Candies -- Un, Deux, Trois （アン・ドゥ・トロワ）

On July 17 1977, the official announcement was made that Candies was going to break up within the next several months, and their final concert was held on April 4 1978. I could imagine fans' hearts were in the midst of disintegrating when their 15th single (their 1st since the news had come out), "Un, Deux, Trois" was released in September.

In spite of the news or because of it, Candies' popularity was soaring. And "Un, Deux, Trois" was another feather in their collective beret. Composed by folk singer Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎） and written by Makoto Kitajo（喜多條忠）, it was another pleasantly lilting hit for the ladies with the French accordion thrown in to boot, as the girls lyrically invited the listener to enjoy a little dance with them. I don't remember hearing it during the time it had actually been released, but I got to know it while watching those TV retrospectives.

The song peaked at No. 7 on the Oricon weeklies and was ranked at No. 58 at the end of the year. Incidentally, the B-side was "Futari no Love Song"（ふたりのラブ・ソング）, the cover of The Carpenters' "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song".

I'm sure it was very sad for everyone concerned that the act was breaking up, but at least they went out on top.