Noir Désir

Teyssot-Gay had a strong musical background and a decade's worth of training in classical guitar; Cantat, who could not play any instrument at the time, became the singer.

For bass they found Frédéric Vidalenc, who had played in the well-known local group Dernier Métro, and eventually they settled on Luc Robène for guitar.

The label did not expect much success, the director commenting "If we sell 1,500 copies of your disk, that will already be very good" (Si on vend 1 500 exemplaires de votre disque, ce sera déjà très bien).

[11] Their first critical and popular success came two years later in 1989, with their next album, Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient).

It also produced the hit single: "Aux sombres héros de l'amer", a sea-shanty-like harmonica-driven ballad that uses the concept of sailors lost at sea as a metaphor for life.

[13] With its harder and more aggressive sound and an almost complete lack of promotion, the third album Du ciment sous les plaines (1991) received lacklustre reviews compared to Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient) and no singles were released from it.

In August 1993, The Christian Science Monitor heralded Noir Désir as France's "leading entry in the grunge wave.

[9] During their break Bertrand Cantat received professional voice training and bass-player Frédéric Vidalenc quit the group to pursue his own projects;[8] he was replaced by a longtime friend of the band, Jean-Paul Roy.

During the awards ceremony Cantat read out a speech on behalf of the band, addressed to Jean-Marie Messier, the CEO of Vivendi, the group that owns Noir Désir's record company, Universal.

In their speech, Noir Désir accused Vivendi of exploiting their band's name in order to rebut criticism of Messier's treatment of French culture.

For the 55 minute performance, titled "Nous n'avons fait que fuir", Cantat recited a long-form poem he'd written over musical improvisations played by the rest of the band.

[18] In 2003, following an argument about infidelity, Bertrand Cantat, drunk at the time, severely beat his girlfriend, the French actress Marie Trintignant, in a hotel room in Vilnius, Lithuania.

[21] A condition of Cantat's release was that he must receive regular psychological counseling and refrain from public reference to his crime in interviews or in music.

The album, Noir Désir en public, which had been started before the incident in Vilnius, contained highlights of their last tour, during which every concert had been recorded.

[25] On 29 November 2010, it was announced that guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay was leaving the band citing "emotional, human and musical differences" with lead singer Cantat.