Ottawan (Ottawan) - one of the brightest French disco duets of the early 80s. Entire generations danced and grew up to their rhythms. Hands up - Hands up! That was the call the Ottawan members were sending from the stage to the entire global dance floor.
To feel the mood of the group, just listen to the tracks DISCO and Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart). Several albums of the band's discography became mega-popular, which allowed the duo to find their niche in the music arena.
History of creation and composition of Ottawan
The history of the creation of the French team began with the fact that the talented Patrick Jean-Baptiste, after graduating from a higher educational institution, planned to connect his life with music. At the moment when the guy joined the national airline, he founded the first musical project, which was called Black Underground. At first, he was content with performances in a restaurant. But even this was enough to acquire the first fans.
Once Patrick's performance was seen by French producers Daniel Vangar and Jean Kluger. Having decided to dine in a restaurant, they had to move the dishes aside - they were fascinated by the action that takes place on a small stage.
After the artist's performance, the producers called Patrick to talk. The negotiations were beneficial for both parties - Jean-Baptiste signed a contract with Vangar and Kluger. He joined the Ottawan group. The place of the vocalist in the duet was taken by the charming Annette Eltheis. At the end of the 70s, Tamara will take her place, and then Christina, Carolina and Isabelle Yapi.
The creative path of the Ottawan group
At the end of the 70s, the duo presented their debut single. We are talking about the musical composition DISCO. The producers ensured that the track was mixed and recorded at the prestigious Carrere recording studio.
The presented release contained a couple of variants from the same track. The compositions were recorded in English and French. The duet fired. The track turned out to be so incendiary that it was in the lead in the national chart for about four months. At the end of the year, he took the third position in the popular charts. DISCO is still considered the hallmark of the group.
In the early 80s, Patrick Jean-Baptiste and the new band member Tamara presented a full-length album. The duo briefly puzzled over what name to give to the new product. The debut album was called DISCO. With the presentation of the debut album, the group secured the status of one of the most commercial bands on the planet.
One more track of the duet deserves attention. The composition You're OK was translated into the language of the central region of India. Music lovers probably know the track Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja. The work was included in the repertoire of the singer Parvati Khan. The track sounded in the film directed by Babbar Subhash "Disco Dancer" (1983).
In the early 80s, Haut les mains (donne moi ton coeur) was released. The novelty was warmly welcomed not only by fans, but also by music critics. An English version of Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart) was soon released and reached number one on many European charts.
The popularity of the Ottawan group
A year later, Haut les mains (donne moi ton coeur), as well as the tracks Shubidube Love, Crazy Music, Qui va garder mon crocodile cet été? entered the duo's second album. On the territory of the Soviet Union, the album was published by the Melodiya recording studio.
Popularity fell upon the team, so it became unclear to many fans why Patrick decided to leave the team in 1982. After leaving the group, he founded his own project - Pam 'n Pat. Alas, Patrick was not able to repeat the success that he found as part of Ottawan.
Soon "Ottawan" gathered in a new composition. The guys worked in the genres of pop-rock and Eurodisco. After reanimating the band, the musicians filmed a number of incendiary video clips and skated dozens of concerts on different continents of the planet.
Interesting facts about the group
- Before gaining popularity, Patrick worked for Air France for 8 years.
- In 2003, the group performed their hit Crazy music together with the choir of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation as part of the fest "Melodies and Rhythms of Foreign Variety in Russian".
- Jean Patrick was unmarried. This did not prevent him from having three illegitimate children.
- The band's name Ottawan comes from the words "from Ottawa".
Ottawan at present
In 2019, the Ottavan collective held a number of concerts as part of the Retro-FM events. Together with Patrick, the second soloist of the band, Isabelle Yapi, performed on stage. The group is still produced by Jean Kluger. Today, the duo is focused on corporate performances, organizing concerts and attending themed festivals.
