In 1975, students leaving the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Lyon formed a band, Femme Fatale, playing songs by the Velvet Underground, Roxy Music, The Seeds and others.
Vidal took over as lead singer, Jean-Marc Vallod (bass) joined the band, and, on the advice of Marc Zermati of Skydog Records, they changed their name to Marie et les Garçons.
Later in 1978, "Re-Bop", coupled with the band's version of the Village People's "Macho Man", was issued as a single on ZE Records, the new label formed in New York by Esteban with Michael Zilkha.
[2][3][4] The band were on hold for several months while Fitoussi and Charriau undertook national service, and on their return Esteban and Vidal sought to lead their music more towards the mutant disco style of other ZE artists.
The band toured in 1979, with an augmented line-up including Jimmy Young (drums), Eric Melon (guitar), Allen Wentz (keyboards), Milton Cardona (percussion), three horn players and two singers, as well as Vidal, Fitoussi and Charriau.
Vidal then left the band, and Fitoussi, Charriau and Melon, plus Chris Levrat (keyboards), undertook a final short tour in Europe in early 1980.