Christophe - The French singing world lost part of its soul.
Christophe – In Concert From Rome – 2014 – Past Daily Soundbooth: Tribute Edition (RIP: Christophe – 1945-2020)
Christophe – In Concert from Villa Aperta, Rome – 2014 – Radio France International –
Another sad and painful blow to the music world this week. News of the death yesterday (April 16th) of legendary French singer-songwriter, best known for his ballads “Aline” and “Les Mots Bleus,” whose career spanned from the mid-1960s on, passed away as a result of complications from Coronavirus. He was 74.
“Christophe is gone. Despite the unfailing devotion of his medical team, he lost his strength. Words fail us today…and long speeches are futile,” wrote the late singer’s wife and daughter in a release to the press.
Born Daniel Bevilacqua in 1945, Christophe was raised on the outskirts of Paris and broke through in the 1960s with the ballad “Aline.” He became famous in the 1970s with several love songs, including “Les Mots Bleus,” which was penned by Jean-Michel Jarre. His most recent album, “Les Vestiges du Chaos” was released in 2016.
France’s culture minister Franck Riester also celebrated Christophe’s accomplishments on social media. “His words, his melodies and his voice transported us, moved us. With Christophe’s disappearance, the French singing world loses a part of its soul, but the bittersweet ‘blue’ of its songs is indelible,’ added Riester.
Christophe became famous in the early 1960s with his first hit being ” Aline “, in 1965. His hits include the song “Oh! … Mon Amour” which he sang in French and Italian. After a small break, he returned in 1971, with Francis Dreyfus launching the Motors record label (Disques Motors) and becoming the producer of Christophe records. The result was the 1973 “Les Paradis perdus”. In 1974, he recorded “Les mots bleus” (lyrics by Jean-Michel Jarre ).
In 1978, he came back with “Le Beau Bizarre”. In 1983, Christophe released another single, “Succès fou”, followed by “Clichés d’amour” in 1984 in which he sang 1940s and 1950s classics such as “Arrivederci Roma” and “Dernier baiser”, a French version of the Mexican classic ” Besame mucho “. In 1985, he wrote “Do not hang up” a song which is believed to be about the Princess Stephanie of Monaco . The following year, he wrote the song “Pinball” for Corynne Charby .
In 1996, after a break, he returned with his album “Bevilacqua”. In 2001, he released another album Comm ‘si la terre inclénait . In February 2002, Christophe performed, in Clermont-Ferrand , his first live concert in more than two decades, followed by two appearances at the Olympia in March 2002.
Christophe’s 1970s song “Les mots bleus” was covered by Thierry Amiel in 2003. In 2011, Christophe took part in a tribute album for Alain Bashung two years after the latter’s death. He sang “Alkaline”, a song written by Bashung in 1989 for his album Novice .
For those of you not familiar, here is a concert performed in 2014 at Villa Aperta in Rome – a solo show, it offers the perfect glimpse into this astonishing artist; one who sadly was not that well known in the U.S. – our loss.
But you can still make the discovery.
