Trust - Biography
This band's profile is 'invisible', meaning that it's much less prominent on the site - either because it's incomplete, or maybe doesn't entirely fit MS format.
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1977-
Biography
Everything really began in 1977, when Bernie Bonvoisin met Norbert Krief, a guitarist who was just back from Morocco, where he played in the Club Méditerranée's band ( a French holiday operator ) for two summers. They started to tour in Parisian clubs just after they fired José. Their set was essentially formed of AC/DC and Sex Pistols covers, and also their first track "The Glamour and The Rubbish Bin". This song appeared on their first single, released in January, 1978 with the French cover of AC/DC "Love at First Feel" which became "Paris by Night". This single was recorded at the Pathé studios, while the Rolling Stones were recording "Some Girls" there. They had the chance to meet Bon Scott, who was visiting the Stones. Without insisting too much, they convinced Bon Scott to listen to "Paris by Night," who found it great. It was the beginning of a friendship between Bernie and Bon. This passage in the studios gave TRUST the chance to meet Keith Richards and Keith Moon, but not Mick Jagger, who was already untouchable at this time. The first singe was not really a huge success; EMI was more preoccupied by the destiny of Telephone, another major French band. Enraged, Bernie took back the EMI contract?.and punched the EMI head-officer.
The friendship with Bon Scott gave TRUST the opportunity to be on the bill with AC/DC at the Paris Stadium in 1978. It was a great way for the public to discover the songs that were going to appear on their first album. It was also the first time that TRUST played on a great stage and in good conditions thanks to Bon Scott and AC/DC, who told to their technicians to give TRUST the best sound ever. They continued to tour in clubs and they got a contract with CBS (now Sony music). Then, they left for England to record their first album, which they did in 15 days.
The first album was finally released in May 1979. Bobby Bruno, their manager, organized a French tour which started in Roubaix in front of 3 people in a hall with a total capacity of 1000 people. On the second date, there were already 30 people. Day after day with the help of their new following, they began to fill the venues. Ray Manna left to be replaced by Yves Brusco (well-known as "Vivi"), and became the personal manager of the band. At the end of the tour TRUST headlined the Pavillon de Paris on January 12, 1980 in front of 10,000 people. It was the band's first great gig. On January 24, 1980 they went at the Fleury Merogis jail and played in front of 200 prisoners???but they didn't play "Police Milice".
Then they left for London, where they recorded a new album at the Scorpio studios. Bon Scott started to adapt the lyrics in English for a U.K. release. On February 19, 1980, CBS asked them to assist at a ceremony celebrating their first award: a gold record. They promised Bon to party with him after the official dinner. Waiting for them, Bon went out to a pub with a friend and died during the night. Six days before, Bon had jammed on "Ride On" and another song. The tapes of this jam were preciously kept by the band until November 13, 1997, when, to the great surprise of the RTL audience (a major French radio station), they were broadcast during a special Bon Scott event, celebrating the release of the "Bonfire" box set.
In May 1980, they released their second album, "Repression," which contained "Antisocial," the song which would be the origin of a great success. The tour that followed was censured partly by some towns. On May 29, 1981, TRUST played at the Reading Festival as a guest of Ian Gillan. It was a huge success, and the British kids were seduced. The 40,000 people who assisted at this gig would shout "ANTISOCIAL" at the end of the show.
On October 21, 1981, their third album came out: "Marche Ou Creve" ("The Savage"), recorded in Sweden with a new drummer, Nicko McBrain, and a new second guitarist, Moho. After the success of "Antisocial" it was not easy to deliver new songs with such geniality. This third album shows some great tracks like "Marche Ou Creve," "Les Templiers," and "Your Final Gig." At this time the band acted like one man and the machine was on the road. They headlined the Rockpalast Festival in Köln (Germany) on June 5, 1982. The concert was broadcast in all Europe, except in France!!! The band continued to tour in Germany with Iron Maiden, and encountered big success. Then things went downwards. At this point there were two possibilities: touring in the USA as a guest of AC/DC or Judas Priest, or touring in France! No one agreed, so they ended up hitting the road in France for a huge tour including a bulldozer on scene, in 10,000-people capacity arenas. The tour was a financial disaster, and things went further downwards.
On September 5, 1983, the album "Trust" came out, also named "Ideal" or "Trust IV." This album, with its devil side, is a product of collaboration with Andy Johns, who had previously worked with Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. After 3 weeks the budget line was already crossed only on demos. The band would stay 6 more months in Davout studios, in order to finish the 4th episode of their career, which cost a lot.
From July 15 until the end of August 1984, the band would turn back into a studio in Geneva this time with Daniel Abraham. They would finish very quickly their recordings, and bring out their 5th album "Rock'n'Roll". It contained, among others, "Serre les Poings" and "Paris". Faris Medjane is on drums. A tour followed, with everyone travelling in a different bus until the concert in Ploubalay, on July 31, 1985, when the band announced on stage that they were splitting up, leaving their fans silent.
