Space

**Space** is a French disco band formed by Didier Marouani in 1977. Their biggest hit was "Magic Fly".

## History

In 1976, French singer Didier Marouani was asked to compose a theme tune for a TV program about astrology. The program never aired, but Marouani was convinced that his sci-fi composition could be a hit. However, Polydor Records - his record company at the time - refused to release it, so him and his producer went to Vogue Records. However, since he was still under contract to Polydor Records, he could only release the composition under a pseudonym. Thus, he chose the group name "Space" and wrote music under the pseudonym "Ecama". The composition, titled "Magic Fly", was first shown at MIDEM in January 1977, months before Donna Summer had a hit with "I Feel Love". Within a short time, it became a hit in many countries, for example, reaching #2 on the UK charts. An album followed, and the group performed while dressed in space suits as part of Marouani's anonymity.

Space had another big smash with their 1977 album *Deliverance*, and the space disco momentum continued in 1978 with *Just Blue*. Combined, the first three albums sold at least 12 million units. However, success would not be with the group much longer. In 1978, a concert under the Eiffel Tower was planned. However, it ended up being cancelled because the radio station that was promoting the concert pulled out. Marouani subsequently got into a dispute with producer Jean-Philippe Iliesco and left the group in 1979. However, Iliesco and the remaining members continued the group without Marouani's permission, releasing the album *Deeper Zone* in 1980, plus a non-album single: "Tender Force" b/w "Robbots", neither of which was as successful as previous releases, and the group broke up after that.

Marouani attempted to reform Space in 1982, but was unable to do so because Iliesco had registered the "Space" trademark without his permission, so he released an album under the name *Paris France Transit* instead. By this time, Space's music had become wildly popular in the Soviet Union, so Marouani began performing concerts there. He even released a new album titled *Space Opera* in conjunction with the Red Army Chorus in 1987. In 1990, Marouani won back the rights to the name "Space" after a trademark dispute, and released the album *Symphonic Space Dream* in 2002. Their latest album, *From Earth to Mars*, was released in 2011. On November 29, 2016, Marouani was detained by Russian police over a copyright dispute involving singer Philip Kirkorov. He was released the following day. Since then, he has performed concerts, but has gone on hiatus due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

## Members

### Current

* Didier Marouani - Keyboards
* Jeff Parent - Keyboards
* Manu Chambo - Keyboards
* Serge Munuera - Keyboards
* Marc Hazon - Percussion
* Dominique Greffier - Vocals
* Jean-François Bourassin - Guitars
* Michel Aymé - Guitars

### Past

* Roland Romanelli - Keyboards (1977-1980)
* Jannick Top - Keyboards (1977-1980)
* Madeline Bell - Vocals (1977-1978)
* Joe Hammer - Drums (1977-1979, 1982-1992)
* Janny Loseth - Vocals (1982-1991)
* Cissy Stone - Vocals (1978-1980)
* Patrice Tison - Guitars (1979-1982)
* Yann Benoist - Guitars (1982-2007)
* Roy Robinson - Vocals (1991-1992)
* Dennis Cottard - Keyboards (1982-1985)

## Discography

### Albums

* *Magic Fly* (1977, Vogue Records)
* *Deliverance* (1977, Vogue Records)
* *Just Blue* (1978, Vogue Records)
* *Deeper Zone* (1980, Vogue Records)
* *Paris France Transit* (1982, as Paris France Transit, Vogue Records)
* *Space Opera* (1987, Trema Records)
* *Space Magic Concerts* (1994, Le Goeland)
* *Symphonic Space Dream* (2002, BMG Russia, Space Records)
* *From Earth to Mars* (2011, RDS Records)

## Trivia

* "Magic Fly" has been covered by numerous artists: Kebekelektrik, Mc Lane Explosion and Saturne EA 1, to name a few.
* "Magic Fly" was used as the theme tune for the original Chinese version of the 1978 Jackie Chan movie *Snake In Eagle's Shadow.*