Once upon a time not so long ago… a young songwriter, Desmond Child, met the three strong, talented, vivacious women who would become Rouge and change the course of his life forever. Enter… Maria Vidal, Myriam Valle and Diana Grasselli. Together they founded Desmond Child & Rouge, and began performing in the small clubs of New York City while going to school at NYU. It started with Desmond at the piano and the four of them singing harmonies, at times all of them sharing one mic, creating their distinctive vocal sound… intense, searing and angelic. As the group became more popular around town they began adding musicians to realize their eclectic style of Rock, Pop, Soul, Girl Group, Dance, Latin and Punk. The rooms got bigger and so did their sound.

Reno Sweeney, was the premier West Village nightclub to get booked into. It was a chic, high-brow cabaret with a speakeasy atmosphere, right out of an old Hollywood movie. Soon Desmond Child & Rouge became the go-to opening act for all the big headliners playing at Reno’s. The club was known for its beautifully designed, retro-looking posters announcing the upcoming shows.  Inspired by this, DC&R began a guerilla street campaign of their own to make sure New York City knew who they were. With the talents of photographer, Ciro Barbaro, they created their own eye-catching conceptual posters and plastered them all over Manhattan. They spray- painted their stenciled name on cross walks all around the city, especially around the mid-town skyscrapers where the record labels had their headquarters.

DC&R soon performed at the legendary CBGB, The Lower Manhattan Ocean Club, and the hottest new rock club TRAX, where they met Paul Stanley of KISS who then started co-writing with Desmond. Desmond Child & Rouge were the talk of the town. George Harrison came to watch them perform. John Belushi would show up and introduce them from the stage. Paul Schaffer brought Gilda Radner who asked Rouge to be in her Broadway show, Gilda Live From New York which was produced and directed by Lorne Michaels. The sold-out show premiered at the Winter Garden Theater and was also filmed as a documentary titled Gilda Live, directed by Mike Nichols, garnering rave reviews. Desmond Child & Rouge signed with Capitol Records and recorded two stylistically different albums that were both released the same year. The self-titled Desmond Child & Rouge features the Billboard top 40 hit “Our Love Is Insane” which launched a national tour, playing every major city in North America. Their second album, Runners in the Night, followed just six months later and culminated in a musical guest appearance on Saturday Night Live.

Amid fire escapes and Laura Nyro songs, the East River and downtown, the upper Westside, hot summers, being young, being free, singer-songwriters, poets, actors, dancers, bars and discos, recording studios, famous people, not so famous people, and everyone and everybody with big, big dreams… Desmond Child & Rouge lived, loved, worked and sang “in the dead of night on 81st Street.”

309 East 81st Street Apt. 2FE, New York City, New York