I picked this quality product up at Uncle Murray’s record sale for no other reason than I thought the “creepy guy airbrushed van” cover was “From the Stacks” worthy.  Inside was a pretty cruddy disco album, but honestly I think all disco albums are pretty cruddy so I’m not the best judge of these things.

What I wasn’t expecting, though, was the interesting bunny hole that this album would take me down.

As I understand the story Le Pamplemousse, like a lot of disco bands, was really a couple of producers and a bunch of studio musicians.  Friends Michael Lewis and Laurin Rinder put in their time as studio musicians before coming up with idea for Le Pamplemousse around 1977, allegedly after visiting a gay club and seeing how into disco the crowd was.

They put out quite a few dance singles with titles like “Le Spank” and “Get Your Boom Boom (Around the Room Room)” before calling it quits in 1979.

Now, here is where it gets pretty cool:  Laurin Rinder left the music business, became a full-time artist, and has done quite well.  From disco to fine art — good on him.  You can visit Rinder here.

Great images, aren’t they? It almost makes me feel bad about inducting Le Pamplemousse into the Bad Album Cover Hall of Fame.