The story of Les Négresses Vertes began back in September 87, but the musicians who formed the real core of the group had already been playing together for several years. Mathias, Paulo and Gaby, all former members of the French punk group les Maîtres, had come from a circus background, performing as clowns and acrobats with the Cirque Zingaro before forming les Négresses. As for lead singer, Helno, he had been the charismatic frontman of the famous alternative rock group, les Béruriers Noirs. Guitarist Stéphane had come from a different background altogether, mending nets in a small fishing village in the South of France before moving to the capital in search of musical adventure. It was in la rue de l'Ourcq in Paris that these five musicians from diverse backgrounds finally met up, getting to know each other by hanging out together in the bars and clubs on the lively 'alternative' scene in North East Paris. The group's wacky name was the result of a fight in one of these clubs in the summer of 87. The musicians had dyed their hair green for a joke that night and when they tried to get into the club, the bouncers threw them out, shouting "Sortez d'ici, les négresses vertes" ("Get out of here, you green niggers"). This insult had the five musicians in stitches and they decided to use it as the catchy name of their group.

Greatly influenced by the working-class culture and popular music of 1930's Paris, the group played a colourful mix of old-fashioned dances such as the waltz and the polka, fusing these traditional sounds with modern rock, rai and flamenco. The group started out busking in the Paris underground, before getting a few gigs in local clubs and cabarets. Their big break came when they were 'discovered' by a producer from the independent label Off The Track, who invited the group into the studio to record their first album. "Mlah", released in 89, was a highly accomplished début (in fact few groups have been known to achieve such musical and songwriting maturity on a first album). With exuberant songs such as "Zobi la mouche" and "Voilà l'été" Les Négresses forged their lively 'get up and dance' style. The group's unique sound was basically a musical melting-pot, created by fusing a variety of musical influences from their extremely diverse origins. Spanish and Gypsy rhythms were fused with traditional French dances and rai sounds and strung together with lyrics which appeared light and innocent on the surface but were, in fact, full of innuendo and hidden meanings.

Les Négresses Vertes were already popular in France but when they arrived to tour England in October 89, they literally exploded onto the British music scene, catapulted to fame overnight. The British music press, who were not renowned for giving French groups an easy time, adored this "ethnic French group who set dancefloors alight" with their unique sound. Les Négresses's appeal lay partly in their typical French "street urchin" look (berets and stripy shirts combined with trendy Doctor Marten boots) and partly in their infectious Big Band sound. And Les Négresses were certainly big - fronted by the husky-voiced Helno, the band featured Mathias on accordion, Mellino on guitar, Paulo on bass, Abraham on trombone, Zézé on drums, Gaby on percussion and two lively backing singers, Julo and Isa. Les Négresses Vertes were a hit in all the trendiest London clubs - a rare feat indeed for a French group ! Les Négresses Vertes proved so popular in the 80's that they were invited to record tracks on three major international compilation albums - Red, Hot and Blue (the famous album produced to raise money for AIDS charities), The Last Temptation of Elvis and the soundtrack for the film "Dick Tracy". It was Madonna herself, who was starring in the film, who demanded that Les Négresses Vertes, one of her favourite groups, should feature on the soundtrack.

The group returned to Paris the following year, performing three concerts at La Cigale in January. Sales of the group's first album had by now reached almost phenomenal proportions (180,000 copies sold in France and a staggering 350,000 worldwide).

After a hectic touring schedule the group kept a low profile on the music scene for a while. For one thing, they were fighting a legal battle with their original record label Off The Track, which delayed plans for the release of their second album. This did not stop the group from performing their new material live at a concert at the "Espace Cardin" in Paris on April 23rd 1991. It was only in the summer of 91 that Les Négresses were able to begin work on their second album, "Famille nombreuse". The album, recorded in Paris then mixed in London by the legendary producer Clive Martin (famous for his work with Sting) and the group's faithful French producer Sodi (well-known for his work with the group IAM and singer Fela). "Famille nombreuse", released in France in November 1991 and distributed in ten other European countries, combined the group's distinctive musical melting-pot style with a touch of urban poetry.

One of the highlights of the group's career was undoubtedly the exceptional concert they gave in Beirut on December 21st 1991. The concert, organised by Assaad (the famous Parisian promoters) was the first concert organised in Beirut since the start of the war in 1975. Les Négresses Vertes, already extremely popular with fans in Beirut, literally brought the house down and at the end of the concert everyone in the audience leapt to their feet to give them a standing ovation. As a result of the huge media coverage given to this event Les Négresses Vertes found themselves veritable superstars when they returned to Europe at the end of the year. The group's ensuing tour of Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Spain proved an enormous success. Tens of thousands of fans flocked to see the group when they performed at the prestigious Olympia concert hall in Paris (May 4th-11th 92) and during their toured of the French provinces which lasted right through the rest of the year.

