Rockets

The history of Rockets began in 1972 , in Paris , where they played under the name Crystal mainly in clubs. They appeared on stage in the usual human guise - in normal clothes and with long hair. It is still not known whether they wrote anything in such an incarnation.

In 1974 , Crystal changed its name to Rocket Man (or Rocketters ) and now - five newcomers with green eyes ( contact lenses ), silver skin and in "space" clothes - first appear before the public in Europe, recording the single "Rocket Man" ( two versions - instrumental and vocals). The producer was Claude Lemon, who remained them until 1983.

In 1975, the band's name changed to Rockets and a new single (only in France) “Future Woman” was released - an earlier version, different from the one that would be included later in their first album. Side B includes the instrumental track “Sexy Planet”, which was not included in any of the albums. In the same year, the single “ Samourai ” was released (in several countries), also not included in the albums.

In 1976, France released its first record called “ Rockets ”, and the group held a series of phantasmagoric live shows using vocoder , lasers , lighting effects and pyrotechnics , immediately having success in France and then beyond. In 1977, Rockets took part in the festival di Pesaro show ( it: Festival di Pesaro ) and first appeared on Italian television. Bertin Hugo ( keyboards ) performs in public wearing a helmet, not wanting to part with his hair. In 1977 and 1978 Rockets is released in other countries.

The next record, “ On the Road Again, ” was released in 1978 in many countries. The title track is a cover version of the eponymous song of the late 60s, the blues-rock band Canned Heat . The American version was released by Tom'n'Jerry , hence the stupid title on the cover - Tom'n'Jerry's Rockets (obviously written so that the audience did not confuse them with the local Detroit rock and roll band with that same name). In the same year, the group toured in the United States and Canada. In Italy, their album remains in the charts for almost a year.

In 1979 , only in Italy, the combined album “Sound of the Future” was released. It contains the full version of “Space Rock” and “Future Woman”, as well as “Don't be sad” and “Atomic Control”, which were not included in other records. The next album, "Plasteroid", helped ROCKETS consolidate its success in Spain and Germany. In Italy, he received the status of "gold" (200 thousand copies) even before it went on sale - only on orders from stores. Many music (and not only) magazines posted articles, interviews, photographs on their pages ...

In 1980 , only in Italy, the album "Live" was released. Part of it was recorded during the Plasteroid tour . It consists of several famous hits and two interesting solos - on drums ("Drum Solo") and guitar ("Guitar Visions"). This album is the hardest to find, although there have been two different editions.

According to critics (and the Rockets themselves) - the next Galaxy album ( 1980 ) - was the best in their history. With this album, which received platinum status (over 1 million copies) in Italy, the group reached the pinnacle of its success. After the release of the album, Rockets went on a big 200-day tour.

Starting with the album “ Pi 3.14 ” ( 1981 ), which was being prepared with the active participation of some members of the Visitors group, the group changed its image - not only “space men”, but also sorcerers , cowboys , etc. Female vocals are presented for the first time ( "Ideomatic") and electronic drums . A single with songs from this album “Radiate” / “King of Universe” was released only in Spain. In the spring of 1982, the new single “Radio Station” / “Star Vision”, presented on the show “Saint Vincent”, was a success. These songs in a slightly modified form were included in the next album "Atomic", which was released a few months later. This was the last album recorded by ROCKETS in the original composition. Although the album retained its traditional style, the press and the public reacted coolly to it.

The first truly dramatic changes (for fans of the group) occurred in 1984 , when Rockets left producer Claude Lemoine (who was considered the sixth member of the group) and his companion. Christian Le Bartz left the stage, becoming the band's tour manager. Soon Alain Grotzinger left. Rock Sol is joined by Sal Solo, the ex-leader of Classix Nouveaux , and the new album “ Imperception ” has been recorded.

