Billy Ze Kick

Billy Ze Kick et les Gamins en Folie emerged as a French alternative rock outfit whose signature track, the 1994 summer anthem “Mangez-moi! Mangez-moi!,” chronicled psychedelic mushrooms and soared to number two on the national singles chart. The group coalesced as an informal collective in the closing years of the 1980s and committed its first recordings to tape circa 1989/1990. Within the rotating cast of singers and players that made up Les Gamins en Folie, Billy Ze Kick—his moniker drawn from the Jean Vautrin novel filmed in 1985—and Monsieur Bing functioned as the stabilizing core. They established the independent imprint Les Productions du Fer, which issued the self-titled debut album in 1993; Média 7 handled distribution, turning the record into an underground favorite that Shaman, a fleeting Polygram subsidiary, licensed for a major-label re-release the following year. The reggae-tinged single “Mangez-moi! Mangez-moi!” dominated airwaves throughout summer 1994, logging a 32-week chart residency during which a dedicated remix EP also appeared. A second drug-themed release, “O.C.B.,” followed and cracked the Top Ten before year’s end. Momentum proved fleeting: Billy Ze Kick soon disbanded Les Gamins en Folie and issued the solo set Paniac on Shaman/Polygram in 1996. Despite promotional singles “A Vélo” and “Non, Non Rien N’a Changé,” the album failed to register commercially. A five-year hiatus ended when Billy Ze Kick rejoined Les Gamins en Folie for Verdure et Libido, which Pudding—the band’s fresh independent outlet—released in 2001; the same label later put out the rarities compilation Premiers Titres in 2003.