For years, a select group of nostalgic Americans has been trying to jump start an '80s revival. And the French have the gall to do it first!

Bob Sinclar (a k a. Chris Le Friant), a 29-year-old Frenchman with a penchant for masquerade, has a huge dance hit in Europe with the kitschy disco single "Gym Tonic," and none other than Jane Fonda is keeping the beat.

The song opens with Fonda saying, "Stand with your feet together, buttocks tight, stomach pulled in" -- a sample from her best-selling 1982 fitness tape "Jane Fonda's Workout," the video that triggered the aerobics craze and had women nationwide sweating through endless tummy crunches. "2-3-4-5-6- 7-8 and back" serves as the song's refrain.

Jane Fonda, now semi-retired and the wife of media mogul Ted Turner, was hesitant to approve the sample at first but eventually agreed, says Le Friant.

Pub Date: 1/04/99