Sheila (born Annie Chancel, 16 August 1945) is a French pop singer who became successful as a solo

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

in the 1960s and 1970s, and was also part of the duo Sheila & Ringo with her husband singer Ringo. She also fronted a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

act called Sheila and B. Devotion. Her stage name came from the title of her first release, a French

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

Sheila Sheila (alternatively spelled Shelagh and Sheelagh) is a common feminine given name, derived from the Irish name ''Síle'', which is believed to be a Gaelic form of the Latin name Caelia, the feminine form of the Roman clan name Caelius, mean ...

", a hit by

Tommy Roe Thomas David "Tommy" Roe (born May 9, 1942) is a retired American rock and pop singer-songwriter. Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" (1962) and " Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late ...

. Throughout her career, Sheila has sold more than 85 million records worldwide.

Career

Sheila started her musical career in 1962, after being noticed by Claude Carrère, a French

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. Her parents signed a contract with Carrère for her, when she was 16; the contract led to an artistic collaboration which lasted for more than 20 years. In 1995, a

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

put an end to this life-time deal. She entered into a long royalties battle against her former producer, which she won. Sheila had numerous

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

s in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, playing the typical 'girl next door'. Her first hit was " L'école est finie" ("School is over"), in 1962 (1 million copies). It reached the #1 position in France. In the movie, '' Eight Women'',

Ludivine Sagnier Ludivine Sagnier (born 3 July 1979) is a French actress and model who has appeared on screen since 1989. She was nominated three times for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Swimming Pool'' (2003), '' Peter Pan'' (2003), and ''A ...

sang her 1963

" Papa t'es plus dans l'coup" ("Daddy, you are not in on it anymore"). Sheila's music also featured in the 1996

François Ozon François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers. His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...

film ''Une robe d'été'' (''

A Summer Dress ''A Summer Dress'' (french: Une robe d'été) is a 1996 short film directed by François Ozon about a flagging gay relationship that is refueled in an unexpected way. Plot Luc ( Frédéric Mangenot) spends his holiday by the sea with his slightly ...

''). The character Sébastien is a fan of Sheila, and Sheila's version of

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's "

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second album, ''The Sonny Side of Chér''. It was written by her husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966. The song reached No. 3 in the UK Singles C ...

" was on the soundtrack. " Les rois mages" also featured in "Ma vie en rose", a 1997 gender-bender film, "Love me baby", in 1978, "Attention les enfants regardent", with Alain Delon, "Spacer" in "Podium" (2004). After more than a decade of targeting the French teen music audience, mainly in French but also in Spanish, German and Italian, Sheila made a change in her career by releasing "Les Femmes (Qu'y a-t-il dans le cœur des femmes)", a song by

Christine Charbonneau Christine Charbonneau (18 October 1943 – 29 May 2014) was a French Canadian singer and songwriter. La Presse Canadienne (CP/PC), Most popular songs ''Du fil des aiguilles et du coton'' recorded by France Castel in 1972 and sung by Céline Dio ...

in 1976. "Les Femmes" climbed to number one and stayed in the chart for three months. "Les Femmes" brought to Sheila a revolution of modernity, making her one of the idols of the French pop music. In 1977, she started singing in English as Sheila and B. Devotion (in some countries records were under the name "Sheila B. Devotion") and changed her style to

music. Sheila was accompanied by three male dancers who made up the "Black Devotion" in her routine. She enjoyed international success with hits such as "Singin' in the Rain", "Love Me Baby", "You Light my Fire" and "Spacer" (from the album '' King of the World'', produced by

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

). "Spacer" is one of her biggest hits with more than 5 million copies sold worldwide. According to different interviews, she often said her experience with Chic completely changed her way of working and singing. It was the beginning of a deep artistic disagreement with her French manager Carrère, which made Sheila leave France, move to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

"''to start all over again''" and studied at the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

. After her disco period, in 1981, Sheila (without the "B. Devotion" gimmick) recorded the rock album ''Little Darlin, produced by

Keith Olsen Keith Alan Olsen (May 12, 1945 – March 9, 2020) was an American record producer and sound engineer, who worked with Magnum, Rick Springfield, Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, the Grateful Dead, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar, Heart, Santana, Saga, ...

, and was back in the U.S. ''Billboard'' chart. The title song became her only U.S.

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

hit, reaching #49 in early 1982. She put an end to her artistic collaboration with her manager Carrère at the beginning of the 1980s, then took a brand new musical direction in 1983 when she met Yves Martin, a composer and producer who later became her husband. She recorded three albums under his direction between 1983 and 1988, and her new songs were critically acclaimed. Becoming disillusioned with the music business and record industry, she abandoned her music career between 1989 and 1998. During this break, she wrote three successful books, had her own regular TV show, played in a TV series and started making sculptures. However Sheila had a successful comeback in music in 1998 with a new CD compiling re-recordings of some of her hits, along with new songs. It went gold within one month. Thanks to this unexpected success, another studio album called ''Dense'' was released a year later with brand new songs. Sheila is still widely popular today, performing concerts in 1998 and 2002 at the

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

, in 2006 at the Cabaret Sauvage with an unplugged concert or on tour with "''La Tournée des Idoles''" in 2009 and 2010. In 2005 she signed a deal with Warner Music France after many years of negotiation. All of her recordings, including her self-produced albums, can now be released on CD under the same label. Following this agreement, her complete recordings were issued in an 18 CD

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

in 2006. It included more than 400 songs, unknown recordings, demos, alternative takes, duets, TV performances and German,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, Spanish and English versions of her hits. In 2007, Warner Music France decided to release separately each of her albums on CD with its original artwork and bonus tracks. Most of them are also re-issued on vinyl LP format. Her album ''Little Darlin was remastered and released in Japan in January 2011 on SHM-CD. This reissue is the replica of the original LP with its Japanese cover. The pictures and artwork are completely different from other international pressings. It also contains the title "Prisoner" as on the first Japanese release in 1981 (it remained unknown on other markets until 1996). She was one of the contestants during the Second season of '' Danse avec les stars'' (

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

). Sheila celebrated her 50 years in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

with a show at the Paris Olympia music hall in September 2012. A brand new album "Solide" with 10 new songs was released in November 2012. In February 2013 she received a "Victoire de la Musique" award celebrating her 50-year career anniversary. Late 2019, Sheila took part in the French port of the famous

Masked Singer ''Masked Singer'' is an international music reality game show franchise. It originated from the South Korean program '' The King of Mask Singer'', developed by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Format The format features the celebrities who per ...

TV franchise, under the Squirrel costume. She was eliminated in the second episode, and unmasked to overall surprise since none of the show's panelists guessed her successfully.

Personal life

She married French singer Guy Bayle known by the name Ringo or Ringo Willy Cat on 13 February 1973. The two also formed a musical duo Sheila & Ringo most famous for their hit "''Les Gondoles à Venise''".

Career

Personal life

Discography

References

External links