Les Surfs Explained

Les Surfs
Origin:Tananarive, Madagascar
Genre:Pop rock
Years Active:1963–1971
Label:Festival Records (France)
Website:Les Surfs (Official Site)
Les Surfs
Past Members:† Monique Rabaraona
† Nicole Rabaraona
Coco Rabaraona
Pat Rabaraona
Rocky Rabaraona
Dave Rabaraona

Les Surfs were a Yé-yé-style pop group from Madagascar, that existed from 1963 until 1971.

Members

History

Coco, Pat, Rocky, Dave, Monikya (Monique), and Nicole Rabaraona were the eldest six of twelve children. Born in Madagascar, the four brothers and two sisters performed as the vocal group "Les Surfs" from 1963 to 1971.

On October 14, 1958, they entered a singing competition held by Radio Tananarive under the name "Rabaraona Brothers and Sisters" performing two songs by The Platters, "Only You" and "The Great Pretender". They were awarded with first prize and then began performing under the new name "The Beryl". They toured Madagascar with Henry Ratsimbazafy and the CCC guitars, and it was at this time they recorded their first 45's, "Little Flower," "Marin," and "The Three Bells".

On September 8, 1963, they appeared during the grand opening of the second television station in France. Their performance endeared them to the French public, so Jean-Louis Rafidy, who was chaperone to the Rabaraonas while in Paris, urged them to sign a contract with Festival Records and release a single as soon as possible. With the release of "Reviens Vite Et Oublie" a cover of "Be My Baby", the group who were now named "Les Surfs" were at the top of the charts for three months in France and in Spain and Mexico with a Spanish version. They toured with Frank Alamo and Sheila and in 1964 they performed at the Olympia in Paris. It was here they were proclaimed the "Newcomers Of The Year".

They recorded and toured throughout the 1960s in languages and countries all over the world. Performances at San Remo secured them as a popular act in Italy, Spain, and Germany. With further television appearances in France, Italy, England, and the United States they garnered an international audience of millions. As a dynamic-sounding, original-looking group, they secured many original compositions and some covers of English-language songs.

During a career spanning from 1958 to 1971, they also performed for royalty. By the late 1960s they had their own young families and so in 1971, at the end of a very long tour, Les Surfs decided to break up.

The following years would see Monique and Rocky reunite for a couple of years but this did not last. The male group members settled in Canada and started their own families. Monique lived in Canada for a while but eventually returned to live in France. Nicole immigrated to the United States and worked as a carer for children in need. Monique died suddenly on November 15, 1993, at the age of 48. She is survived by her two sons Lawrence and Nicolas. Nicole died on May 5, 2000, and was laid to rest with her sister in the Rabaraona family tomb in Fiakarana, Madagascar.

In 2008, Dave Rabaraona started a new group "Les Surfs 2008" which participated in the French tour "Âge tendre et tête de bois 2008" during the 2008-2009 season. The line up of "Les Surfs 2008" included, in addition to Dave Rabaraona, Isa Rabaraona, Jackya Rabaraona, his cousin Bruno, and Mahenintsoa Fidy.

Filmography and TV

Discography

45 RPM EPs France

45 RPM EPs Spain

45 RPM EPs Italy

33 RPM LPs France

33 RPM LPs Spain

External links

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Les Surfs".

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