Jacques Fred Petrus


Jacques Fred Petrus was a French-Italian businessman and a pioneer of post-disco music.

Early life

Born in Guadeloupe in the French West Indies, Petrus worked as a diesel-engine mechanic on a cargo ship aged 15. He subsequently travelled to Paris following his interest for R&B and soul music, where he worked as a DJ at different clubs, including the jet-set nightclub Club Saint-Hilaire.
In the early 1970s, he moved to Milan, Italy, and continued DJing at various clubs including Good Mood. In Bologna he met music student Mauro Malavasi, who became his working partner and main songwriter and producer, and together they formed a disco production company called Goody Music Productions, established a recording studio in Bologna, and created the Goody Music Records label.

Career

In 1978 Petrus and Malavasi launched their first studio project called Macho. There followed a series of releases under different names, including Elvin Shaad, Peter Jacques band, Revanche, Rudy |Rudy, Midnight Gang, A.N.T.I. Rock , The Jumpers, and Caprice. In 1979 Petrus gathered his international music activities under the company name Little Macho Music.
In 1980, Petrus and Malavasi established their signature sound under the name Change, a blend of eurodisco and American R&B-flavoured disco inspired by Chic, releasing their debut album The Glow of Love. Petrus used two other Italian musicians on this album, bassist and guitarist. Romani wrote the number-one hits "A Lover's Holiday" and "The Glow of Love", and also arranged and conducted the entire set with Gianolio. "A Lover's Holiday" reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play for nine weeks, and the album also received seven Grammy Award nominations.
After the success with Change, Petrus and Malavasi launched several new projects including The Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens band in 1981, High Fashion , Silence and . Petrus and his group of Italian studio musicians and writers also co-wrote and produced parts of The Ritchie Family's 1982 album . The title track, written by Malavasi, became a club hit. The B. B. & Q. band was the most successful Petrus project after Change. Their self-titled 1981 debut album included "On the Beat", Peter Jacques Band and Change. Less successful projects in 1984 and 1985 included Silence 2 feat. Gordon Grody, Macho III, Kevin Johnson, Zinc feat. Sherwin, M Like Moon, Midnight Gang, Tato, Nobel and Persuader. Due to tax problems in the United States, Petrus was forced to shut down Little Macho Music. In 1985 he started a new production company and record label called Renaissance International. Vedette International was the name of his new publishing company.

Death

In 1986 the United States Internal Revenue Service accused Petrus of tax evasion. Petrus put his music industry activities on hold and fled to Guadeloupe.
Petrus was murdered in the spring of 1987 in Guadeloupe at the age of 39. French police reported that Petrus had been shot at home in the heights of Saint-Félix by a Swiss gunman, who had clashed with him earlier that night at L'Elysée Matignon club in Le Gosier, which Petrus owned.

Producer discography