Les Poppys

A children’s choir comprised of 17 young boys, Les Poppys are a French pop group that made its recording debut in 1970 and was active throughout much of the decade. Founded in 1946 in Asnières, France, as Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières, a select group of 17 members of the choir was signed to a recording contract by the Barclay label in 1970 and named Les Poppys. The group made its recording debut in 1970 with the Christmas single “Noël 70,” backed with the antiwar song “Non, Je Ne Veux Pas Faire la Guerre.” Like “Noël 70,” the group’s follow-up single, “Non, Non, Rien N’a Changé” (1971), was a hit, leading to a long line of successive singles: “Des Chansons Pop,” “Halleluia Maman” (1971); “Credo in Unum Deum,” “Jesus Revolution,” “La Vie C’est Si Joli,” “Septembre Noir, Decembre Blanc” (1972); “An American Trilogy,” “Papa, Pense à Nous,” “Tu Est du Bluff,” “Western Story” (1973); “Avanti Bugatti,” “Glory Alleluia,” “Il Faut une Fleur Pour Faire le Monde,” “Noël 74″ (1974); and “Duguesclin” (1977). A series of full-length albums was released as well, including Poppys (1971), Album 2 (1972), Western Story (1973), and Les Poppys Chantent Walt Disney (1977). However, the popularity of Les Poppys declined with each passing year, and consequently Barclay terminated its association with the group in 1978. Les Poppys experienced one last glimmer of success in 1980 in collaboration with Dutch singer/songwriter Lennie Kuhr on the latter-day smash hit single “Visite,” which went all the way to number two on the Dutch singles chart, before the group evolved into a nostalgia act. Highlights of the group’s Barclay output during the 1970s were later compiled on a series of greatest-hits collections, including Master Série (1994) and Les Années Barclay (1995). ~ Jason Birchmeier