Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in France, including the sea tale "Dès que le vent soufflera", the irreverent "
Laisse béton
French singer-songwriter Renaud's second unnamed studio album is commonly known as ''Laisse béton'', although it is sometimes referred to as ''Place de ma mob'' after the wall inscription on the album cover. It was released in 1977 by Polydor R ...
", the ballad "
Morgane de toi
''Morgane de toi'' is the sixth studio album from French artist Renaud, recorded in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, with American session musicians. It was released in 1983 under the Polydor label, and a remastered version was reissued i ...
" and the nostalgic "
Mistral gagnant
''Mistral gagnant'' is a studio album from French artist Renaud on the Virgin France label, now part of EMI, released in 1985.
The first song, "Miss Maggie", made Renaud a controversial character in the United Kingdom because the song praises ...
". However, with the exception of a recording of "Miss Maggie" in English and a
franglais
Franglais (; also Frenglish ) is a French blend that referred first to the overuse of English words by French speakers and later to diglossia or the macaronic mixture of French () and English ().
Etymology
The word ''Franglais'' was first at ...
recording of "It is not because you are", his work is little known outside the French-speaking world.
Career
Early work
Fresh out of school, Renaud was determined to become an actor. By chance he met the actor
Patrick Dewaere
Patrick Dewaere (26 January 1947 – 16 July 1982) was a French film actor. Born in Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, he was the son of French actress Mado Maurin. Actor from a young age, his career lasted more than 21 years, until his suicide in P ...
and was invited to join the company of the comedy theatre
Café de la Gare
The Café de la Gare is a dinner theater located at 41, rue du Temple in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. It lies in a square hidden between Notre Dame de Paris and the historic Marais district.[Patrick Dewaere
Patrick Dewaere (26 January 1947 – 16 July 1982) was a French film actor. Born in Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, he was the son of French actress Mado Maurin. Actor from a young age, his career lasted more than 21 years, until his suicide in P ...]
,
Coluche
Michel Gérard Joseph Colucci (, ; 28 October 1944 – 19 June 1986), better known under his stage name Coluche (), was a French stage comedian and cinema actor. He adopted ''Coluche'' as a stage name at age 26, when he began his entertainment c ...
, and
Miou-Miou
Sylvette Herry (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Miou-Miou (), is a French actress. A ten-time César Award nominee, she won the César Award for Best Actress for the 1979 film ''Memoirs of a French Whore''. Her other films inclu ...
.
His early work is characterized by a volatile temperament, innovative use of French, and edgy, dark, leftist social and political themes. Raised in an educated milieu, the son of an intellectual, Renaud adopted the looks and attitude of working-class youth in the 1970s, and reflected this in his lyrics. A recurrent theme is his disgust for the average French person with
petit-bourgeois
''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, literally 'small bourgeoisie'; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a French term that refers to a social class composed of semi-autonomous peasants and small-scale merchants whose politico-economic ideological s ...
preoccupations and right-wing leanings (see ''
beauf'').
His music focuses on the disparity between classes, the abuse of political power, overbearing authority and disgust for the military and the police, with rare glimpses of tenderness for his fellow humans, the planet earth, and art.
Middle period
In 1985, in a concert in Moscow, in what was an orchestrated gesture, roughly one third of the spectators upped and left the concert hall when he sang the anti-militarist "Déserteur". In the late 1980s and the 1990s, Renaud's work was distinguished by "softer" subjects such as his then-wife Dominique, his daughter
Lolita
''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humber ...
and his friends, as well as comedian and singer
Coluche
Michel Gérard Joseph Colucci (, ; 28 October 1944 – 19 June 1986), better known under his stage name Coluche (), was a French stage comedian and cinema actor. He adopted ''Coluche'' as a stage name at age 26, when he began his entertainment c ...
for whom he wrote the tribute "''Putain de camion''" ("Bloody Lorry") after Coluche's death in a road accident. He has also ventured into regional music and language, such as the language of Marseille in ''La Belle de Mai'', the north with ''Renaud cante el' Nord'' and even Corsican polyphonics in "Lolito lolita".
In 1992, he financially helped resurrect the defunct satirical weekly ''
Charlie Hebdo
''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...
'' and wrote a column titled ''Renaud bille en tête'' for a couple of years. His column appeared again in 1995–1996, retitled ''Envoyé spécial chez moi''. In 2006, he published ''Les Bobos'', as a satire on the Parisian lower bourgeoisie.
