The result of a meeting between a radio programmer and a DJ, the duo Début de Soirée are the authors of the 1980s dance hit "Nuit de folie". The duo was born in 1984 from the meeting of radio host Sascha Goëller, originally from Marseille, and William Picard, a DJ at a discotheque in Aix-en-Provence. In 1987, they released their first maxi, "Mister DJ", under the name Yankee. The following year, under the name Début de Soirée, they offered their signature track, "Nuit de folie", to the CBS label. On July 16, 1988, the song shot to the top of the Top 50 and stayed there for nine weeks. Nuit de folie" sold a million and a half copies, followed by the ballad "La Vie la nuit" (#2) and "Jardins d'enfants " (#5), the title track of Début de Soirée's debut album, which reached #12. The duo's fourth single, "Chance", reached No. 30, and their dance version of Claude François' "Belles belles belles" reached No. 49 in 1990. In 1991, "De révolutions en satisfactions " was the first single not to chart. The album that followed, Passagers de la Nuit, was reissued with two previously unreleased tracks under the name Tous les Paradis, along with the homonymous single. Failing further success, Début de Soirée released the album Faut Pas Exagérer in 1996, before splitting up in 2004. William Picard continues to carry the name on stage, while various compilations are released, including Nuit de Folie (2008) and Best of Début de Soirée (2011). Reunited in 2006 for the RFM Party 80 tour, the duo appeared in the film Stars 80 (2012).
