Figure 1.--Here is a photograph of the Poppys in concert about 1975. I think it was a UNICEF benefit. The boy in the center (second row) is Philippe Magnan. He died in 2007. He was only 48 years old. |
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Les Poppys is a destinctive French boy choir. Unlike most French boy choirs, it was not church related. It began as a church choir. The origins of the Choir go back to Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières founded by Jean Amoureux (1946). Francois Bernheim who a boy choriser at Les Roche-Martin and became the artistic director for the important record company Barclay. He discovered the singers in 1970 and came up with the idea of Les Poppys formed with boys from Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières. Les Poppys was influenced by the Hippie movement in America and made songs protesting the Vietnam War became an important part of their repertoiry which inckluded some of the traditional choral music the boys were trained to sing with Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières. Their new name was based on the word 'Pop Music'. Of course with their Hippy orientation, the name also was close to the word Poppie in English. Unlike their suposedly Hippie ideal, Les Popys was a huge commercial hit. Barclay earned a great deal of momey. Very little of this filtered down to the boys involved.
HBC has only limited information on this French choir. It was created during 1946 in a Paris suburb--Asnières. The choir was founded by Jean Amoureux who continues to direct it. The choir made some major appearances in the 1980s. The choir in the 1990s appaered on television programs such as Sacré Soirée, le Téléthon, with Jacques Martin. They choir sings with with well-known stars: Cabrel, Mireille Mathieu, François Felman, Balavoine, Celine Dion, Roch Neighbor, Enrico Macias, Pascal Obispo, Charles Aznavour, and much of others. One available image shows that the choir made a trip to perform in Germany. Some longer hair styles suggest that the trip was taken in the 1970s. We have no more current images and in fact are not sure if the choir still exists. The boys wore a simple uniform of white shirts, dark ties, probably blue short pants, white kneesocks, and black leather shoes. They also wear campaign, military style caps--unusual for a French choir. We do not know if they had jackets, but there does not appear to have been one for the choristers.
The Hippy movement developed in America during the 1960s. It was a reaction to the America of the 1950s when the primary focus was on hard work and achieving the American dream. The Hippy movement embraced what ever button-down Americans endorsed. Young men began wearing long hair and growing beards. Young women dressed in peasants dresses. Popular for both of course weretattered jeans. Both took to psychedelic colors. Hippy clothing had a major impact on popular fashions. The Hippies not only dressed differently and sore long hair, they attempted to drop out of society. To many Americans they seemed dirty and disrespectful of their parents and American society as whole. Americans after World War II, thanks to the GI Bill, for the first time had generally open access to university studies and professionsal careers. Hippies rejected the new opportunities. They dropped out of university and instead tried to form rock bands and live in communes. Some of the most adventuresome took often to exotic locations like India and Nepal. They in particular objected to the Vietnam War. The Hippy moveement has been the subject of exhaustive study. There were positive aspects, perhsaps the most important was the relaxed attitudes toward race. And the adoption of non-violence aid the Civil Rights movement. Other aspects are still being debated today, such as relaxed attitudes toward sex. Key to the Hippie life style was drugs. Hippies believed that enlightenment and great music came not through tiresome study, but taking drugs. While initially an American movement, the Hippies gradually influenced other counties as well, especially Europe.
Conection between Petits Chanteurs d'Asnieres sur Seine (PCAIF) and Poppys is very dificult to understand (even for French) and explain. It is cklear the Poppys boys were recruited from the PCAIF and were thus trained choral singers.
Barclay, the great French music company, established "Les Poppys" music group (21970). Francois Bernheim who a boy choriser at Les Roche-Martin and became the artistic director for the important record company Barclay. He discovered the singers in 1970 and came up with the idea of Les Poppys formed with boys from Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières. Barclay borrow 17 boys from PCAIF in a financial transaction. The record they recorded had a great commercial succes. Eventually Barclay borrowed about 60 boys (9 to 16 years old) from PCAIF during the 1970s while Les Poppys was active.
Les Poppys was influenced by the Hippie movement in America. They influenced popular music at the time. Les Poppys made songs protesting the Vietnam War became an important part of their repertoiry which inckluded some of the traditional choral music the boys were trained to sing with Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières.
They sang protest songs against war ("Non, non, rien n'a change"), religion texts ( "Jesus revolution"), songs about love ("Isabelle, je t'aime"), death ("Teddy"), loneliness ("Deja seul") and hope ("Pour que le monde un jour soit meilleur"). Songs about human tragedies ("Le tourbillon du Pakistan"), and unloved, unlacky children ("Non ne criez pas").
Their new name was based on the word 'Pop Music'. Of course with their Hippy orientation, the name also was close to the word Poppy in English--the flower from which opium is produced..
Unlike their suposedly Hippie ideal, Les Popys was a huge commercial hit. Barclay earned a great deal of momey. Very little of this filtered down to the boys involved.
"Les Poppys" existed from 1970 to 1978 and became a legendary music group. Barclay sold over 5 million discs.
Barclay made a great deal of money. They made cintributions to the PCAIF. The young singers got nothing.
The boys' beautiful voices combined with very emotional texts and interesting music helped the Poppys become very popular not only in France, but many other European countries (Germany--West and East, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Records with with Poppys music were issued even in Turkey and Mozambique in Africa.
To go along with the Hippy music, the boys wore costumes stylized somewhat like young hippies. As part of the PCAIF, the boys wore long white albs with crosses. They also wore very un-Hippy white shirts, ties, and short pants. The Poppys costume could hardly be more different. The boys wore dark blue shirts with colorful flowers. We have also seen other colored shirts. With these shirts they wore wirn jeans in different colors.
We note a photograph of the PCAIF during a singing tour (1969). They were in Bavaria and posed in their uniforms. This was just before Les Poppys was formed. The boy siting on banister was named Olivier Antignac. As a solist he sang the French version "Let the sunshine in" from musical "Hair", almost a theme song of the Hippies movement. He died in 1995. He was only 38 years old. The little smilling boy sitting in the second row (his left leg is near right arm of the girl), is Philippe Sellier (9 years old, nick name "Coucou"). He became the Les Poppys' great star.
It is facinating that Les Poppys adopted a hippy image. The boys wore hippy-like shoirts and jeans and grew their hair long. And of course they sang hippy songs. Here is where the connection with the Hippies ended. Notice where the boys were recruited. They came from a chiurch choir where they received rigorous music training. The reason they sang so beautifully is that they were well trained and this meant hard work--just the opposite of the Hipopy ethic. And of course, Les Poppy were a very successful commercial undertaking--again the opposite of the Hippy ethic.
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