Out to Lunch

Elli et Jacno

Did you ever wonder what the missing link between Lio and Les Rita Mitsouko could be?

Probably not but don't worry, I did it for ya. Somewhere in the outskirts of my memory I still had a faint notion about a French electro-pop duo called Elli et Jacno. I just purchased me a copy of an old compilation album. They were actually quite successful in France and Belgium and to some extent in Britain, having been featured once on the front page of Melody Maker magazine. The relative success in Britain was probably due to the fact that they both used to be a member of the illustrious punk band The Stinky Toys. As one of the first new wave bands, The Stinky Toys are notable for their influence in the history of punk music, having directly inspired Malcolm Maclaren. In 1976 the band took part in the first punk music festival, the 100 Club Punk Festival in London, sharing the bill with other mostly unsigned bands as The Damned and Buzzcocks.

After the split of the band in 1979 Denis Quillard alias Jacno and Elli Medeiros decided to start a musical popduo featuring synthesizers.
Already while playing with the Stinky Toys, Jacno released a big hit with a electronic instrumental track called Rectangle which was used for a Nesquick ad (Nestle's chocolate powder drink). Then, Elli et Jacno became a duo and started to revive the 60's French Yéyé with 80's electro arrangements. They didn’t dismiss the punk attitude though. As a result they had a very minimalist approach to music which resulted in Jacno's telegram-style of playing on the synthesizer and the infamous one note solos.

They wrote not only for themselves but also for others. Amoureux Solitaires for instance was one of the songs they wrote for Lio. Jacno composed and performed the music and Elli sang and wrote the lyrics. They released three albums together before splitting up and beginning separate solo careers. Elli Medeiros was the most successful one with hits in most of Europe and abroad.

Elli Medeiros was a kind of roll model for Catherine Ringer. Not so much for her singing but more in terms of style and certainly the way of dancing.

Jacno – Rectangle

Elli et Jacno – Main Dans Le Main
Elli et Jacno – Je T’aime Tant
Elli et Jacno – Les Jolis Matous
Elli et Jacno – Chica Chica Bongo

Elli Medeiros – Toi Mon Toit 1985
Elli Medeiros – A Bailar Calypso