This instrumental band was a provincial one, les Arvernes came of the Auvergne province, Vercingetorix motherland. In fact the arverns were part of a big ballroom band, one of the most popular at that time: André Thivet band.
The line up was: Dominique Bellot , lead guitar, Claude Thivet , bass, Jean Claude Duméry, rhythm, and Raymond Barbat, drums. Meanwhile andré Thivet’s band was: André Thivet, accordion, Pierre giraud, second accordion, Marcel Debernard, Trumpet and the arverns members. Dominique Bellot came of a musician family, he started with harmonica at the age of 7, and came to the guitar 2 years later. He started to play gigs, the typical saturday’s ball at 13 years! He was hired by andré Thivet when he was 17 years old.
Dominique Bellot came of a musician family, he started with harmonica at the age of 7, and came to the guitar 2 years later. He started to play gigs, the typical saturday’s ball at 13 years! He was hired by andré Thivet when he was 17 years old. It was in 1962 when he became a professionnal guitarist. André Thived offered him and his son Claude the much desired Fenders.
They got a record contract by chance, as they were recording with andré thivet band, during a break, the A & R man André Vanest, asked the 4 young guys to make a try. Then he offered them a record contract with Trianon a Pathé, bug french label, subsidiary.
Dominique Bellot remembers that he was very proud to play extremely fast, that why they recorded le vol du bourdon, the classical Rimsky Korsakov piece, (bumble bee flight), Teenage special is an original piece composed by André Thivet favourite composer : Ch.Jollé, and Spotnick’s theme with an instrumental cover of it’s my party. The record was a good seller, but unfortunately due to the very dense gigs time schedule, les arverns could enter a recording studio before a year.
Their second Ep came at a time when the Merseybeat has been invading the French scene. Les Arverns made the mistake to try and keep pace with singing wave. The ep was a flop and the end of Les Arverns. We were by the end 1964. Dominique Bellot went In Paris and started his career as a session guitarist. The other boys stayed with André Thivet in the saturday night ballroom circuit.
Jean BACHELERIE
Discographie (60)
- (Pas de titre) (Trianon 4479 ETS)
Spotnicks theme / C’est ma fête / Le vol du bourdon / Spécial teenager.
Discographie (CD)
- Instrumental sixties vol 3 (Magic Records 176282)
Spotnicks theme / C’est ma fête / Le vol du bourdon / Special teenager.