When three brothers (Bruno, Aldo and Serge) like music, lay music and make gigs in the town in the coal mine district in the north of France, it did not last very long before we met those young guys of Italian origin, on the R & r stage. At that time Jean Paul Van Houtte joined them. Then they would leave the district gigs for the French tour and the recording sessions.
Bruno, Aldo, and Serge’s family came from Sardaigne in 1938 when settled down in Saint-Etienne, an industrial and coal mine town in the Lyon region. Serge was born in St Etienne in 1938, Aldo followed in 1939 and Bruno was born in 1943 in Sardaigne where the family was back during a couple of years in the forties, before emigrating once more to the north of France in Roubaix.
Their father liked music and was of a big influence on his sons. They started in 1956 setting a small band which played the success of the moment, Bob Azam, Marino Marini and others…They idea of playing the popular songs was new, because the usual Saturday’s gigs band played the typical dancing set. This first try was a tough experience which allowed them to improve their know how.
Serge is the eldest one, he was 24 in 1962, has worked in a factory as a metal worker, played rhythm and was the do it yourself guy of the band.
Aldo was 23 and has been working as a weaver, and was the powerful drummer.
Bruno, the youngest had also been metal worker before becoming the lead guitar; he was 19 years in 1962.
Jean Paul Van Houtte was 18, played bass and was a decorator. He had learnt music 8 years long in the music high school in Belgium, where he came from.
The starting point of the band which was known as Les Cogoni’s, was when they got to know Jean Van Loo, who was starting as gigs organiser and at the same time disc jockey in a night club the twenty in Mouscron, a Belgian town close to the border, not far from Roubaix. There he programmed a lot of British bands as well as French, Dutch and Belgian ones. Jean Van Loo would make the Cogoni’s discover Rock and Roll. When their new set was ready by mid 1962, he used his good connections in Paris, to have them play at Le Golf Drouot. They won the contest and then were introduced to the young editor Jean Claude Berthon who was running the first rock magazine for the French teenager.
Jean Claude knew that the Decca label was looking for an instrumental band to make competitions to another band that was going to be launched in the instrumental French scene. They were introduced at Decca records and convinced them that they the band they were looking for. By the end of 1962 they made their first session for Decca, cutting Day train, dedicated to the fastest French electrical train Le mistral who went 150 km per hour ! Serge has found a very special sound. The other tracks are Saturday night from the classical Swan’s lake, Caravan jazz classic, and just for jerry, the pleasant slow track played by the Fentones. They became Les sunlights which more in the teenager mood. The sales were good.
In May 1963 they cut their second EP with the classic riders in the sky, c’est à cause de toi, the other classic Valencia, and angelitos negros. The sales were good enough.
In October they are selected to back Gene Vincent for a big French tour. Jean Van loo has managed to push his favourites. Gene Vincent has listened to them and agreed to have them as backing band. This was a big tour which lasted more than one month, with a prestigious bill : Gene Vincent, Les Chats sauvages with their new singer Mike Shannon, Les Aiglons, the Swiss instrumental band who broke the charts in France and world wide with Stalactite, Ron and Mel, a British duet, Franck Adams, former Dragons ‘ singer and Moustique a coming star in the French Rock scene.
The sunlights opened the show with two instrumental tracks: Day train and Caravan, then they backed Franck Adams, Ron and Mel and Moustique. During the break they would change their suit in Black clothes and came back with the tour hero Gene Vincent. This was for them the top of their career, they gathered the best memories. They only regret that Gene did not had time to cut a record with them as he intended to do.
After such a show, they made their third record with on the A side les malheurs de Sophie, which was used as theme tune for a radio program. The band had got a new member, on bass came Tony Manteau for Jean Paul who went back home. The other tracks are the sun, black rider and Andalucia.
Unfortunately the sales were disappointing. That did not prevent Decca to let them cut a fourth EP with a vocal everybody and the instrumentals surf beat, Ronny Boy and room. The sales were still more disappointing. This was the end of their instrumental career.
Two years long Jean Van Loo let them turn into a vocal band and after a hard work , he made them cut a record le deserteur, a very controversial song. He introduced the record to Lucien Maurice, the managing director of the most popular radio channel: Europe 1. He liked the idea and the record and proposed to issue it on his own label disques AZ this was a million sellers in 1967. And it was the start of the second Sunlights career, which would last till the end of the seventies after many million sellers.
