The mysterious French duo Daft Punk have never revealed their true identity, wearing an ever-changing selection of masks to cover their real faces in interviews and concerts. The media-shy duo have nevertheless become an absolute phenomenon on the 90’s music scene. Daft Punk have not only put French techno on the map but convinced music fans around the world that the leading Anglo-Saxon groups in this domain now have a serious rival.

The Daft Punk story began back in 1987 when Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo (born in 1974) and Thomas Bangalter (born in 1975), met in the playground of their Paris lycée and became best friends.

Thomas Bangalter came from a musical background, his father having been involved in the French disco movement in the 70’s, and it was not long before the pair decided to form their own group with a number of lycée friends. Calling themselves Darlin', the group recorded a début single in 1992 on the English label Duophonic (which had recently been set up by the Anglo-French techno group Stereolab). The single which sold a mere 1,500 copies proved a hit with the British music press who declared it to be a promising first effort. However, the single did not find favour with all music journalists, one particularly harsh critic dismissing it as "daft punk". (Far from taking offence at this description, the French duo actually found it amusing and they would later rename their new group Daft Punk).

While the British music press had given the group’s first single a good write-up, Darlin’ remained practically unknown in their homeland. They performed a number of local gigs, but eventually Thomas and Guy-Manuel began to grow bored of the group’s sound. The turning-point in their musical career came when the pair attended a giant rave held at EuroDisney in 1993. There they met the directors of a small Scottish techno label Soma. Quitting their group of lycée friends, Thomas and Guy-Manuel formed a duo, and started developing their innovative techno/house style. A year after meeting the Soma directors at the rave, the duo released their début single on the Scottish label under the name Daft Punk. The 2-track CD (featuring "New wave" and "Alive") scored another big hit with the British music press.

Daft Punk soon proved to be a pioneering force on the techno/house scene, pushing back the boundaries of the genre to integrate elements of other musical styles such as disco, rock and groove. Moving away from the pure house sound (that had originated in Chicago in the early 80’s) Daft Punk created their own innovative 90’s fusion, mixing a powerful techno beat with musical influences from their adolescence (everything from Jimi Hendrix and The Stooges to Kiss, Television, David Bowie and Talking Heads - without forgetting a good dose of French chanson star Serge Gainsbourg !)

Daft Punk returned to the studio in May 95 to record "Da Funk", the techno/dance/rock instrumental which would catapult the duo to the forefront of the international dance scene. The duo were suddenly in demand, and they spent the following year touring Europe’s rave scene where their frenetic DJing drove crowds on the dancefloor wild.

Daft Punk proved phenomenally successful on the London dance scene, where they were soon so big that they were invited to support one of their favourite groups The Chemical Brothers. Daft Punk also made a name for themselves among the DJ community with their brilliant remixes of singles by The Chemical Brothers and singer Gabrielle.

By this point Daft Punk’s fame had started to spread beyond the underground rave scene and the duo were signed by Richard Branson’s record label Virgin in 1996. Daft Punk’s hit "Musique" was included on a compilation album on Virgin’s techno label Source, which was the first label to release the group’s records in France.

Daft Punk went on to set up their own label, Daft Trax, taking control of their own productions. The pair also kept a tight control on their image, appearing in all promotional photographs with masks or balaclavas to protect themselves from the media frenzy unleashed by their sudden popularity.

Daft Punk’s single "Da Funk" was re-released on January 13 1997, followed on February 20 by the duo’s début album "Homework" which was to catapult them to international fame. The group had expressed a desire that the album should be released on vinyl rather than CD, and 50,000 copies were pressed. But "Homework", distributed in 35 countries around the world, sold over 2 millions copies in just a few months and extra stocks had to be hot-footed from the presses to the record shops. Daft Punk’s concept album proved phenomenally successful with young music fans worldwide, the duo's innovative techno fusion transcending national and cultural barriers. Music magazines and the international media hailed Daft Punk as exciting new talents, praising their original sound and raw energy.

There was no stopping the French duo’s vertiginous rise to fame now and when Daft Punk’s new single "Around the World" was released on April 11 1997 it rocketed straight to the top of the European charts. What’s more, "Around the World" (greatly influenced by the pre-house 70’s smash "Pop Corn") became a huge hit in the American charts - a rare feat for a French single ! Daft Punk soon proved so successful on the American market that their first single "Da Funk" was even featured on the soundtrack of the Hollywood movie "The Saint" directed by Philip Noyce.

Daft Punk have been greatly in demand recently, headlining at countless major musical events including Lollapallooza in America and British festivals such as Tribal Gathering and Glastonbury. From October to December 1997 the duo, still hidden behind their notorious plastic masks, performed an extensive international tour, playing 40 dates worldwide. The highlights of this tour included memorable performances in Paris at L'Elysée-Montmartre (17 October) and Le Zénith (27 November), as well as extremely successful concerts in Los Angeles (16 December) and New York (20 December) where Daft Punk played on stage for a full five hours. By the middle of October 97 Daft Punk's album "Homework" had earnt the duo two gold discs in France. The album also proved a phenomenal success on the international music scene, going gold in England, Ireland, Belgium, Italy and New Zealand and platinum in Canada. Daft Punk were the first French group ever to enjoy success on such a massive scale.