7-inch series, part 518

Marc Aryan – Katy
label: Markal
year: 1965
side a1: Bête à Manger Du Foin
side a2: Toi Je Te Regarde
side b1: Katy
side b2: Tu Es Une Petite Fille
Marc Aryan – Un Jour
label: Markal
year: 1965
side a: Un Jour
side b: Ma Loulou

I had never heard of Marc Aryan until I got these two singles as a goodbye present from Margot, the lady also known as Polly, initiator and boss of the fabulous Planeet Polly show on Radio Centraal in Antwerp. They came from her family’s collection, she told me as she handed me these and three other 45s, which will be featured here at a later date. The second single, “Un Jour” is housed in the sleeve of the first one, supposedly because its original sleeve got lost over the years.
Henry Markarian, as his mama called him, was French-born but decided to stay in Belgium after he had been received by its people with great warmth. This was in the early sixties, when it was still okay to speak French in Flanders. “Katy” became a huge hit, first in Belgium, then in the rest of the world (well, not in the US, probably, nor in the UK). He fared pretty well after that, and with the money earned he mounted the Katy recording studio in the town of Ohain, where, years later, Marvin Gaye would record his Midnight Love album (the one with “Sexual Healing” on it).
I love these two singles. Thank you, Margot. You rock.