Eleanor Rigby - French Female Solo 'Round' - Help Me Find The Artist!

[Beechwoods]

Some years ago I came across a version of The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby sung by a trio(?) of French accented female singers, a cappella, in the style of a 'round'.

This was on a tape, which a friend recorded me off the radio. The show was one of Coldcut's 'Solid Steel' broadcasts off London Live.

Try as I might I haven't been able to ID the artist, and I've spent a lot of time checking out cover versions on Spotify and elsewhere.

Does anyone here have any pointers as to possible arists? I really want to track down this record. It was so hauntingly beautiful and I've lost the original tape in any case :(

Thank you!

[Kris]

You have my empathy. It's a total nightmare when you know something is out there but spend years trying to track it down with no success.

Good luck!

[Beechwoods]

This one is doing my nut! Even if it takes a few years, I'm hoping that someone here will chance across my post and point me in the right direction :)

[Themis]

There are not so many french a capella trios... Lili Marto ?

[Beechwoods]

Thanks for the tip Dimitri... but no hits on Lili Marto + Eleanor Rigby, and too contemporary also, I think - checking their MySpace page :(. The performance I heard definitely had a late 60's / early 70's feel about it. Do you have any other suggestions? :)

[Themis]

The performance I heard definitely had a late 60's / early 70's feel about it. Do you have any other suggestions? :)
:doh: (I saw a "few" years ago... I need to study the British "understatement" better...)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Nick,
I'm almost certain this is not the one you're looking for but there's an a capella version of Eleanor Rigby by The Idea of North on an album called 'Live at the Powerhouse'.

They're Australian & they consist of two female & two male singers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idea_of_North

Not my cuppa tea, but I just happen to know it exists!

[Beechwoods]

:lol: The tape was recorded sometime around 2001, but I think the record they played was somewhat older! I don't know about undertstatement, sometimes we Brits could just be a bit clearer ! Thanks Dimitri!

[Beechwoods]

And thank you Chris... you're right, not the band I was thinking about (judging from the stuff on their website) - but another new one on me, so at least we're pushing the envelope as far as my knowledge of Beatles / Eleanor Rigby covers are concerned!

But I did come across this chap tonight. Very funky. Vince Seneri - check out the first track http://kausti.com/blogg/images/smilies/smiliesSmall/Cool_smiley.png

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/vinceseneri2

[The Grand Wazoo]

Wayhey! Pass the Pimm's!!

I've always had a thing for Ethel The Frog's weighty version:

urNcMS7tTto

[The Grand Wazoo]

Do you know this one Nick?
- another weighty one from another bunch of Aussies - The Zoot (1970) - including Rick 'Jessie's Girl' Springfield

Q_3IUASoqfM

[DanJennings]

Do you know this one Nick?
- another weighty one from another bunch of Aussies - The Zoot (1970) - including Rick 'Jessie's Girl' Springfield


That one was great!
Is the rest of their stuff that good?!

I don't know many covers of the song to be honest, but this has to be one of the worst:
br2a0iKn_JA

[Kris]

I don't know many covers of the song to be honest, but this has to be one of the worst

Actually, it's one of my favourites. The sound quality of that Youtube copy is terrible. It doesn't really sound anything like that.

[The Grand Wazoo]

That one was great!
Is the rest of their stuff that good?!


I don't think they did very much but what I've heard is in a broadly similar vein - quite heavy music for the time (can you hear a bit of Black Sabbath in there?) with good vocal harmonies. Eleanor Rigby was quite a big hit in Aus. but prior to this they had a bit of a manufactured band image & were a bit more lightweight.

The best track I know is 'The Freak' which was a single chart flop. I can't find a link to it though.

Here's 'Hey Pinky' it was a backlash against their previous management who'd made them wear pink suits & play music aimed at teenyboppers. So Rick Springfield comes out on TV with a Tony Iommi guitar sound (even played on a Gibson SG) and wears a shirt with an upside down cross on it!

WFedv7ZoV7M



........sorry Nick, this isn't finding your French lady-warblers is it?

[DanJennings]

Cheers for that Chris, I take it it's probably impossible to get any on CD?