Aldo and Serge have settled down in Toulon where they run a car rental company. Bruno ha s long been working for the futuruscope in Poitiers, for which he conceived and installed a computer security system.
They appeared again on TV schemes in the early nineties when their vocal tracks were reissued on CD and supported by a heavy advertising campaign.
Jean BACHELERIE
Interview
Grâce à l’amabilité de JEAN VAN LOO le réputé directeur artistique, nous avons eu le plaisir de rencontrer ALDO et SERGE COGONI, au sortir d’une répétition de l’émission de PATRICK SEBASTIEN, SEBASTIEN C’EST FOU, qui est passée le 21 mars sur TF1.
Que sont-ils devenus ?
ALDO et BRUNO ont un garage et une agence de locations de véhicule à TOULON. SERGE est installé à POITIERS, où il a mis ses talents de bricoleur au service de sa société de système de protection électronique. Il a notamment installé le système de sécurité du FUTUROSCOPE.
Quand le groupe a-t-il arrêté ?
Lorsque BRUNO a été appelé sous les drapeaux avec 10 ans de retard. Comme le dit ALDO à cette époque on devenait FRANÇAIS automatiquement à 21 ans. BRUNO a eu 21 ans en 64 ! Son départ a provoqué une cassure qu’en tant que producteur indépendant ils n’ont pas supporté.
Qu’ont-ils fait à l’époque ?
ALDO a formé un orchestre qui animait les soirées dansantes. BRUNO a rejoint JEAN VAN LOO comme directeur artistique de groupes comme CRAZY HORSE, ANARCHIC SYSTEM. SERGE est reconverti dans l’immobilier. Les deux anciens SUNLIGHTS, JEAN PAUL VAN HOUTTE est devenu professeur de musique et son successeur GERARD MANTEAU est représentant de commerce en DORDOGNE, son pays d’origine.
Quels souvenirs ont-ils gardé du premier enregistrement ?
L’enregistrement dans les studios de DECCA a été un choc, ALDO était habitué à jouer près de ses frères, il s’est retrouvé derrière sa batterie isolé dans un box loin des autres. Ce fut très dur de jouer éloigné les uns des autres.
Les bons souvenirs ?
Avoir enregistré JUSTE LE TEMPS DE VIVRE avec LES MOODY BLUES.
Comment se faisait le choix des titres à enregistrer ?
Une semaine avant l’enregistrement ils recevaient les partitions des 4 morceaux. Le choix avait été fait par le directeur artistique de chez DECCA.
Combien durait un enregistrement ?
2 jours environ.
Les groupes et chanteurs qui les ont le plus influencé ?
LES SHADOWS, bien sûr et les SPONICKS. Ils appréciaient aussi les CHATS SAUVAGES sympathiques et très professionnels. Ils étaient aussi bons sur scène qu’en disque. Ce qui était assez rare à l’époque.
LES SPOTNICKS les ont beaucoup impressionnés. Ils ont fait une tournée ensemble. Lors d’une étape, la chambre d’écho est tombée et s’est cassée. Ils l’ont immédiatement refaite et le soir ils ont pu jouer sans problèmes.
Ils étaient un peu trop en avance pour le public, qui ne les appréciait pas à leur juste valeur.
VINCE TAYLOR pour son jeu de scène et BOBBIE CLARKE ont aussi beaucoup impressionné ALDO et BRUNO. ALDO dit que BOBBIE CLARKE était extraordinaire derrière sa batterie. Quelle leçon !
Ils ont aussi tourné avec LES KINKS et LES JOKERS.
Quelles guitares avaient-ils ?
SERGE souligne qu’ils avaient choisi des BURNS, pour ne pas avoir les mêmes guitares que les autres, les GIBSON ou les FENDERS.
Le CD réédité récemment signifie-t-il un nouveau départ ?
Non, il se vend très bien, il leur permet de faire quelques télés et quelques GALAS de retrouvailles pour s’amuser, pour le plaisir.
Pourraient-ils refaire un disque instrumental ?
Pourquoi pas s’il y a une demande.
Discographie (CD)
Instrumental Ep Collection (Magic Records 5301562)
Day train / Saturday night (swan’s lake) / Caravan / Just for Jerry / Les cavaliers du feu / C’est à cause de toi / Valencia / Angelitos Negros / Les Malheurs de Sylvie / The sun / Black rider / Andalucia / Surf beat / Everybody / room / Ronny Boy / Pourquoi suis-je venu / Sleepwalk / Les indiens / Tommahawk / Do the dog / I’m lonely.