Michel Polnareff

Michel Polnareff

Michel Polnareff at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in 2007
Background information
Born (1944-07-03) 3 July 1944
Origin Nérac (Lot-et-Garonne), France
Genres Folk rock, rock, psychedelic pop, pop, jazz rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals, piano, guitar, percussions, bass, keyboards, xylophone, synthetisers
Years active 1966–present

Michel Polnareff (born 3 July 1944, Nérac (Lot-et-Garonne, France) is a French singer-songwriter, who was popular in France from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s with his last original album, Kāma-Sūtra. Since then, without any proper new original album, he is still critically acclaimed and occasionally tours in France.

Biography and career

Early years

Michel was born into an artistic family: his mother, Simone Lane, was a dancer and his father, Leib Polnareff or Léo Poll worked with Édith Piaf. He learned piano by age five and was a very good music student. He attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school.[1] He learned the guitar, and after his studies, military service, and a brief time in insurance, he began to play his guitar on the steps of the Sacré Cœur.

Early successes

In 1965, Polnareff won the Disco Revue prize in Paris. This victory let him record a disc at Barclay, but as part of the counterculture he turned down this opportunity. It was Lucien Morisse, then director at Europe 1, who made him sign with AZ. His first disc, La Poupée qui fait non (1966), was an unexpected success. Its new musical style and Polnareff's atypical image, crossed borders. During this period, he played concerts in Brussels for one week sharing the bill with Jeff Beck.

An atypical character

Polnareff also played with his image: black glasses, fancy trousers, and ambiguous provocations. His song L'Amour avec Toi could not be played before 10 pm because it was considered "pornographic" at the time in France (the song is mild by today's standards). From 1969 on, Polnareff was hugely successful: tours, music videos, hits. He also became the target of scandalmongers. Tragedy struck in September 1970, when his friend Lucien Morisse committed suicide.

Depression and distance

After a rest period in the Paris area, and long months in isolation, Polnareff gradually resumed touring. His health and his morale improved, but not his sight: he was forced to protect his eyes with thick, dark sunglasses. His problems didn't stop there. In 1972, a promotional poster showed his naked buttocks. Although the scandal benefitted him commercially, it brought censorship and lawsuits.[2] Then, during a world tour, he learned that Bernard Seneau, his manager, had run off with his money, leaving him broke. Unable to pay his debts, and crushed by the death of his mother, he left France for the United States, where he lived in anonymity. He was joined by his friend, Annie Fargue who became for many years his manager.

Polnareff in the USA

Then, in 1975, his song Jesus for Tonight made it onto the American Billboard. He also created the soundtrack for the exploitation rape drama Lipstick (1976), which starred American model Margaux Hemingway and her sister Mariel. But his success in the United States was not as great as in France. Plus, Polnareff had left behind his fellow musicians and the musical community. He discovered a passion for computers. A tour in 1975 brought him to Belgium, where thousands of French fans came to see him. His forced exile did not prevent him from composing, and his albums had various success. But it was Bulles in 1981 that proved that France had not forgotten him.

Return to France

Polnareff made a surprise return to France in 1989. Without any promotion, "Goodbye Marylou" invaded the airwaves and became a hit. For a year and a half, Polnareff was locked up at Royal Monceau in Paris and recorded Kāma-Sūtra, with Mike Oldfield adding some guitar parts. This album debuted in February 1990 and marked Polnareff's true return. However, rumors spread about his health, and in 1994 he decided to have a cataract surgically removed to prevent him from becoming blind. In 1995, he returned to the United States to create his famous album Live at the Roxy with Musical Director / guitarist Dick Smith. Smith also executive-produced the ambitious live record which achieved platinum certification in France. To mark this occasion, the channel Canal + devoted a special to him entitled "À la Recherche de Polnareff" ("In Search of Polnareff"), in which he appeared in military uniform (from whence his recent nickname "The Admiral" may come) and was interviewed in the desert by Michel Denisot. This was followed by an acoustic mini-concert in the middle of the California desert.

Following the media attention in 1995 and 1996, Polnareff could have restarted his career as though nothing had happened. However, his fans still await, almost twenty years later, an album which may never come. However, some of his early songs became popular again, like "La Poupée qui fait non" covered by Mylène Farmer and Khaled (1996), and "On Ira Tous au Paradis", which became the theme song of Restaurants du Cœur in 1998. His 1977 hit "Lettre à France" enjoyed a new success in 2004 following its inclusion on the French version of the Star Academy talent contest.

Polnareff sold over three million albums and four million singles in France to date.[3]

Polnareff today

On 22 November 2004, and again on 18 December 2005, France 3 broadcast a one and a half-hour documentary entitled "Michel Polnareff Dévoilé" ("Michel Polnareff Revealed"). It includes images from rare files mixed with interviews with media personalities like Marc-Olivier Fogiel, Jacques Séguéla, Jean-Luc Lahaye and Frédéric Beigbeder explaining to the televiewers what Michel Polnareff represented for them and for France. Polnareff also revealed that he was working on a new album. On 12 May 2006, Michel Polnareff announced that he would be giving a series of concerts between 2 and 14 March 2007. Ticket sales rocketed, showing that Polnareff has not lost his gleam. On Bastille Day, 2007, Polnareff gave a free concert.