Changes in the group led to changes in appearance and music. Already ordinary people (not “aliens”), in futuristic costumes (designed by Victor Tolyany, who had previously worked with the Visitors group, and was also an artist, sculptor and expert in the field of abstract and nonfiction art). Also, the style of music has changed in the direction of most British pop groups of that period - less “electronic”, more dance . The video clip “Under the Sun” was used in the festival program in San Remo . The song “Contact” was included a year later (albeit in an excellent version) in Sal Solo's solo album “Heart & Soul”.

In 1985, the group recorded the One Way album and changed its name to Roketz . Herald Elher left the group, as he did not agree with the new direction. With the change of name, their music and appearance finally changed. The single “Don't give up” appeared simultaneously with the new album.

After seven years of silence, the album “ Another Future ” was released in 1992 (on CD and vinyl ). It included new songs, as well as several remixes of the former. The style is a mixture of dance music and rap , but some songs are made in the traditional Rockets style. Unfortunately, this album was not advertised at all, so it did not hit the charts. There were no announcements about the appearance of the group on TV and about concerts, only a few magazines posted several reviews.
Also in 1992, the compact album “Galactica” was released on the CD , which included songs from records released in the period 1980-1984.

In 1996, two double compilations on CD were released - Greatest Hits and Hits and Remixes. The first is with the best Rockets songs from 1976 to 1982. - Also came out on vinyl. The second includes the same, plus six 1996 remixes .

In May 1999, the Fratelli nella Notte TV program broadcast on TeleNord was entirely dedicated to Rockets. Fabrice Cvaliotti also participated in the conversation, calling the studio.

In January 2000, the compilation On The Road was released in Italy, which included classical songs from 1977–82. The printing and distribution of these discs was not authorized by the copyright holders. Although the sale of discs was banned, part of the circulation hit the market. In February, a Future Woman remix titled Future Love was printed. The record was distributed under the name "Rockets Brahama."

May 2000: Rockets are back with an updated lineup! Fabrice Kvalotti and Alan Maratrat (from the original group) are working with other musicians on a new project - ROCKETS NDP Alan Grotzinger and Herald Elher also support this project. A vinyl record with the songs “Gamastasis” and “Endless Blue” was released in Italy, but with a very limited edition.

In October 2000, the official collection of the best songs, The Definitive Collection, was released in Italy on two discs, including several previously unreleased songs and two illustrated booklets. Despite this, the best classical songs are still recorded from vinyl - instead of the live version of “On the road again” indicated on the cover, the collection includes a 1992 stylized rap remix, and for some reason the original version of this song is halved.

In November 2002, Italian radio stations broadcast a new remix of “On the Road Again 2003”. In January 2003, the CD “On the road again” was released with the promising inscription “We are back” (... we are back ...) on an insert that includes all eight remix versions of this song. Also, two vinyl discs with the same cover art (red and green), containing five remixes, were printed in small prints.

On March 29, 2003, Fabrice and Alan Grotzinger appeared in public at a concert by the Universal Band (performing exclusively cover versions of Rockets songs ) and in the final part they unexpectedly joined the group on stage, playing Venus Rapsody . Alan also performed solo on drums and stayed behind the drums in the final song of the evening - Universal Band . In early May, a collection of Galactica remixes went on sale - on CD and two 12 "vinyl discs. One of the remixes is presented in full version on vinyl and in a shortened radio version on a compact. On the MTV Italy channel, a video clip of the same name is played in the dance program.
In mid-June 2003, an event happened that they had been waiting for so long - a new Rockets album “ Don't Stop ” appeared. The new team has only one classical musician - Fabrice. The album includes four remixes and five new tracks, of which only Rockets Land at least somehow resembles the old Rockets style.

The official website of rocketsland.net is being created (news, videos of live concerts, photos, etc.)

Rockets appear in the programs of the Italian television channels Italia 1 , Rete 4 , Canale 5 , Countdown.

