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.
Quand La Ville Dort
Niagara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et je n'ai pas encore dormi
Un peu plus tard après la fin de l'aurore
Mais est-ce que je t'aime encore
Et pourquoi je l'ignore
Mes larmes s'évaporent
Et le silence, le silence est d'or
Quand la ville dort
Je n'ai aucun, je n'ai aucun, je n'ai aucun remords, mais
Si le ciel ne me tombe pas sur la tête
Si la lune a comme un air de fête
Si la neige ne fond pas au printemps
Alors j'aurais peut-être le temps
J'ai oublié ce que j'ai fait la veille
Mais c'était sûrement des merveilles
Et quand la ville brûle sous les feux du soleil
J'attends alors que tu t'éveilles
La nuit porte conseil
Je ne suis pas de celles
Que tu ensor- que tu ensorcelles
Je me rebelle et si tu me décèles
Je me ferai, je me ferai, je me ferai la belle, mais
Si le ciel ne me tombe pas sur la tête
Si la lune a comme un air de fête
Si la neige ne fond pas au printemps
Alors j'aurais peut-être le temps
Et pourquoi, je l'ignore
Mes larmes s'évaporent
Et le silence, le silence est d'or
Quand la ville dort
Je laisse aller le sort
Je n'ai aucun, je n'ai aucun, je n'ai aucun remords, mais
Si le ciel ne me tombe pas sur la tête
Si la lune a comme un air de fête
Si la neige ne fond pas au printemps
Alors j'aurais peut-être le temps
Si le ciel ne me tombe pas sur la tête
Si la lune a comme un air de fête
Si la neige ne fond pas au printemps
Alors j'aurais peut-être le temps
Si le ciel ne me tombe pas sur la tête
Si la lune a comme un air de fête
Si la neige ne fond pas au printemps
The lyrics of Niagara's song Quand La Ville Dort (When the City Sleeps) depict the singer's inner turmoil and uncertainty around their feelings for someone else. The singer is up late, unable to sleep and wondering if they still love this person. They are unsure and their tears dry up, leaving them in silence. The singer knows that the city around them is asleep, and they feel the weight of destiny and fate as they contemplate their situation. They have no regrets, though, and are willing to let things play out however they may.
The song then shifts to a chorus that repeats the same set of conditions: "If the sky doesn't fall on my head / If the moon has an air of celebration / If the snow doesn't melt in the spring / Then maybe I'll have time". These lines seem to suggest that the singer is willing to move on from this situation and look for happiness elsewhere, but only if certain impossible conditions are met.
Throughout the song, the lyrics are cryptic and open to interpretation, but they convey a sense of uncertainty and even resignation. The singer seems to be at a crossroads in their life, unsure of what the future holds and unable to make a clear decision about their love life.
Line by Line Meaning
Un peu plus tard après la nuit
After the night has passed by, a little later
Et je n'ai pas encore dormi
I still haven't slept
Un peu plus tard après la fin de l'aurore
A little later after the dawn has ended
Mais est-ce que je t'aime encore
But do I still love you?
Et pourquoi je l'ignore
And why I don't know
Mes larmes s'évaporent
My tears are evaporating
Et le silence, le silence est d'or
And silence, silence is golden
Quand la ville dort
When the city is sleeping
Je laisse aller le sort
I let fate take its course
Je n'ai aucun, je n'ai aucun, je n'ai aucun remords, mais
I have no, I have no, I have no regrets but
Si le ciel ne me tombe pas sur la tête
If the sky doesn't fall on my head
Si la lune a comme un air de fête
If the moon has a festive air
Si la neige ne fond pas au printemps
If the snow doesn't melt in spring
Alors j'aurais peut-être le temps
Then maybe I'll have time
J'ai oublié ce que j'ai fait la veille
I forgot what I did yesterday
Mais c'était sûrement des merveilles
But it was surely wonderful
Et quand la ville brûle sous les feux du soleil
And when the city burns under the sun's rays
J'attends alors que tu t'éveilles
I wait for you to wake up
La nuit porte conseil
The night brings counsel
Je ne suis pas de celles
I am not one of those
Que tu ensor- que tu ensorcelles
That you enchant
Je me rebelle et si tu me décèles
I rebel and if you uncover me
Je me ferai, je me ferai, je me ferai la belle, mais
I will run away, I will run away, I will run away, but
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Daniel Chenevez, Muriel Laporte
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Laurent Schmid
Ahhh le temps ou l'on pouvait entendre encore de la vraie musique.. J'adore toujours autant !!
Wanderson Lopes
Show Demais, Desde Muito Tempo Curto Esta Música!!!!!!
The Official imaginarythings Channel
This is my first viewing of Niagra (to the best of my knowledge)...I think they're fantastic...They've got a new fan now...This is an excellent video!!!!!!
garennoise
Pour moi, c'est la plus belle chanson du groupe Niagara !
Djadja
Un des meilleurs titres/clips du groupe,Muriel avait une voix géniale!
Charles Brignon
je les ai vue en concert en 1987 c'etait genial!!!! J'ADOOOORE!!!!
Seblike
Quand j'étais ado elle me fascinait par sa beauté & par son regard que je trouvais d'une incroyable intensité, sans parler de son sourire qui avait quelque chose d'espiègle & de malicieux. Très jolie chanson mid tempo qui fut leur 3e ou 4e single ( j'avoue avoir un trou de mémoire ).
otophy26
I love it!!!!! Sadly you did not hear Niagara(and other good French pop) on the radio in Flanders.I remember i saw this clip for the first time at André Torrent's "Super Jukebox" on RTL television...... GOOD TIMES!
Valhalla
J'écoutais ça quand j'avais environ 5 ans! J'y comprenais rien mais j'adorais :D
otophy26
Fantastische single!!!!Mijn favoriette Niagara song!