1. A French… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least seven artists using the name Niagara:
1. A French duo active from the early 1980s until the early 1990s
2. A Portuguese electronic trio releasing on the Lisbon labels Príncipe and Ascender.
3. A German jazz/funk-percussion group active in the early 1970s
4. A Ukrainian group
5. A Spanish hard rock band
6. The pseudonym of Lynn Rovner, who was the lead singer in the 1970s experimental band Destroy All Monsters.
7. An Italian progressive rock band
1. The French Niagara, who emerged from the thriving pop'n'rock scene in Rennes (France) in the early 80s, went on to become one of the best-selling duos of the decade. However, after years of chart hits and successful international tours, the duo finally went their separate ways in 1993. Muriel and Daniel have both launched solo projects, but these have failed to live up to the success of the Niagara years.
In the early 80s Rennes, a lively student town in Brittany, was the scene of a veritable music revolution. In 1982 Muriel met Daniel Chenevez, a talented young amateur musician who, after a brief spell studying sociology, had also launched a serious music career. Chenevez, who played guitar and keyboards, also kept up with all the latest music technology, experimenting with synthesisers and videos right from the beginning of his career.
Daniel and Muriel went on to start a relationship and would later get married, Muriel taking the name Muriel Moreno. Around the same time the pair decided to become musical partners, teaming up as a duo under the name Ombre jaune (Yellow Shadow). Daniel and Muriel made their public debut at the "Trans Musicales" festival in December 1982 and soon went on to make a name for themselves on the thriving Rennes scene, playing in clubs and concert halls throughout the Brittany region.
In February 1984 the duo changed their name to Niagara and the following year the cultural centre in Rennes offered to finance the release of singles for four local artists. Niagara was one of the lucky four chosen and the duo went into the studio shortly afterwards to record the single "Tchiki Boum", which proved an instant hit with record-buyers and within a few weeks of its release, Niagara went shooting into the Top 50, and many more hits were soon to follow.
Muriel and Daniel made a perfect duo - Muriel, definitely the more extrovert and flamboyant of the two, made a great frontwoman, dressing up in sexy Barbarella-style stage costumes and charming audiences with her sultry vocals. Meanwhile Daniel, the more shy and reserved of the duo, took a back seat during performances. As for the Niagara sound, this was produced through a fusion of sweet, carefree pop melodies and Afro-Cuban, funk and soul rhythms.
In 1986 the pair released their debut album, "Encore un premier baiser", scoring another huge hit with the French public. Videos were all the rage in the mid-80s and Niagara came up with consistently good visuals, Chenevez stepping behind the camera to produce the videos for "L'amour a la plage" and "Je dois m'en aller".
In 1988 Niagara were back at the forefront of the French music scene with their second album, "Quel enfer" (What a Hell). This album marked a definite shift in Niagara's image and their musical direction, a chang from a riot of multi-coloured psychedelia to black. Fans appeared to appreciate this change of style, however, and "Assez !" soon went rocketing to the top of the charts and proved a big hit in clubs up and down the country. By this point Niagara were at the height of their career and, shortly after the release of their second album, they set off on an extensive tour sponsored by MTV. Accompanied by a dozen musicians in their tour bus, Muriel and Daniel played to audiences in fifteen different countries over the next five months.
In April 1990 the duo returned to the spotlight with their third album "Religion", mixing hard rock with catchy pop melodies. Muriel's stage outfits changed accordingly, the sultry star appearing in concert dressed in full leather gear. Niagara's new image was supported by aggressive vocals and hard-hitting lyrics and new songs included "Pendant que les champs brulent" (While Fields Are Burning), "le Ciel s'est dechire" (The Sky Ripped In Two) and "Chemin de Croix" (Stations of the Cross). The group's new single "J'ai vu" (I Have Seen) was a powerful track about war.