In the beginning of 1988, Bernie and Vivi join Anthrax on the London Hammersmith Odeon scene, for an anthology jam on "Antisocial." Nono, who by then played with Johnny Halliday, couldn't join in. Anthrax would afterwards cover the song on one of their albums, which wouldn't make a big hit. They preceded Iron Maiden who also wanted to cover it, but who had to abandon the idea. On April the 6th of that year, the crowd welcomed the band at a gig of AC/DC at the Parisian Zenith, which made it clear that a lot of people wished they would come back. After some gigs in the South of France, TRUST played 2 concerts in a row at Bercy on September 24 and 25, 1988, at the Monsters of Rock festival, headlined by Iron Maiden. This so expected moment has been taped on the live album "Paris By Night," followed up in December by a mini album "En Attendant" ( "Waiting For" ). Nono, against the release of this album quit the band, and brought end for the second time to the career of TRUST.
In October 1992, Bernie found tapes of the "Repression Dans L'Hexagone" tour of 1980, and released it as a live album; it would become a gold one. In 1993, "The Backsides" was released. It was a 6-track album of B-sides, an unreleased song, and a remix of "Prefabriques" ("PREFABRICATED" ). In the same time some people would discover "Prends Pas Ton Flingue" ("THE GLAMOUR AND THE RUBBISH BIN"), a mini album of the band's first five songs. Bernie then released three solo albums, and acted in several movies, including "Hiver 54" and "La Haine," while Nono was still playing for Johnny Halliday.
In October 1996, the sixth studio album, "Europe Et Haines," was released with David Jacob on bass. In a short time he became a real member of the band. This second come back was followed by a gig at the Bol d'Or (a famous motorbike race) in front of 40,000 people. With the help of the weather (thunder?) this show was a big success. It was also the only gig with Nirox John who played drums on the album. This new album gave TRUST the occasion to be back on the road with a huge tour in January & February 1997.The album became quickly a golden one and the tour was successful, with two sold out gig at the Paris Zenith. In the same time Bernie launched his first movie "Les Démons de Jésus" which received good reviews from critics as well as the public. On April 18, 1997, the band played a gig at the Printemps de Bourges festival with Machine Head as the opening act. They replaced Motorhead and Steve Vai, both of whom had cancelled. The band was on the bill for the summer festival "Les Eurockéennes de Belfort" but the promoters who had to deal with the cancellation of Neil Young decided to change the program and cancelled the TRUST gig. TRUST lost a great occasion to finish this 1997 tour with a huge open air gig. From the "Insurrection Dans L'Hexagone '97" tour a new live album, as well as a video, "A Live," were released, including not only the concerts, but also the making of the album, and the band on tour and in the studio.
Since that period, the band is almost out of the spotlights. You could imagine the media nearly forgot them. Though everyone has a job! Nono and David Jacob not only write for the next album, but also for movies ("Ca Reste Entre Nous" by Martin Lamotte). They play also on Fred Blondin's album and Nono guests on the "Breizh-America" album by Pat O' May. He is waiting for his home studio to be build next to his house. Herve Koster continues to work on his time off with Yannick Noah (French tennis player and artist) and released a new album with Zam-Zam. Bernie released his 2nd film on February 24, 1999: "Big Mouthes," which has had less commercial success than "Jesus Demon."
The friendship with Bon Scott gave TRUST the opportunity to be on the bill with AC/DC at the Paris Stadium in 1978. It was a great way for the public to discover the songs that were going to appear on their first album. It was also the first time that TRUST played on a great stage and in good conditions thanks to Bon Scott and AC/DC, who told to their technicians to give TRUST the best sound ever. They continued to tour in clubs and they got a contract with CBS (now Sony music). Then, they left for England to record their first album, which they did in 15 days.
The first album was finally released in May 1979. Bobby Bruno, their manager, organized a French tour which started in Roubaix in front of 3 people in a hall with a total capacity of 1000 people. On the second date, there were already 30 people. Day after day with the help of their new following, they began to fill the venues. Ray Manna left to be replaced by Yves Brusco (well-known as "Vivi"), and became the personal manager of the band. At the end of the tour TRUST headlined the Pavillon de Paris on January 12, 1980 in front of 10,000 people. It was the band's first great gig. On January 24, 1980 they went at the Fleury Merogis jail and played in front of 200 prisoners???but they didn't play "Police Milice".
Then they left for London, where they recorded a new album at the Scorpio studios. Bon Scott started to adapt the lyrics in English for a U.K. release. On February 19, 1980, CBS asked them to assist at a ceremony celebrating their first award: a gold record. They promised Bon to party with him after the official dinner. Waiting for them, Bon went out to a pub with a friend and died during the night. Six days before, Bon had jammed on "Ride On" and another song. The tapes of this jam were preciously kept by the band until November 13, 1997, when, to the great surprise of the RTL audience (a major French radio station), they were broadcast during a special Bon Scott event, celebrating the release of the "Bonfire" box set.
In May 1980, they released their second album, "Repression," which contained "Antisocial," the song which would be the origin of a great success. The tour that followed was censured partly by some towns. On May 29, 1981, TRUST played at the Reading Festival as a guest of Ian Gillan. It was a huge success, and the British kids were seduced. The 40,000 people who assisted at this gig would shout "ANTISOCIAL" at the end of the show.
