They are four Russian girls and they are called Gravitation (??????????).

Here‘s their website, with more decorous pictures. Oddly, it says nothing about repertoire. Nor do we learn their names,

Instead, we are told: ‘For fast price, contact Mikhail Smirnov’ (is that him, behind them?).

Here‘s some video of a Christmas jingle, with fairly ropy sound. And here’s a parting shot, for luck.

Pierrette Alarie – anyone remember her? – was 89 when she died this week. Her husband and singing partner Léopold Simoneau, predeceased her in 2006. They belong to a half-forgotten breed who flourished in the 1940s and 1950s, before the glory of stereo, appealing to live audiences more than armchair buffs.

Here‘s a clip of them singing.

And here’s the lady apparently in her dressing-room, actually in a performance of La voix humaine.

More pics here at www.lebrecht.co.uk

Further to yesterday’s account of the bogus agent who entraps young artists and stings them for money, here’s a more old-fashioned scam. It’s an obscure agency in the boondocks that chases down young musicians on facebook and promises them a smarter way to fame.

Forget the old method of building relationships between artists, presenters and audiences. It’s all about tele-marketing now, say these guys. Pay us $300+ a month and we’ll hit the phone and get you dates. Artists who make a tentative inquiry are then hassled for cash up front.

Here’s the deal:

I have blocked both of these scammers from my site. If I hear that they continue trawling innocent talent on facebook, I will name them. What they are doing is not illegal, but it can damage young careers.