Jean-Luc Jacques Potaux (born Richard-Jacques Bonay 16 February 1950 - 21 November 2024), known as Joël Prévost, was a French singer, best known for his participation in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1978 The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Paris, France, following the country's victory at the with the song "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" by Marie Myriam. Organised by the European Broadcas ...

. Born in the

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; ; ) is a former regions of France, administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It comprised five departments o ...

region of southern France, Prévost was adopted soon after birth by a family from northern France who changed his name, and grew up at

Trith-Saint-Léger Trith-Saint-Léger () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. ...

, close to the border with

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In 1963, at the age of 13, he won a singing competition organised by the regional newspaper ''

La Voix du Nord ''La Voix du Nord'' (; or 'The Voice of Nord') is a regional daily newspaper from the north of France. Its headquarters are in Lille. History ''Voix du Nord'' was one of the underground newspapers of the French Resistance founded in German- ...

''. He moved to Paris in 1970 and starred in the musical "

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

" together with

Gérard Lenorman Gérard Lenorman (born 9 February 1945) is a French singer-songwriter. Lenorman was born at the Château de Bénouville, Calvados (Normandy) when it was a maternity hospital. He is the son of Madeleine Lenormand and an unknown German soldier. ...

. In 1972, he signed a contract with

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

, releasing a string of singles and touring over the next few years with artists such as

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

Mike Brant Mike Brant (born Moshe Michael Brand, ; 1 February 1947 – 25 April 1975) was an Israeli singer and songwriter who achieved fame after moving to France. His most successful hit was "Laisse-moi t'aimer" ("Let Me Love You"). Brant died by suicide ...

Michèle Torr Michèle Torr (born Michelle Cléberte Tort 7 April 1947) is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1966 and for Monaco in 1977. Early career ...

and

Serge Lama Serge Lama (born Serge Claude Bernard Chauvier on 11 February 1943 in Bordeaux) is a French singer and songwriter. His most famous song is ''Je suis malade (song), Je suis malade'', written with Alice Dona. It has been written for Dalida and la ...

. In 1977, Prévost entered the French Eurovision selection with the song "", but failed to progress from the semi-final. The following year, his song "" ("There Will Always Be Violins") was chosen as the French representative for the 23rd Eurovision Song Contest. Strangely, the song only finished second in the French semi-final before emerging the clear winner in the final. As a result of

Marie Myriam Marie Myriam (born Myriam Lopes, 8 May 1957, Luluabourg, Belgian Congo, (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a French singer. Career Representing France, she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977 with '' L'oiseau et l'enfant'' ("The ...

's victory for France the previous year, the 1978 Eurovision was held in Paris, on 22 April. "" finished the evening in third place out of 20 entries, despite being a very traditional, old-style ballad with no concession to the musical trends of the late 1970s. Prévost remained active until 2017, when he retired, having played residencies at the

Paris Olympia The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra ...

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

and toured extensively for several years throughout Africa. Joël Prévost died on 21 November 2024, aged 74, in the

19th Arrondissement of Paris The 19th arrondissement of Paris (''XIXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-neuvième''. The arrondissement, known as Butte-Chaumont, ...

, France.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prevost, Joel 1950 births Living people People from Narbonne French male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants