Not long ago it was French football great Zinedine Zidane who was the focus of their bid for celebrity — and a few laughs.
Now, it is the peloton of the Tour de France — and their notorious links with the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) — which is the subject of musical group La Plage’s latest offering.
La Plage caused a mini-sensation last summer with a hit song entitled Coup de Boule (Head Butt) following Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materrazzi during last year’s Soccer World Cup final.
It sold over 460 000 copies, handing the trio — brothers Emmanuel and Sebastien Lipszyc and Franck Lacombes — phenomenal success for a record which they wrote while sitting at the table after lunch.
The trio are unsure if their follow-up effort, entitled EPO, I love you, will attract as much success.
However, the words are likely to bring smiles to anyone who is familiar with the sport, which was plagued by widespread EPO use in the early 1990s and is still fighting to shake off doping allegations.
“EPO I love you, thanks to you I’ll be number one, EPO I love you, thanks to you I’ll speed my way to the most beautiful jersey,” goes the refrain of the song, as reported in Friday’s Le Parisien newspaper.
The song has again attracted interest from record companies keen to cash in on the growing market for comedy songs, which are becoming more popular thanks to the increasing influence of the internet.
“We’re not hoping for anything as regards success,” admitted Sebastien Lipszyc of their new ditty, which is sung along to a mariachi beat.
“We’re doing it just for laughs. We shot the video clip in an afternoon at my mum’s house with an exercise bike and three mariachi shirts.” — AFP