Elli & Jacno

The French synthpop duo Elli et Jacno was formed in 1980 by Uruguayan-born singer Elli Medeiros and singer-songwriter Denis "Jacno" Quilliard, who had previously played together in a punk band named Stinky Toys. The group caught everyone off guard with their debut single "Mans dans la Main" (1980), a minimalist yet infectious pop song that became a massive hit in the French-speaking world and, to a lesser extent, in Britain. This success was followed by the release of their first full-length Tout Va Sauther later that year and a compilation of previously unreleased material titled Inédits 77-81. Driven by tracks such as "Roulette Rouse" and "J'Aime Tant," their second LP titled Boomerang was released in 1982 via the Celluloid label. Les Nuits de la pleine lune, Elli et Jacno's third studio effort, saw the light 1984 and served as the soundtrack to the Éric Rohmer film of the same name. Even though the pair parted ways shortly after to focus on their respective music and acting careers, the group's legacy would prove massively influential to a whole new generation of French pop artists in the following decades. In 1994, Virgin issued the compilation Symphonies de Poche, which contained some of Elli et Jacno's biggest hits. Denis "Jacno" Quilliard passed away on November 6, 2009, after a lengthy battle with cancer.