In May 93 a special album of Négresses Vertes remixes was released, featuring contributions from the trendiest DJs and musicians from the dance music scene. Yet 1993 was also a tragic year in the history of Les Négresses Vertes, for it was on January 22nd that year that their charismatic lead singer Noël Rota, better known as Helno, died of an overdose. 29-year-old Helno left a gaping hole in the group, not only because he was irreplaceable as a singer but because he had become the very heart and soul of Les Négresses Vertes.

The Négresses Vertes, plunged into a period of grief and mourning, disappeared from the music scene for a while. They considered the idea of finishing the group altogether but finally returned to the recording studio two years later, to make a new album as a kind of tribute to Helno. The group was by now reduced to five members - Paulo, Mathias, Stéphane, Isa Mellinos and Mich - who took it in turns to replace Helno on lead vocals. On "Zig Zag", recorded in Béarn in the South of France, the group recovered their spirits, swinging back into their exuberant accordion style which was increasingly becoming fused with Latino rhythms. After the release of "Zig Zag" in October 94 the Négresses Vertes turned their attention back to their live shows, embarking upon an extensive two year tour which included memorable performances at music festivals such as the Printemps de Bourges and Les Francofolies at La Rochelle. The group brought the hose down when they played in Paris at La Cigale (February 8th-10th 95) and the Hot Brass (November 28th and 29th 95). This last concert resulted in the group’s excellent live album, "Green Bus", which was released in July of the following year. The album captures the wild ambience of Les Négresses Vertes’s exuberant live performance, and the enthusiastic reception fans gave the group as they danced along to "Hou mama mia" and "Sous le soleil de Bodega" (the hits from the second album) and the new single from the third album "Mambo Show".

In 1996 Jane Birkin asked Les Négresses Vertes to help her out on her new album. The group were brought in to create a new arrangement of the old Gainsbourg classic "La Gadoue" (originally made famous by the English singer Petula Clark).

After taking a year off from the music scene (mid '96 - mid '97), the group settled down to work again, rehearsing material for their next album. Keen to get away from their famous Latino rhythms and branch out in a new direction, the Négresses began thinking of experimenting with computers and electro beats. And thus it was that they ended up enlisting the aid of Howie B -a producer very much in vogue on the international music scene right now. Howie B brought his "electro" touch to the Négresses' new album "Trabendo", released in October '99. (The rather strange-sounding title is an Algerian slang word used to refer to smugglers working between Algiers and Marseilles. The group claimed the title expressed the fact that they were trying to 'smuggle' new elements into the traditional Négresses sound).

"Trabendo" caused a major stir on the French music scene, critics hailing the new album as a major turning-point in the group's career. The hip English magazine Dazed and Confused even went so far as to devote ten entire pages to the Négresses Vertes' comeback. Meanwhile, "Easy Girls, the first single release from "Trabendo", received extensive airplay on French radio stations.

Les Négresses Vertes’s career, full of dramatic ups and downs, is perhaps best summed up by the title of one of their most famous songs "Entre enfer et paradis" ("Between Heaven and Hell"). Beneath the cool, laid-back exterior of the musicians on stage lies an iron will and professional discipline which has catapulted them back to the forefront of the French music scene after problems which would have made a lesser group crumble.

 In 2000, the Négresses walked off with the Victoires de la Musique award for best album with "Nouvelles Tendances." They immediately hit the road again and toured around France with a brief stopover at the Hôtel Matignon (the French Prime Minister’s residence) for the Fête de la Musique (a big musical street party that takes place every year on June 21^st). They continued touring during the summer and performed at several festivals.

On the contrary, in 2001, the band stayed away from the limelight, gathering their strength and looking for new inspiration, but a new album is expected in 2002. They have been recording it at the Gang studio. Released in October, "Acoustic clubbing" consisted of fourteen tracks chosen amongst the band’s four previous studio albums and of a few original ones. Re-recorded unplugged, such famous tracks as "Face a la mer" along with forgotten ones like "Car c’est un blouze" displayed quite a different mood. The album also featured a cover of the soul piece entitled "Spank" At the same time as the band was releasing this acoustic compilation, remixes by Alex Gopher, Gotan Project and Les Diamantaires came out, which confirmed LNV’s truthfulness to their philosophy of experimenting in the realm of electronic music (LNV is the Negresses Vertes’ new brand’s name).

In June 2002 LNV's record label released a special compilation, "Le Grand déballage", featuring a selection of the group's greatest hits to date. Besides the ever-populr "Zobi la mouche" and "Voilà l'été", the album included two live tracks and two remixes.

July 2002