On October 21, 1981, their third album came out: "Marche Ou Creve" ("The Savage"), recorded in Sweden with a new drummer, Nicko McBrain, and a new second guitarist, Moho. After the success of "Antisocial" it was not easy to deliver new songs with such geniality. This third album shows some great tracks like "Marche Ou Creve," "Les Templiers," and "Your Final Gig." At this time the band acted like one man and the machine was on the road. They headlined the Rockpalast Festival in Köln (Germany) on June 5, 1982. The concert was broadcast in all Europe, except in France!!! The band continued to tour in Germany with Iron Maiden, and encountered big success. Then things went downwards. At this point there were two possibilities: touring in the USA as a guest of AC/DC or Judas Priest, or touring in France! No one agreed, so they ended up hitting the road in France for a huge tour including a bulldozer on scene, in 10,000-people capacity arenas. The tour was a financial disaster, and things went further downwards.
On September 5, 1983, the album "Trust" came out, also named "Ideal" or "Trust IV." This album, with its devil side, is a product of collaboration with Andy Johns, who had previously worked with Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. After 3 weeks the budget line was already crossed only on demos. The band would stay 6 more months in Davout studios, in order to finish the 4th episode of their career, which cost a lot.
From July 15 until the end of August 1984, the band would turn back into a studio in Geneva this time with Daniel Abraham. They would finish very quickly their recordings, and bring out their 5th album "Rock'n'Roll". It contained, among others, "Serre les Poings" and "Paris". Faris Medjane is on drums. A tour followed, with everyone travelling in a different bus until the concert in Ploubalay, on July 31, 1985, when the band announced on stage that they were splitting up, leaving their fans silent.
In the beginning of 1988, Bernie and Vivi join Anthrax on the London Hammersmith Odeon scene, for an anthology jam on "Antisocial." Nono, who by then played with Johnny Halliday, couldn't join in. Anthrax would afterwards cover the song on one of their albums, which wouldn't make a big hit. They preceded Iron Maiden who also wanted to cover it, but who had to abandon the idea. On April the 6th of that year, the crowd welcomed the band at a gig of AC/DC at the Parisian Zenith, which made it clear that a lot of people wished they would come back. After some gigs in the South of France, TRUST played 2 concerts in a row at Bercy on September 24 and 25, 1988, at the Monsters of Rock festival, headlined by Iron Maiden. This so expected moment has been taped on the live album "Paris By Night," followed up in December by a mini album "En Attendant" ( "Waiting For" ). Nono, against the release of this album quit the band, and brought end for the second time to the career of TRUST.
In October 1992, Bernie found tapes of the "Repression Dans L'Hexagone" tour of 1980, and released it as a live album; it would become a gold one. In 1993, "The Backsides" was released. It was a 6-track album of B-sides, an unreleased song, and a remix of "Prefabriques" ("PREFABRICATED" ). In the same time some people would discover "Prends Pas Ton Flingue" ("THE GLAMOUR AND THE RUBBISH BIN"), a mini album of the band's first five songs. Bernie then released three solo albums, and acted in several movies, including "Hiver 54" and "La Haine," while Nono was still playing for Johnny Halliday.
In October 1996, the sixth studio album, "Europe Et Haines," was released with David Jacob on bass. In a short time he became a real member of the band. This second come back was followed by a gig at the Bol d'Or (a famous motorbike race) in front of 40,000 people. With the help of the weather (thunder?) this show was a big success. It was also the only gig with Nirox John who played drums on the album. This new album gave TRUST the occasion to be back on the road with a huge tour in January & February 1997.The album became quickly a golden one and the tour was successful, with two sold out gig at the Paris Zenith. In the same time Bernie launched his first movie "Les Démons de Jésus" which received good reviews from critics as well as the public. On April 18, 1997, the band played a gig at the Printemps de Bourges festival with Machine Head as the opening act. They replaced Motorhead and Steve Vai, both of whom had cancelled. The band was on the bill for the summer festival "Les Eurockéennes de Belfort" but the promoters who had to deal with the cancellation of Neil Young decided to change the program and cancelled the TRUST gig. TRUST lost a great occasion to finish this 1997 tour with a huge open air gig. From the "Insurrection Dans L'Hexagone '97" tour a new live album, as well as a video, "A Live," were released, including not only the concerts, but also the making of the album, and the band on tour and in the studio.
Since that period, the band is almost out of the spotlights. You could imagine the media nearly forgot them. Though everyone has a job! Nono and David Jacob not only write for the next album, but also for movies ("Ca Reste Entre Nous" by Martin Lamotte). They play also on Fred Blondin's album and Nono guests on the "Breizh-America" album by Pat O' May. He is waiting for his home studio to be build next to his house. Herve Koster continues to work on his time off with Yannick Noah (French tennis player and artist) and released a new album with Zam-Zam. Bernie released his 2nd film on February 24, 1999: "Big Mouthes," which has had less commercial success than "Jesus Demon."