5000 Volts

5000 Volts formed in Paris during the 1980s, a synth-pop trio with Jean-Michel Bismut on vocals, Daniel Rozoum on synthesizers, and Philippe Zdar on drums. Their song 'I'm On Fire' became a hit, the kind of track that sticks in your head with its driving synth lines and Bismut's clear, urgent delivery. It was the lead single from their debut album 'Electric Avenue,' which also included 'Doctor Kiss Kiss' and 'I Can Tell.'

They followed up with a second album called 'City Lights,' which tried for a slightly more textured sound while keeping the electronic backbone. Philippe Zdar left the group in 1987, around the time some critics were dismissing their music as too synthetic. But 'I'm On Fire' kept turning up in films and ads, and later French electronic acts like Daft Punk and Air would nod to that early synth energy.