By 1992 the Niagara craze was beginning to subside. Muriel and Daniel's relationship came to an end, but they decided to continue working together in their professional life. Recording kicked off in the ICP studio in Brussels (where Niagara had recorded their last three albums) and finished up in New York in August in the Electric Ladyland Studio. "La Vérité" was the biggest production of Niagara's career - in fact, no less than forty-five musicians worked in the studio with the duo. But this time round Niagara's rock sound failed to impress either the critics or the record-buying public.
On 25 March 1993 Niagara performed at Le Zénith in Paris, but later that year Muriel and Daniel finally decided to go their separate ways.
Subsequently, Moreno and Chenevez went on to put out a series of individual solo albums, none of which managed to achieve the same success as the Niagara records. Muriel experimented with electronic influences, Chenevez was also busy in the studio, working on his debut solo album, "Excentrique", released in 1996, which made as little impact as Muriel's solo album, however, neither the critics nor the record-buying public taking much interest in it.
Meanwhile, a compilation of the duo's greatest hits was released on 9 April 2002. Entitled "Flammes", the album proved a huge hit with the French public. Indeed, burgeoning sales meant the album went gold within two months of its release. But Muriel and Daniel refused to come out of Niagara "retirement" and promote their greatest hits compilation - as far as the duo are concerned their Niagara days are well and truly over.
2. Niagara is a Portuguese electronic trio releasing music on the Lisbon labels Príncipe and Ascender, the latter being their own imprint. Its members are Alberto Arruda, António Arruda and Sara Eckerson. They also record as Novo Mundo.
3. The German jazz/funk-percussion group, Niagara, existing between 1971-1973. The group featured artists including, on percussion: Klaus Weiss, Udo Lindenberg, Cotch Blackmon, Keith Forsey, Juan Romero, Danny Fichelscher, Joe Harris, George Green; on bass: Gary Unwin, Milan Pilar; on guitar: Paul Vincent; on horns: Ack van Royen; on sax & flute: Ferdinand Povel; on keyboard: Christian Schulze. They produced three albums: Niagara (1971), S.U.B. (1972) and Afire (1973). It is extremely difficult to find more information on the project, even in the official biographies of Klaus Weiss and Udo Lindenberg.
Assez
Niagara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et leur chien aboie pour un rien
Le concierge boit comme un polonais
Mais il n'aime pas les trangers
Ma tl est toujours dtraque
La Tour Eiffel s'est effondre
Lady Di s'est encore dispute
J'espre qu'elle n'est pas trop fache
Cingle! autour de moi tout s'croule
Assez! mais laissez-moi en paix tout
Jamais! je vais bientot perdre la boule
Le journal m'annonce c'est la fin
Il ne me reste que mon chagrin
Un politicien mexicain me promets tu verras demain
Un paroissien me prend par la main
Il me dit que c'est pour mon bien
Mais moi je ne veux surtout pas
Que ces gens s'occupent de moi
Assez! je crois que je deviens vraiment
Cingle! autour de moi tout s'croule
Assez! mais laissez-moi en paix tout
Jamais! je vais bientot perdre la boule
Les indiens envahissent Pkin
Je crois bien que je n'y peux rien
Mais moi je ne comprends pas pourquoi
Tout me tombe dessus la fois
Assez! je crois que je deviens vraiment
Cingle! autour de moi tout s'croule
Assez! mais laissez-moi en paix tout
Jamais! je vais bientot perdre la boule
The lyrics of Niagara's song "Assez" express the frustration and overwhelm of the singer with the state of the world around them. From noisy neighbors, a malfunctioning TV, and a collapsed Eiffel Tower to political corruption in Mexico and invading Indians, everything seems to be falling apart and beyond the control of the individual. The singer's plea for peace and solitude is evident in the repeated cry of "Assez!" meaning "Enough!" in French. The singer feels like they are losing their mind amidst the chaos and demands to be left alone.
