music
Bob Sinclar
Who is Bob Sinclar? An international man of mystery, since he first emerged in 1976 this career path has taken in spy, jewel thief, Riviera playboy, mercenary, arms smuggler, Monte Carlo card shark, Studio 54 bellboy, high-class gigolo, sunglasses model and hardcore porn star.
It's also rumoured he was roped in to teach John Travolta to dance for Saturday Night Fever, but we don't want to play with the rumours - the mere facts themselves are incredible enough. Now, since his autobiography was banned world-wide for in order to protect NATO security, Bob has decided to tell his story via the medium of house music.
Hang on a minute... This morning more than a thin tissue of propaganda, disinformation and downright fibbery. Don't believe a word of it. Bob is a figment of the imagination of "Chris The French Kiss" the 31-year-old Paris DJ behind club hits like "Gymtonic", "The Ghetto" and the recent smash "I Feel For You".
"Bob is an alter ego for me" he says. "It was important for me to have fun and relive that disco era. So I wanted to invent a character who was like a porn star or a disco hero or a spy - a James Bond parody, but cool, like the Fonzie".
Bob grew up and still lives in Le Marais, the happening gay quarter of Paris. "It's the centre of Paris", he beams, "a bit like Notting Hill in London. It's got The Force". Growing up there it is unsurprising that the teenage Chris soon started hanging out at Paris exclusive late 80s club scene.
"I was into music from the first time I saw a DJ play two records together at Le Palace. It was the happiest time of my life : hearing Todd Terry "Can You Party" and Eric B and Rakim, "I Know You Got Soul", “So I got into hip hop".
In 1994 Chris started the influential Yellow Productions, with his friend DJ Yellow. Signing artists like Dimitri From Paris, they were the first French label to branch out into the funky disco groove that we came to recognise as the mid-90s French sound. Even then, image was all important. "We were fans of labels like Blue Note, Prestige and Mo Wax. We wanted to have a beautiful image too, but with a French twist".
By 1998 he was moving away from acid jazz with his own Bob Sinclar project and released his debut LP on Yellow, causing dancefloor hysteria with the Jane Fonda - sampling "Gymtonic" and the deep soulful groove of "The Ghetto".
Bob Sinclar - he may not actually exist, but he's clearly still one helluya guy. Welcome to his world.