Le Chats Sauvages were a French rock & roll band. They formed in 1961 and were one of the first bands to bring the rock & roll sound to France with The Beatles said to be among their admirers.
They adopted English-sounding names (Dick Rivers' name was inspired by a character in the 1957 Elvis Presley film 'Loving You') and released a debut EP 'Les Chats Sauvages' in 1961. They released several singles, the best known being 'Twist a St Tropez'. 'Est-Ce Que Tu Le Sais' was another popular recording and the band also covered songs such as Chubby Checker's 'Let's Twist Again' ('Viens Danser le Twist').
In 1962 vocalist Dick Rivers left to pursue a successful solo career and was replaced by Mike Shannon. The band split up in 1964, briefly reforming twice, releasing an album in 1982 with former frontman Dick Rivers.
Dick Rivers died of cancer in April 2019.
