Les Irrésistibles

Origins

Les Irrésistibles, also known as The Irresistibles, were a boy band active from the late 1960s into the early 1970s. The members were Americans living in France: lead singer Jim McMains, who also played keyboards and rhythm guitar; his identical twin brother Steve McMains on bass; Tom Arena on lead guitar; and Andy Cornelius on drums. They returned to the United States in the early 1970s.

The group started in 1968 as The Sentrys, formed by teenage classmates at the American School of Paris. They built a local following among the American community by performing covers of popular songs. Recording scouts noticed them, and they signed with CBS, which rebranded them as Les Irrésistibles. The deal included a corporate sponsorship from British carmaker Triumph, whose TR5 roadster appeared in the band’s first video and early publicity photos.

Their debut single, "My Year is a Day," came out in 1968. Written by William Sheller, it was an English version of Dalida’s French song "Dans la ville endormie"—not, as many thought, the other way around. It became their most successful release.

The record sleeve included a fictional backstory claiming the band formed in Los Angeles as The Beloved Ones, the English equivalent of Les Irrésistibles. They released several more songs in France with moderate success before leaving for the US. A rumor holds that one of the twin brothers now lives in western North Carolina, while the others are in California.

Did You Know?

• The band's first single "My year is a day" was an English version of Dalida's French song "Dans la ville endormie", not the other way around.
• Two of the group's singles, "My Year Is A Day" and "Sunshine And You", were released in the United States under the band name Arch Of Triumph.
• The band's 1972 single was a version of the French Christmas song "Petit Papa Noël", titled "Christmas Bells Will Ring".