In 1993, he also played the leading part of Étienne Lantier in the film ''
Germinal'' directed by
Claude Berri
Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor.
Early life
Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), w ...
.
Resurgence
After an unproductive period marked by alcoholism, he made a significant comeback with his 2002 album ''
Boucan d'enfer
''Boucan d'enfer'' is a studio album from French artist Renaud. It was released in 2002 and published by Virgin Records. It was Renaud's first production with original material since 1994's '' À la belle de mai.''
It marked Renaud's comeback to ...
''. That album's hit was "
Manhattan-Kaboul
"Manhattan- Kaboul" is a French song written by Renaud and composed by Jean-Pierre Bucolo, sung by Renaud in duo with Axelle Red, from the album ''Boucan d'enfer'' (2002). It was written in the aftermath of the incidents of September 11, 2001 an ...
", a duo with
Axelle Red
Fabienne Demal (born 15 February 1968), better known by her stage name Axelle Red, is a Belgian singer-songwriter. She has released 11 albums, including '' Sans plus attendre'', '' À Tâtons'', '' Toujours Moi'' and '' Jardin Secret''; she is b ...
which tackled current issues by drawing a parallel between a victim of the 9-11 attacks in New York and an Afghan girl, both caught up in a war they don't understand.
In 2009 Renaud released ''
Molly Malone – Balade irlandaise
''Molly Malone – Balade irlandaise'' is an album by French singer-songwriter Renaud, released on 23 November 2009 on EMI Records. It is a collection of traditional-style Irish folk songs translated into French, an idea that had been maturing in ...
'', an album of Irish ballads. Produced by ex-
Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...
bassist
Pete Briquette
Patrick Martin Cusack (born 2 July 1954), known by the stage name Pete Briquette, is an Irish bassist, record producer and composer. He is a member of the Boomtown Rats and has also played in Bob Geldof's band.
Boomtown Rats
He was born in Bal ...
, the album was commercially successful (certified double-platinum in just over a month) but the singer's feeble, often out-of-tune vocals caused some negative reviews.
In 2014, a collective of 15 artists released a tribute album containing 14 tracks covers of his songs under the title ''
La Bande à Renaud
''La Bande à Renaud'' is a series of two tribute albums to French singer Renaud, consisting of songs of his performed by various other artists. The albums were released in June and October 2014, respectively.
''La Bande à Renaud''
The initial a ...
''.
On 26 January 2016, on his website, Renaud released "Toujours debout", the first track from his new studio album yet to be released. On the same day, he announced on the French public radio station
France Inter
France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...
the title of his new studio album: ''Toujours debout''. The video "Toujours debout" was released on 26 February 2016. On 8 April 2016, Renaud released a studio album, ''Toujours debout'' but oddly sold under the simple title ''Renaud''.
Personal life
Renaud was born at 03:30 in the
15th arrondissement of Paris
15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16.
Mathematics
15 is:
* A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and .
* A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious nu ...
, ten minutes after his brother David. His mother chose the name Renaud because her mother and grandmother would sing ''La complainte du Roi Renaud'' (The Lament of King Renaud) to her, and she found it so sad that she would cry each time she heard it.
His father
Olivier Séchan
Olivier Séchan (January 14, 1911 – July 7, 2006) was a French writer most know for his children’s books. He was born in Montpellier and died in Paris at the age of 95. He was the son of Louis Séchan and brother of Edmond Séchan.
Life and ...
, born to a Protestant Languedoc family from the
Cévennes
, etymology=
, photo=Point Sublime-Gorges du Tarn-Frankreich.jpg
, photo_caption=The Gorges du Tarn
, country= France
, subdivision2=
, subdivision2_type=Départements
, parent= Massif Central
, area_km2=
, length_km=
, length_orient ...
and Montpellier, was a novelist and children's writer. He taught German in a secondary school in Paris. The director
Edmond Séchan
Edmond Séchan (20 September 1919 in Montpellier – 7 June 2002 in Courbevoie) was a French cinematographer and film director.
Biography
Passionate about image, Séchan earned a reputation as an excellent director of photography and is cred ...
is his uncle.
His grandfather was the scholar and Hellenist
Louis Séchan Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis (d ...
, who taught at the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
. His ancestors were pastors. His mother is the daughter of a coalminer from the
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cala ...
region. Renaud dedicated part of his work to his familial roots, singing traditional songs in the regional
Picard language
Picard (, also , ) is a ''langue d'oïl'' of the Romance language family spoken in the northernmost part of France and Hainaut province in Belgium. Administratively, this area is divided between the French Hauts-de-France region and the Belgian ...
and playing the part of Étienne Lantier in ''
Germinal'', a film based on the famous
Émile Zola
Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
novel.
