Much thought and discussion has gone into the subject of where the once famous Sniffle artistes are now. Indeed, we receive many letters and e-mails on this topic each week. The sheer quantity of requests for information about our artistes has reached such a scale that we are unable to reply to each personally. We have, therefore, decided to publish this page in order to answer some of the most frequently asked questions (or FAQ in the language of Internet aficionados).
Jean-Michel Dupont
Jean-Michel was with us right at the very beginning, when Sniffle was just getting
started. Indeed, Pamplemousse studios were named by Jean-Michel Dupont. His good
humour and hearty cigarettes kept us awake during many a recording session. From his
highly successful pressings in the 1960's, of which Fran�oise is possibly the
best example, Jean-Michel made large sums of money. He could have retired, but, not
wishing to keep his shining talents from even the darkest recesses of the musical
world, he joined forces with the fiery Spaniard, the great Juanita del Torro. In
doing so, Dupont had, in his own words, "pris le torreau par les cornes". This
duo stampeded through the next decade with such disco classics as Viva la vida
loca and the heart wrenching Mi Rosa me ha dejado.
Over the course of their ten year collaboration, their working relationship blossomed into a much more passionate affair. They began to have a passionate affair. Madame Dupont discovered these illicit liaisons via a telegramme from Se�or del Torro. This telegramme was so beautifully phrased that the two soon fell in love and went to live in the picturesque seaside town of Pipinas, Argentina. Meanwhile in Europe, Jean-Michel was struck down with throat cancer and had to confine himself to charity work for the remaining two years of his life. Juanita, whilst attempting to elope with the swimming pool attendant, she was knocked down by a bus. Jean-Michel, devastated by the news, died moments later. This tragedy was the inspiration for the Abba song of the same name.
The official biography of Jean-Michel Dupont, Blood, Sweat and a Spanish Cow, can be bought from the Pamplemousse Publications Bookshop, either at their Paris outlet on Boulevard Haussmann, or our on-line shop. Simply click on 'Shop' at the foot of this page.
And the Bride Wore Black
And the Bride Wore Black have been described as perhaps the most enigmatic,
energetic, influential, destructive, creative and diffuctult to categorise group ever
to come out of the Pamplemousse Studios. In fact, when they did emerge from the
Pamplemousse Studios, they did so leaving the studios burnt to the ground. This
precipitated one of the fastest droppings of a musical act from a record label in
history. Originally their album sold very badly, but after this wanton act of vandalism
became a cult classic, especially because of its cover, designed by pop artist Gerry
Haughwall.
And the Bride Wore Black's status in the pantheon of experimental albums was assured when their drummer, Tony McDaniel, better known to pop pickers as The Tonster, achieved fame with the Tonettes. His perfect pop songs, always a smash in the hit parade, like "Last night I loved you", "Monday morning she won't answer the phone" and "Can I see you this evening" will go down in history as some of the most annoying songs ever. For legal reasons we must point out that these songs were not recorded under the Sniffle label. In fact, on hearing that the band had burnt down the original Pamplemousse studios, co-founder of Sniffle records Kristov Ancille vowed that no member of the band would ever come near the label again. This story has only added to the band's reputation. What is not so often talked about is that not only did Kristov threaten the members of the band with a court case, he also threatened to shoot them if he ever saw them again. This may (or may not) explain guitarist Eric Marr's disappearence in 1983.