - *Shine Baby Shine* (1979) - *De sang froid* (1982) - *Origines* (2001) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-allmusic_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-allmusic_1-1) [Biography by Andy Kellman, *Allmusic.com*](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/martin-circus-mn0000857590). Retrieved 24 September 2019 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-encyclo_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-encyclo_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-encyclo_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-encyclo_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-encyclo_2-4) [Martin Circus, *Encyclopedisque*](http://www.encyclopedisque.fr/artiste.html?N=3092&fartiste=&ftype=). Retrieved 24 September 2019 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-melody_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-melody_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-melody_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-melody_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-melody_3-4) [Martin Circus, *Melody*](https://www.melody.tv/artiste/martin-circus). Retrieved 24 September 2019 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-martin_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-martin_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-martin_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-martin_4-3) [Martin Circus:Biography](https://www.martincircus.com/biographie.html). Retrieved 24 September 2019 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Martin Circus Discography, *Discogs.com*](https://www.discogs.com/artist/3667-Martin-Circus?filter_anv=0&type=Releases). Retrieved 24 September 2019 Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF National United States Artists MusicBrainz --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Martin Circus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Circus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Circus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.