He is the sixth of eight children born to his father. He has two brothers: David, his fraternal
twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
, and the writer
Thierry Sechan, as well as two sisters. He also has two half-sisters and a half-brother, children of his father and his first wife.
During his childhood, Renaud lived in the
14th arrondissement of Paris
The 14th arrondissement of Paris ( ), officially named ''arrondissement de l'Observatoire'' (; meaning "arrondissement of the Observatory", after the Paris Observatory), is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It is situa ...
with his paternal grandparents in a building reserved for teachers by the
RIVP
The Régie Immobilière de la Ville de Paris (also known as the RIVP) is a public housing agency created in 1923 for the construction of low cost and affordable housing in Paris, France.
Its purpose is to manage, build and rehabilitate social ho ...
. Among seven people, they shared two rooms. Soon his family was able to move to a large apartment, with his father being a teacher and his grandfather being a celebrated academic.
Between ten and twelve years old, he wrote novels on his father's typewriter and discovered
Yé-yé
''Yé-yé'' () (''yeyé'' in Spanish) was a style of pop music that emerged in Western-Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term "''yé-yé''" was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music bands such as ...
and
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
.
In August 2005, Renaud married Romane Serda, the mother of his son Malone. In 2007, he announced to the press his intention to move his family to London, citing a love for British society and expressing disillusionment at the current state of France. In 2009 Renaud's daughter, writer
Lolita Séchan
Lolita Séchan is a French writer. She writes children's books as well as comic books; she published her first graphic novel ''Les Brumes de Sapa'' at the age of 36.
Personal life
She is the daughter of French singer, songwriter Renaud. She was ...
, married French acoustic singer-songwriter
Renan Luce
Renan Luce (; born 5 March 1980) is a French singer-songwriter from Paris. His songs are inspired by the 20th-century singer Georges Brassens and depict everyday life with a dose of humour and poetry. He is the voice of Wirt in the French dub of ...
.
In September 2011, Romane divorced Renaud on the account of his alcoholism and depression.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
* 1980: ''
Bobino
Bobino at 20 rue de la Gaîté, in the Montparnasse area of Paris ( 14th arrondissement), France, is a music hall theatre that has seen most of the biggest names of 20th century French music perform there.
During its long history it was also k ...
'' (Polydor)
* 1981: ''
Le P'tit bal du samedi soir et autres chansons réalistes'' (Polydor)
* 1982: ''
Un Olympia pour moi tout seul'' (Polydor)
* 1989: ''
Visage pâle rencontrer public'' (Virgin)
Compilations
Singles
(Selective)
Film
* ''
Germinal'' (1993) as Étienne Lantier
* ''
Crime Spree
''Crime Spree'' is a 2003 Canadian-British comedy- heist thriller film, written and directed by Brad Mirman, starring Gérard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel and French singers Johnny Hallyday and Renaud. The fish out of water film concerns a band of ...
'' (2003) as Zéro
Awards
* 1993: Traditional music album of the year award for "Renaud cante el' Nord"
* 2001: Lifetime achievement award
* 2003: Three awards given for: Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year (for ''
Manhattan-Kaboul
"Manhattan- Kaboul" is a French song written by Renaud and composed by Jean-Pierre Bucolo, sung by Renaud in duo with Axelle Red, from the album ''Boucan d'enfer'' (2002). It was written in the aftermath of the incidents of September 11, 2001 an ...
'' with
Axelle Red
Fabienne Demal (born 15 February 1968), better known by her stage name Axelle Red, is a Belgian singer-songwriter. She has released 11 albums, including '' Sans plus attendre'', '' À Tâtons'', '' Toujours Moi'' and '' Jardin Secret''; she is b ...
)
See also
*
La Bande à Renaud
''La Bande à Renaud'' is a series of two tribute albums to French singer Renaud, consisting of songs of his performed by various other artists. The albums were released in June and October 2014, respectively.
''La Bande à Renaud''
The initial a ...
References
External links
*
Biography of Renaud from
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renaud
1952 births
Living people
Male actors from Paris
French activists
French male film actors
French male singers
French Protestants
French satirists
French singer-songwriters
Lycée Montaigne (Paris) alumni
Café de la Gare
French male singer-songwriters