Machiavel

Formed in Belgium during the mid-1970s, Machiavel initially brought together Marc Ysaye and Roland Degreef—both formerly of Moby Dick—alongside Albert Letecheur and Jack Roskam. Their debut album appeared in 1976. When work began on the follow-up, Jack Roskam departed and Jean-Paul Devaux stepped in, while Mario Guccio joined as lead vocalist. Issued the next year, that sophomore effort carried the title Jester. Maintaining their yearly release schedule, the Belgian group delivered Mechanical Moonbeams as their third long-player in 1978, then followed it with Urban Games in 1979.

Albert Letecheur grew dissatisfied with the stylistic shifts taking place and exited at that point, prompting Jean-Paul Devaux’s own departure; Thiery Plas came aboard in his place. The first extended gap between albums ensued, yet New Lines surfaced in 1980 and reflected a further evolution in the band’s sound. Restoring their earlier momentum, Machiavel put out Break Out in 1981. Two years later EMI issued the live recording Valentine Days, though the group had already effectively disbanded by then.

The split proved temporary. In 1987 a reconstituted lineup of Thiery Plas, Marc Ysaye, Roland Degreef, and Mario Guccio returned with The Cry of Pleasure, on which Paolo Ragatzu also appeared. Subsequent output consisted of compilations, beginning with a single-disc collection in 1991 and a box set two years afterward. Ironically, 1996 found the musicians embarking on a farewell tour to support the release of 20th Anniversary Machiavel: The Very Best Of. Far from concluding their activities, they grew more active than before, spending the next two years on the road and unveiling the studio album Virtual Sun in 1999. Later that same year they launched the double-disc concert set Machiavel Live.