History
The duet has stated that the name "Rita Mitsouko" originates from the combination of Catherine Ringer's childhood friend and the name of a meal they enjoyed in a local Japanese restaurant soon after they met.
According to the French Wikipedia the name of the group was chosen to reflect the band's extremely diverse musical reference: Rita refers to the South American music (and cult actress Rita Hayworth). Mitsouko is a Japanese first name and is also the name of a perfume by Guerlain. The group originally went by the name "Rita Mitsouko" but in 1985 "Les" was added when they realized that many people believed the name of the group was that of the singer.
Rita Mitsouko began performing in the early 1980s in alternative spaces such as the Pali-Kao, a squatted factory building in Belleville, Paris.
The band first achieved major popular success in 1985, with the release of the second single from their first album: "Marcia baila" rose to number 2 on the French record charts that summer. Philippe Gautier directed a vibrant and widely viewed music video to accompany the record. "Marcia Baila" is an homage to Argentine choreographer and dancer Marcia Moretto, with whom Catherine Ringer had studied and performed in the 1970s. Moretto died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 32.
Rita Mitsouko was a creative and eccentric debut album, combining elements of punk, rock, synth pop and jazz. Coupled with the band's colorful, wild, over-the-top image, it brought Rita Mitsouko to the attention of some important anglophone listeners. In October 1985, they contributed a cover of "All Tomorrow's Parties" for the Velvet Underground tribute album Les Enfants du Velvet.
American record producer and musician Tony Visconti produced the band's next two albums, The No Comprendo and Marc et Robert, helping to polish and perfect their sound. These two albums feature both French and English lyrics. The most successful singles from these albums were "C'est comme ça" and '"Andy."
The American band Sparks collaborated with Les Rita Mitsouko on Marc et Robert. Russell Mael sings lead vocals with Catherine Ringer on three of the album's tracks, "Singing in the Shower," "Live in Las Vegas," and "Hip Kit." ""Singing in the Shower" was included on the soundtrack for the Ridley Scott film Black Rain.
Jean-Baptiste Mondino directed most of Les Rita Mitsouko's music videos in the 1980s.
Jean-Luc Godard's 1987 feature film Soigne ta droite incorporates documentary footage of the band's The No Comprendo recording sessions.
In 1993, the video of "Y'a d'la haine," from the album Système D, was awarded Clip of the Year by MTV Europe.
On Système D Catherine Ringer sings a duet, "My Love Is Bad," with Iggy Pop. Variéty also includes a vocal duo in which Ringer is joined by guest musician Serj Tankian (from System of a Down).
Les Rita Mitsouko's album Variéty was released in 2007 in both French and in English (Variety) versions; it was produced by Mark Plati.
On Wednesday 28 November 2007, Fred Chichin died from cancer while the band had just cancelled their previous concert dates in Paris. He was only diagnosed with the disease two months before.
Catherine Ringer toured under her own name following the death of her partner and Les Rita Mitsouko collaborator, Fred Chichin.
Read more about this topic: Les Rita Mitsouko
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