Born on January 24: Muriel Moreno visited Niagara before its fall

Laporte, Muriel's real surname, who was born in 1963, is less exotic than Moreno!

Starting out as a trio in the mid-80s, Niagara chose its stage name in reference to Henry Hatthaway's 1953 film in which Marilyn Monroe plays an anthology scene about a cheating husband. If you hadn't noticed, Moreno is also the anagram of Monroe!

Far from being a ravishing, empty-headed idiot, Muriel studied literature before earning a master's degree in art history in Rennes. It was here that the admirer of Simone De Beauvoir met Daniel Chenevez in 1981, then José Tamarin. Their first short-lived experiences were under the delightful names Les Espions and L'Ombre Jaune, in reference to a comic strip album by Edgar P Jacob.

In 1985, with a first single entitled “Tchiki Boum”, followed a few months later by “L'amour à la plage”, an impressive success in France, Niagara initially played the carefree, sunny pop card, which was echoed on their first album, “Encore un dernier baiser”, with no less than five hits. Not bad for a debut!

Two years later, with “Quel enfer”, things have changed. First of all, the infernal couple parted ways without abandoning their joint career. Secondly, Daniel gradually took Niagara's destiny into his own hands, imposing his musical line and his delirious images on the astonished pundits at Polydor, their label. Niagara doesn't take any crap from marketing henchmen and prefers to take charge of everything. You're never better served than by yourself...

Musically, drawing inspiration from both rhythm'n blues (horns and harmonica on “Aux coeurs blessés” in particular) and bleeding-edge hard rock (“Je suis de retour”), Niagara pays tribute to rock while remaining fundamentally French. 

After the band split up, Muriel didn't remain inactive. She perfected her musical training by taking drumming lessons. After her first album, the aptly named “Toute seule” (1996), recorded in her own studio, she continued to experiment: DJ, film soundtracks, electro compositions (on “Required Elements”). In 2010, she decided to put an end to her musical career. She then became a fitness and yoga teacher!

(Stéphane Soupart - Tr.: MH - Photo: Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Portraits of Muriel Moreno (left) and Daniel Chenevez from Niagara in Brussels (Belgium) in 1990.