Fifty years the adventure has lasted, without a wrinkle. The music of this French band retains all the freshness of a fountain of youth. At the close of the last century, a new chapter was added to this never‑ending novel with the triumphant tour tellingly named “Un petit tour et puis s’en vont” (“A Little Round and Then They’re Gone”).

Initially planned for the first six months of 1995, demand was such that it was extended across the entire year, culminating in an apotheosis at the Zénith in Paris. Two live recordings, one of them a double album, preserved the epic. Gérard Drouot—who, a few years later, would be behind the rebirth of Téléphone under their new incarnation, Les Insus—produced the unforgettable Tour d’Ange, conceived as a farewell.

A farewell to the group’s very first musicians, reunited one last, exceptional time: Francis Décamps on keyboards, Jean‑Michel Brezovar on guitar, Daniel Haas on bass, Gérard Jelsch on drums, and of course Christian Décamps— the sole constant presence, who never once let go of the helm and still stands at it today. They had accompanied him in the beginnings of this adventure, which opened the way for the emancipation of rock in France.

This history is marked by a succession of remarkable albums, never yielding to the grinding machine of show business. The 1970s begin in dazzling fashion with Le Cimetière des Arlequins, Au‑delà du Délire, Émile Jacotey, Par les Fils de Mandrin—the last even recorded in English—an abundant harvest of gold records. From 1978 onwards, line‑up changes followed one another, yet the recordings never sank into compromise. Quite the opposite, in fact. Ange was the French rock band that dared. They filled arenas such as the Palais des Sports in Lyon, where twelve thousand packed themselves in. Already in 1977, Ange, with their stage sets, costumes, lighting and theatrical inventiveness, were striding in the wake of the greatest Anglo‑Saxon groups. Even French popular music had not reached such ambition.

Though that chapter closed with the “farewells”—to Gérard Drouot’s regret, who dreamt of prolonging the adventure—Christian Décamps was already embarked on a sequel every bit as promising. With his new companions—Tristan Décamps, his son, on vocals and keyboards; Hassan Hadji on guitar; Thierry Sidhoum on bass; Ben Cazzulini on drums—he carried on the prodigy. Between studio and stage, with recordings as remarkable as they were remarked upon (La Voiture à Eau, Culinaire Lingus, Souffleurs de Vers, Moyen‑Âge…), and concert halls sold out to the last seat, Ange once again multiplied their experiments. After Émile Jacotey—a cult album if ever there was one—was reborn and enriched, the latest opus, Heureux!, was recorded in front of several hundred devotees, in the intimacy of a “studio” atmosphere made more vibrant by their complicity.

Just as in their “first days,” when this French band conquered the Reading Festival, the renewed line‑up of Ange traversed international stages: Russia, Mexico, the United States, Japan, Portugal… For more than twenty years now, this second adventure has unfolded in musical and fraternal complicity. For Christian Décamps, Ange has always been more than a mere rock band: a tribe, a philosophy lived with joy within Un pied dans la marge, the association uniting their ever‑growing faithful. If progressive rock remains, one must now speak of music in its fullest sense, for their repertoire journeys from incisive rock to sumptuous ballads.

And finally, let us recall the record: six million albums sold, six gold discs, the Grand Prix of the Académie Charles Cros.

1. Un Diamant Dans Le Cœur
2. Fruits & Légumes
3. Le Langage Des Fluides
4. Pace Nobilis
5. Un Passage De Rêve
6. Prisonnier De L'Aube
7. Ennio
8. Quitter La Meute
9. Cunégonde