Luke’s lead singer/songwriter Thomas Boulard claims the moment inspiration began ringing in his head was when he attended a collective concert by Louise Attaque, M and the Little Rabbits. The day after the gig, Thomas sat down to work and composed half a dozen songs, drawing on his earliest musical influences: Léo Ferré, Black Sabbath and Noir Désir.

Boulard, who was born and raised in Bordeaux, eventually moved to Paris to finish his studies. These would naturally have led him to a career as a chartered accountant, but the budding young musician had other ideas and spent most of his time in the capital playing with various bands. Boulard soon went on to make his mark as a songwriter, penning lyrics and arrangements for bands such as Dallas, a group which also included Ben Rault (the future frontman of the Ben Symphonic Orchestra).

Boulard's career began in earnest when he met Christophe Plantier, the Breton guitarist from Spring (a duo, featuring François Jugé on bass, signed to the Spanish label Elefant Records). Boulard stepped in to join the duo on tour when they needed a guitarist and he ended up staying on for a while and composing a number of new songs with the band. After a final series of concerts, Spring disintegrated, but a new band, Luke, saw the light of day in 1998. (The group's name is a reference to the film "Cool Hand Luke" starring Paul Newman).

Luke locked themselves away in Boulard's apartment and rehearsal sessions began in 1999, culminating in the production of a 7-track demo which the group financed themselves. (The demo featured Luke classics such as "Je n’éclaire que moi" and "La vie d’en face.)" The definitive Luke sound was already in evidence on this demo, tapping as it did into the same vein as Miossec and Noir Désir as well as drawing on an Anglo-Saxon rock heritage. The group were quickly picked up on by indie French label Le Village Vert (who had discovered the group Autour de Lucie) and they went on to sign their first recording deal with them.

Luke released a debut 4-track EP, "Je n’éclaire que moi", in 2000. The songs proved an instant hit with the critics and, boosted by this success, the band embarked on their first major tour soon afterwards. The tour included appearances at leading music festivals such as Le Printemps de Bourges (as a last-minute replacement for Saez) and Les Francofolies in Montreal (in the summer of that year). After honing their sound at these live appearances, the group shut themselves away in a country house in Picardy and set to work on material for their debut album. At that time, the band was made up of Thomas Boulard (singer/songwriter), Christophe Plantier (on guitar), Cyril Guillaneuf (ex-Radiostatic, on keyboards and samplers), Stéphane Bouvier (ex-Purr, on bass) and Ludovic Morillon (ex- Prohibition and NLF3, on drums).

Luke's debut album, "La vie presque", was eventually released on Le Village Vert on 9 October 2001. The album featured the American producer Daniel Presley (renowned for his work with the Breeders, Faith No More and Dionysos) at the controls and was recorded at the Parkgate studios, south of London. The final mix was carried out in Paris at Le Studio de la Seine where the group spent an entire three weeks and proved to be demanding perfectionists, reworking and re-recording several tracks. "La vie presque" turned out to be a catchy pop/rock album studded with Anglo-Saxon influences and carefully crafted lyrics and melodies. Two single releases hit the airwaves in 2002: "Se taire" and "Je n’éclaire que moi." A third, "Comme un gant", followed later that same year.

Meanwhile, Thomas Boulard was already hard at work, composing material for the group’s next album. Boulard imposed a number of new songs on the rest of the band – but his controlling influence proved too much for the rest of the group, and eventually led to Bouvier, Morillon and Plantier walking out. Boulard found himself left alone with keyboard-player Cyril Guillaneuf and work on the new album continued. On Luke’s debut album, Boulard had been constantly at the computer keyboard, but this time round he embarked on a radical new way of working, recording simple acoustic guitar with a dictaphone. Once material for the new album was ready, Boulard and Guillaneuf recruited new band members: Damien Lefèvre (ex-Eiffel) on bass and Romain Viallon (ex-Cattleya) on drums. A new guitarist joined them for the studio recording at the end of 2003, but left shortly after the release of the album.

The new Luke line-up hit the live circuit again in 2004, playing two sell-out gigs on 22 and 23 March at La Cigale, in Paris. Then, two years after "La vie presque", the band’s new album "La tête en arrière" (released on BMG) appeared in record stores on 6 April 2004. Thanks to the change in rhythm section, it featured a much rawer, more aggressive rock sound than their first. "La sentinelle", the first single release from "La tête en arrière", was soon followed by "Soledad" and "Le reste du monde." Meanwhile, Luke’s second album appeared to strike a chord with fans and sales eventually topped the 200,000 mark.

The band posted an ad on the Internet to recruit a new guitarist for their upcoming tour. Bayrem Benamor joined the group on the road, playing a gruelling 150-date schedule which included appearances at leading music festivals such as Le Printemps de Bourges, Les Vieilles Charrues, Solidays and Les Eurockéennes. The tour climaxed with a grand finale at Le Bataclan in Paris, Luke taking to the stage with their labelmates Deportivo for four energetic gigs (24, 25, 26 & 27 November 2004). A DVD was released after the tour. Meanwhile, Bayrem Benamor decided to leave the band – following hot on the heels of Cyril Guillaneuf, who quit shortly before him!

After a short break and the arrival of a new guitarist, Jean-Pierre Ensuque (formerly with the band Autour de Lucie), Luke hit the road again in 2005 for another extensive tour.

Luke's marathon tour (which ended up including over 190 dates) finally came to a halt in December 2006 and the group took a well-earned break. They soon got back to work in 2007, however, beginning to prepare new material for their third album, "Les enfants de Saturne." Songs for the new album had, in fact, been 'in gestation' during the band's time on the road.

The first single release from the album, "La Terre ferme", was released in June 2007 and Luke hit the road again shortly afterwards, presenting songs from their new album at music festivals across the country. Following this short 'warm-up' tour, "Les enfants de Saturne" was officially released on 10 September 2007. On 15 September, the foursome performed a much-appreciated set at the annual Fête de l'Humanité in the Paris suburbs. The band went on to kick off a new tour in October and put in a memorable performance at the Olympia, in Paris, on 22 November.

Meanwhile, Luke's new album received excellent reviews in the press, critics praising the band's on-stage energy and the impeccable production of "Les Enfants de Saturne" (recorded between studios in Belgium and Ireland). The band's raw, revitalized rock sound injected their album with renewed energy, but they also allowed themselves occasional forays into pop ("Stella") and punk ("J'ai oublié"). Luke continued their marathon tour in 2008, assuring a series of dates across France.

December 2007