RECORD TURNOVER 80s HITS #74
Telex was a Belgian synth-pop trio that formed in 1978, including Marc Moulin, Dan Lacksman and Michel Moers. Their mixed influences from punk, disco and the early electronic music of groups like Kraftwerk made them an unlikely success with hit single “Moskow Diskow”. In 1980 they even took part in the Eurovision Song Contest finals, with the tongue-in-cheek “Euro-vision”. Despite hoping to finish last, some people actually liked their entry. They released five albums during the 80s but remained pretty anonymous, rarely playing any gigs.
Being a band seemed more like an intellectual exercise for Telex, who even hired Sparks to write lyrics for one of their albums. Included on the new retrospective compilation on Mute, is Telex’ version of their “The Number One Song In Heaven”. The Sparks song was co-written and produced by Giorgio Moroder and Telex’ version is from their 2006 comeback album. This Is Telex was released on double-vinyl a few days ago and also includes two unreleased covers of tracks by Sonny & Cher and The Beatles.
