Electro-Harmonix advertised the DRM15 by April 1981. The BnF identifies Bérurier Noir’s surviving Dédé as a DRM15 bought after the group’s first rhythm box was stolen in 1984.
The machine in the record
Bérurier Noir / “Dédé”.
The French national library identifies Bérurier Noir’s “Dédé” as an Electro-Harmonix DRM15, bought after the group’s first machine was stolen in 1984. The archive does not name a particular recording; it gives the replacement rhythm box a vivid place in the group’s drummerless identity.
Read Bérurier Noir archive press dossier ↗More records in the archive
The machine keeps turning up.
Andy Ramsay / Stereolab / Press Play Studio rhythm-machine collection
Andy Ramsay lists an Electro-Harmonix DRM15 among the rhythm machines at Press Play Studio.
Read Andy Ramsay / Electro-Harmonix DRM15 ↗In the market
- 1981-08: USD 229 — List price in manufacturer direct-order advertisement. DRM15; package unspecified Source ↗
- 1981-08: USD 139 — Sale price in manufacturer direct-order advertisement. DRM15; package unspecified Source ↗
- 1981-04: USD 229 — List price in manufacturer direct-order advertisement. Standard named model; package unspecified Source ↗
- 1981-04: USD 139 — Sale price in manufacturer direct-order advertisement. Standard named model; package unspecified Source ↗
On record
- Bérurier Noir — Bérurier Noir live and recorded work; individual titles not assigned. The BnF identifies Bérurier Noir’s “Dédé” as an Electro-Harmonix DRM15 bought by Fanfan after the group’s first machine was stolen in 1984. Source ↗
In the studio and on stage
- Andy Ramsay / Stereolab — Press Play Studio rhythm-machine collection. Andy Ramsay lists an Electro-Harmonix DRM15 among the rhythm machines at Press Play Studio. Source ↗
Read the rhythm chart
The DRM15 photographed in the BnF archive has its rhythm chart printed above the Column and Style selectors. Funk, disco, rock and miscellaneous rows guide the choice; Volume and Tempo sit above them. The marked, taped instrument is the band’s surviving Dédé, not a pristine catalogue specimen.
Dans les archives de FanXoa et mastO de Bérurier Noir — Dossier de presse ↗
The replacement called Dédé
The BnF identifies this Electro-Harmonix DRM15 as the machine Fanfan bought after Bérurier Noir’s first rhythm box was stolen in 1984. That distinction matters: the preserved object documents the replacement, not every earlier performance or a track-by-track recording history.
Dans les archives de FanXoa et mastO de Bérurier Noir — Dossier de presse ↗ Bérurier Noir archive press dossier ↗
From the band to workshops
The same collection caption records mastO using Dédé in prison-music workshops from 2008 to 2020. The object’s documented working life therefore continues beyond the band’s original stage history. Separately, the BnF catalogues an eighteen-minute talk about the group’s 7 April 1984 concert with a drummer; its catalogue entry alone does not establish which rhythm box was used that night.
Dans les archives de FanXoa et mastO de Bérurier Noir — Dossier de presse ↗ 7 avril 1984 : l’unique concert des Bérus avec un batteur ↗
The direct-sale offer
In 1981 Electro-Harmonix advertised the DRM15 at a $229 list price and a $139 sale price, inviting mail orders where dealers could not meet the offer. These are dated manufacturer asking prices, not evidence of the machine’s launch price or of what every buyer paid.
Electro-Harmonix Sale — International Musician (AFM), April 1981, p. 5 ↗ Electro-Harmonix Sale — International Musician, August 1981, advertisement ↗
Sources
- Dans les archives de FanXoa et mastO de Bérurier Noir — Dossier de presse
- Electro-Harmonix Sale — International Musician, August 1981, advertisement
- 7 avril 1984 : l’unique concert des Bérus avec un batteur
- Electro-Harmonix Sale — International Musician (AFM), April 1981, p. 5
- Bérurier Noir archive press dossier
The visual archive
Further visual evidence.
Sources for images shown earlier (1)
Additional visual sources (2)
Original publications and related image sources.
- Electro-Harmonix Sale: DRM15 and DRM32 list/sale prices ↗
1981-08 · Electro-Harmonix · PDF index 28; unnumbered advertisement - Electro-Harmonix sale in AFM journal ↗
1981-04 · Electro-Harmonix · Printed p. 5, PDF index 4