Les Colocs

Profile

The group promoted tolerance and had a multicultural line up (for example, Mike Sawatzky is a Cree from Saskatchewan, André Vanderbiest is from Belgium and Patrick Esposito Di Napoli was from the French Catalonia). Dédé Fortin (as well as other members like Serge Robert, later to be known as Mononc' Serge) was a passionate Quebec sovereigntist and brought the band to play an important role in the 1995 Quebec referendum via partisan shows. They were part of the resurgence of political songwriting in Quebec, after a drought in the 1980s and part of the 1990s caused by the said Post-Referendum Syndrome. They were past contenders in the music band contest L'Empire des futures stars.

The festive nature of many of their songs is sharply contrasted by a difficult destiny, marred by the 1994 death of member Patrick Esposito Di Napoli, a victim of AIDS; the band effectively came to an end in 2000 when frontman Fortin took his own life. They are considered to hold a major place in the history and evolution of the Music of Quebec and are still loved by many music fans.

Members