Indochine (French for "Indochina") was formed in May 1981 in Paris, France by Nicola Sirkis and Dominique Nicolas. It took them a few months to write their first songs. They soon took on Dimitri Bodianski, the cousin of one of Nicola’s friends. Very soon, Stephane Sirkis, Nicola's brother got involved in the band and composed most of their hits in which Nicola always took the leading vocals. They gave their first concert at "Le Rose bonbon", a café in Paris on 29 September 1981.