The lyrics are a reflection of the anxieties and uncertainties of modern life, where the media bombards us with countless negative events and opinions, all vying for attention in a crowded field. The use of Lady Di's name in the song also alludes to the obsession with celebrity culture, where even royal deaths are scrutinized for drama and gossip. The contrast between the ordinary (noisy neighbors and broken TV) and the grandiose (collapsing Eiffel Tower and invading Indians) also shows how the small-scale troubles of individuals can feel insignificant and dwarfed by the larger forces at work in the world. Overall, the song's message is one of disillusionment and a plea for space and sanity amidst the many voices and events that clamor for our attention.
Line by Line Meaning
Mes voisins me rveillent le matin
Every morning my neighbors wake me up
Et leur chien aboie pour un rien
Their dog barks for no reason
Le concierge boit comme un polonais
The building caretaker drinks heavily
Mais il n'aime pas les trangers
But he doesn't like foreigners
Ma tl est toujours dtraque
My TV is always out of order
La Tour Eiffel s'est effondre
The Eiffel Tower has collapsed
Lady Di s'est encore dispute
Lady Di has had another fight
J'espre qu'elle n'est pas trop fache
I hope she's not too angry
Assez! je crois que je deviens vraiment
Enough! I think I'm really
Cingle! autour de moi tout s'croule
Going crazy! Everything around me is falling apart
Assez! mais laissez-moi en paix tout
Enough! But leave me alone completely
Jamais! je vais bientot perdre la boule
Never! I'm going to lose my mind soon
Le journal m'annonce c'est la fin
The newspaper announces it's the end
Il ne me reste que mon chagrin
All I'm left with is my sorrow
Un politicien mexicain me promets tu verras demain
A Mexican politician promises me 'you'll see tomorrow'
Un paroissien me prend par la main
A parishioner takes my hand
Il me dit que c'est pour mon bien
He tells me it's for my own good
Mais moi je ne veux surtout pas
But I don't want any of it
Que ces gens s'occupent de moi
For these people to take care of me
Les indiens envahissent Pkin
The Indians are invading Beijing
Je crois bien que je n'y peux rien
I really don't think I can do anything about it
Mais moi je ne comprends pas pourquoi
But I don't understand why
Tout me tombe dessus la fois
Everything is happening to me all at once
Contributed by Lila V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Super Manu
Mes voisins me réveillent le matin
Et leur chien aboie pour un rien
Le concierge boit comme un Polonais
Mais il n'aime pas les étrangers
Ma télé est toujours détraquée…
La tour Eiffel s'est effondrée
Lady Di s'est encore disputée
J'espère qu'elle n'est pas trop fâchée
refrain
Assez ! Je crois que je deviens vraiment
Cinglée ! Autour de moi tout s'écroule
Assez ! Mais laissez-moi en paix à tout
Jamais ! Je vais bientôt perdre la boule
Le journal m'annonce : "C'est la fin"
Il ne me reste que mon chagrin
Un politicien mexicain me promet : " Tu verras demain "
Un paroissien me prend par la main
Il me dit que c'est pour mon bien
Mais moi je ne veux surtout pas
Que ces gens s'occupent de moi
refrain
les indiens envahissent pékin
Je crois bien que je n'y peux rien ...
refrain Niagara 1988.
patrick perez
Un groupe iconique des années 80 que toute une génération a adoré ,talentueux ,rock à souhait et qui nous a laissé sur notre faim .
On aurait adoré que ça continue encore et encore....Un époque faste perdue à jamais :(
daniel chenaux
du tout cool
daniel chenaux
du tout bon ca
Timo Sivola
Ils le savaient il y a + de 30 ans... Chapeau!!!
Nikolas SoDiant
Egalement productif dans les années 90!!!!! 🎙🎹🏹💛🏹💛🎸💜🎸🇫🇷🌿
Lumière
Yes❤
Sandra D.
Ce groupe est génial la plupart des morceaux n'ont pas vieilli. Dingue de se dire que tout ça se soit perdu.
Muriel Stern
A ré-récouter absolument
A revoir
C'est un sacré groupe qui compte toujours dans la variété française
Jeanne marie d
Pourquoi ne sont il jamais revenus?
Alex
@Jeanne marie d La chanteuse muriel moreno a arrêté sa carrière musicale.