The September issue of the Moscow magazine PLAY published a review of the album “Don't Stop” and a short interview with LBM ^{[ who? ]} with a hint of the possible arrival of a new group in Russia.
On September 11, 2004 , the Rockets arrived in Moscow and in the evening gave their only concert at the Orange Club. An autograph session was held for fans this afternoon. The group played five of them on stage, however, session musicians (guitar and bass) were not presented to the public. For an hour and a half, the group sang alive, including all the classic hits (the concert opened with the tune of Astro Storm ). Planned to release a DVD recording a concert.

In January 2005, the Italian music channel Rete A All Music Channel dedicated Rockets a half-hour One Shot program. Fabris and LBM came to the studio. The conversation was about musical roots and favorite artists (although the songs Kraftwerk and Police didn’t fit the topic), stories, about recent performances and plans. One could see a short fragment of the 80th hall concert, the Galactica and Ideomatic clips , as well as the new Don't Stop clip.

In April 2005, a small edition (120 copies) was released of the new promo single “Rebel Yell” with the processing of the song of the same name by Billy Idol . The name of the group on the cover is not indicated (except for the letter R).

A new single (12 "vinyl)" Back to Woad "was released in April 2006. Fabrice's autograph is on the first hundred records of the circulation. In May, a single on CD with the same set of songs appeared in stores.

November, 2006 - Rockets performed in Moscow at the concert “ Disco of the 80s ”, organized by Autoradio, with the songs Future Game and Galactica under the original soundtrack. February 2007 - a compilation was released in Italy on two Outer World CDs with the same set of songs as in The Definitive Collection. In June 2007, the main albums finally officially released on CDs in one set - 7CD Box “The Silver Years”, designed in the form of a clamshell. Size in plan - like a standard DVD case. Also included in the publication is an illustrated booklet . Fabrice himself presented the new edition on June 28 on the Italian TV channel RAI Due in the Soirèe program. April, 2009. Finally, the archival video materials of the group as part of the new seven-disc edition 2DVD / 5CD "A Long Journey" are officially published. Also in the collection of rare music and rare singles.

June, 2009. Rockets on the Italian TV channels Italia 1 and TVModa, broadcasting an event called "Milano Moda - International Fashion Show 2009". In August, RAI Due showed a recording of the Italia Fan Club Music Awards program, where Rockets performed three times, including the new song “World on Fire”. In October, a new single, “World on Fire,” was released.

In June 2010, the Italian music magazine RARO was published with a four-page article on the history of Rockets (golden 70s and 80s!) Along with detailed discography of (Italian) albums and singles. The authors are Marcello Barigazzi and Simone Giudici.

In November 2010, seven classic albums were reissued in one package of the 7CD box “The Story”. Each disc is in a separate envelope and additionally contains lyrics and photos. December 17, 2013: Rockets performed in Yekaterinburg with old and new songs; the concert lasted 1.5 hours.

The eleventh album is Kaos ( 2014 ). In the same year, a collection of the same classic albums was released, but in a 5CD box, with a distinctively stylistically unifying title “Space Rock”.

May 24, 2019 released the twelfth album of the group "Wonderland". [one]

cover bands

Universal Band is an Italian cover band performing covers of Rockets songs. ^[2]

Dmitriy Nelepin 2424 - Russian performer of Rockets covers

• 1976 - Rockets (album
• 1978 - On The Road Again (album
• 1979 - Plasteroïd

• 1980 - Galaxy
• 1981 - π 3.14 (see Pi )
• 1982 - Atomic (album)
• 1984 - Imperception
• 1986 - One Way (album)

• 1992 - Another Future

• 2003 - Don't Stop (Rockets album
• 2007 - Outer World (compilation)
• 2010 - The story (compilation)
• 2014 - Kaos
• 2014 - Space Rock (compilation)
• 2019 - Wonderland

• Christian Le Bartz - vocals
• Herald Elher (Gerard L'Her) - bass , vocals
• Alan Maratrat - solo guitar , keyboards , vocals
• Alain Groetzinger - drums
• Fabrice Quagliotti - keyboards, synthesizers , vocals

• Official site
• Site of Marcello Barigazzi
• Rockets Group (Rockets) // abrgen.ru “Music of the 70-80s”