Nick: There are a HUGE amount of covers of it on Spotify, I had a quick skim through, and didn't find anything fitting your description, but I only scratched the surface, so maybe that's worth a try.
Currently listening to the Tangerine Dream version, which I didn't know existed, after a supposedly Gregorian Chant version, which didn't sound at all Gregorian to my ears....

edit: just reread the first post, ignore me

[snapper]

Some years ago I came across a version of The Beatles' Eleanor Rigby sung by a trio(?) of French accented female singers, a cappella, in the style of a 'round'.

Does anyone here have any pointers as to possible arists?
Thank you!


Les Diamants.

????

[Beechwoods]

It's a great song for covers so keep 'em coming, especially the ones that aren't on Spotify (I've spent many a happy hour going through all of those, though they do add new ones frequently!).

I'll have to wack up some links to my own favourite versions, I have a few. The Vanilla Fudge one is right up there :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Nick, Did you ever solve your Rigby-related riddle?

[Rare Bird]

I don't know many covers of the song to be honest

Eleanor Rigs

Saffran
Streetmark
Ray Charles
Malachi
Esperanto
Thunderclap Newman
Junipher Greene
Riverson
Teagarden & Winkle
Kansas
Rick Wakeman
Velvet Opera
Zoot
Pure Food & Drug Act
Sandy Coast

[Beechwoods]

Nick, Did you ever solve your Rigby-related riddle?

Not yet... the odyssey continues!

I'll have to check out some of Andre's latest suggestions :)

[snapper]

Les Diamants.




Not yet... the odyssey continues!



Did you try Les Diamants?

[Beechwoods]

Waaay too raucous to be them, and formed too late too (my recording is from c. 2000, they only formed around 2004 I think) if we're talking the Estonian group with a page on Myspace :) But than you for the suggestion!

[snapper]

if we're talking the Estonian group with a page on Myspace


No,I'm talking about the French pop group.

[Beechwoods]

Do you have a link, David? I've not been able to find them I don't think...

[DanJennings]

I dunno if this will help, but it's all I could find


http://www.discogs.com/Les-Diamants-Bus-Stop-Arr%C3%AAt-DAutobus/release/1864436

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7395240/a/La+France+Et+Les+Beatles+V3.htm

[snapper]

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7395240/a/La+France+Et+Les+Beatles+V3.htm


That's the one I was thinking of,Dan.

Or from the label site

http://www.magic-records.com/boutique/liste_produits.cfm?type=220&code_lg=lg_fr&num=0

which is cheaper.

[The Grand Wazoo]

So Nick, I keep checking back on this thread every now & then - any more clues yet?

[Beechwoods]

Unfortunately not Chris! And now its going round my head again! I'm having a reorganisation of my room, and I'll have to pull out my old Solid Steel minidisc recordings... I'm sure I transferred it to or had it on minidisc at some point because I remember hearing it for the first time on my headphones walking into work, and back then it was in my pre-DAT minidisc phase...

[The Grand Wazoo]

Well if you find it, you're going to have to find a way to get it up here so we can have a listen to it. Maybe that's a way to find out who it's by?

[darkstar078]

Hi Nick,

Maybe the Centrale Discotheek can help you, it's the Library of Music also know as CDtheek.
I hope this will help and end your search for this Beatles song.
Contact: muziekweb.nl / Click on Popular / Enter Eleanor Rigby in Songtitel.
You get 268 different Eleanor Rigbys by all sort of bands/musicians.
By clickin' on the number, say JK34789 or JE23456, you will see all the songs on this artist's album including ER.
Click on the muziek-icon behind Eleanor Rigby and you are able to listen to a 30seconds sample of the song.
So, happy hunting and I bet you'll find other interesting Eleanors as well ;)

Cheers

[Miss Cranky]

I think this is who you are looking for:

The Third Wave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_ALqBYblJQ

I hear them on a college radio station while driving back in 2010 and it took me nearly four years to find them.

I hope your search is over!

All the best,

Miss Cranky

[Beechwoods]

:stalks::stalks: Wow! The grail has been discovered! What a beautiful version! Thank you for tracking this down. Now all I need to do is find an original copy :D:D

[Audio Al]

The 5 year hunt is over

Well done :clapclapclap:

[Tarzan]

The 5 year hunt is over

Well done :clapclapclap:

x2:)