End of Data -

End of Data was a French coldwave band that made the 1984/85 Divine albums Sahrah and Dans votre monde.

Members: Ert [aka Eric Trochu] (vocals), Ae [aka Thierry Leray] (guitar, bass), Pascal Des A (bass), Pascal Normal [Pascal Bence] (drums), Didier Perichon (keyboards)

Background

End of Data formed in spring 1983 in Rennes when self-taught guitarist Thierry Leray recruited singer Éric Trochu and keyboardist Didier Perichon for a last-minute replacement set at Ubu. Trochu worked as a photographer and sang in Warsaw Pact. Perichon studied architecture and played analog synthesizers.

The trio followed the Ubu appearance with dates across Brittany and played La Cité on December 12, 1983, at the fifth Rencontres Trans Musicales in Rennes. Complot Bronswick guitarist François Possémé heard a live recording from the early shows and introduced End of Data to Madrigal label manager Christian Bordarier, who signed the trio for a debut on the Divine imprint. Possémé produced the first studio session for Sahrah with Complot Bronswick drummer Yves-André Lefeuvre as assistant. The trio spent three days on the takes and two on the mix for Sahrah.

Between albums, End of Data supplied music for Quartz, a Théâtre National Chorégraphique de Bretagne production staged by choreographer Gigi Caciuléanu. The group toured the production through 1986 in France and Germany.

Bassist Pascal Des A and drummer Pascal “Normal” Bence, both former members of Orchestre Rouge, joined End of Data as the group expanded from a trio to a five-piece.

Discography:

Sahrah (1984)
Dans votre monde (1985)

References:

Rock Made in France — End of Data. Best source for the formation sequence: spring 1983, the cancelled Ubu booking, Leray as a self-taught guitarist, Trochu as singer/photographer, Perichon as an architecture student, subsequent Breton concerts, the live tape, Madrigal contract, and the five-day Sahrah session with Possémé and Lefeuvre. (Rock Made in France)
Les Trans — official archive. Confirms End of Data at the fifth Rencontres Trans Musicales and places the group at La Cité on December 12, 1983. (LESTRANS)
MusicHearts archive. Preserves a much more detailed first-person-derived history: François Possémé heard the early concert tape, connected End of Data with Madrigal manager Christian Bordarier, produced Sahrah, and divided the first studio experience into three recording days and two mixing days. It also identifies the founding trio and their equipment. The English rendering is machine-translated, so I used it only where other sources support the chronology. (MusicHeartsFM)
Minimal Wave. Independently confirms the spring 1983 formation in Rennes, the founding trio, and Ubu as the first live appearance. (Minimal Wave Records)
Éric Trochu profile. Confirms Trochu’s photography background, Warsaw Pact affiliation, and End of Data tenure. (Viadeo)
Optical Sound / B.F.E. Records. Optical Sound confirms the founding trio and Madrigal connection; the original Sahrah catalog attribution is Divine F 00 34. B.F.E., which reissued the record with band liner notes, likewise identifies Divine as the original 1984 label. (Optical Sound)