In 2001, death rapper Necro sampled Polnareff's "Voyages" for his song "Light My Fire". English band The Shortwave Set sampled this song as well for their single "Is It Any Wonder?" in 2005. Masher (L)SD sampled "Sous Quelle E'toile Suis Je ne?" for his tune "Howards' Thinking Clearly", on the CD "That's CRAZY Music!" (2005)

The 2004 Korean TV drama "Sorry, I love You" in Korean 미안하다, 사랑한다 ("Mi'an'ha'da, Sa'rang'han'da" or aka "MiSa") soundtrack largely drew from Polnareff songs like "Qui a tué Grand-Maman ?" and "ça n'arrive qu'aux autres". It was aired on channel KBS 2004/11/09~2004/12/28. The soundtrack was released in two commercial CDs.

In 2014, a documentary, called "Quand l'écran s'allume" pictured Polnareff, Danyellah and their son, in theatres first, and on TV a few months later.

At the end of 2014, Polnareff started recording a new album. His long-awaiting fans are really impatient.

On 8 December 2015, Polnareff announced the release of his new album in the first half of 2016 (between January and April 2016) and a new tour of 50 dates, mostly in France but also in Belgium and Switzerland, split into two legs : a Summer leg due to start on 30 April 2016 in Epernay and to end on 26 July 2016 (including a four-date stay at the Paris-Bercy Arena in early May 2016 and many appearances at Summer Festivals) and an Autumn leg due to start on 4 November 2016 and to end on 10 December 2016 in Bordeaux.

On 18 December 2015, a week before Christmas, Polnareff released "L'Homme en rouge", the first single from his upcoming album and his first single since 2006 (only as a digital download and on streaming). "L'Homme en rouge" deals with Santa Claus.

In late April 2016, just before the beginning of the tour, Polnareff revealed that the new album was not finished yet, as he's still working on 3 of the 9 announced tracks due to appear on it, that he has planned to play live during the tour a new song from it entitled "Soumis" about his SM experience with a geisha in Fukuoka, Japan and that a song he wrote about his son Louka – simply entitled "Louka's song" – will appear on the new album.[4]

Personal life

On 28 December 2010, Polnareff's girlfriend gave birth to a boy in Los Angeles. On 21 February 2011, Polnareff announced via a Facebook post that a DNA test had revealed that he was not the biological father of the child. A later post indicated that his girlfriend had disappeared with the baby.[5] They were separated for a few months, but are now reunited with their son, Louka.[6]

Trivia

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album Peak
Position
FRA BEL
(Wa)		 SWI EUR
1966 Michel Polnareff / Love Me Please Love Me 1 – – –
1967 Volume 2 / Le Bal des Laze 3 – – –
1971 Polnareff's 2 – – –
1974 Michel Polnareff 5 – – –
1975 Fame à la mode 4 – – –
1978 Coucou me revoilou 7 – – –
1981 Bulles 1 – – –
1985 Incognito – – – –
1990 Kāma-Sūtra 1 – – –
2016 TBA – – – –

Live albums

Year Album Peak
Position
FRA BEL
(Wa)		 SWI EUR
1972 Polnarévolution (Live) 6 – – –
1982 Show télé 82/Public (Live) – – – –
1996 Live at the Roxy (Live) 1 11 – –
2007 Ze re Tour 2007 (Live) 13 27 69 83
2016 À L'Olympia 2016 (Live)

Compilations

Film soundtracks and music for theater

Singles

45 rpm (4 titles) (EP)

(first two tracks Side A, third and fourth tracks Side B)

45 rpm (2 titles) (Single)

(first track is Side A, second track Side B)

Singles 1990 onwards
Year Single Charts Album
BEL
Wa
 FR
[7]
1989 "Goodbye Marylou" — 16
1990 "Toi et moi..." — 45
"Kāma-Sūtra" — 47
1999 "Je rêve d'un monde" 31 20
2006 "Ophélie flagrant des lits" — 28
2012 "Lettre à France" (rerelease) — 93
Singles in languages other than French

Concert tours

Publications

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "Quelques Anciens Celebres". Hattemer. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "L'Affaire Derri". TIME. 1 January 1973. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  3. ↑ "InfoDisc : Bilan par Artiste (Ventes RŽelles des Singles/Titres & des Albums)". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  4. ↑ ""Je n'ai pas annulé un seul concert", assure Michel Polnareff en tournée à partir du 30 avril". RTL. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Polnareff et son bébé: colère, chagrin et incompréhension" (in French). Paris Match. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "MICHEL POLNAREFF, SON "POLNA BB" LUI DONNE ENVIE DE VIVRE" (in French). Paris Match. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  7. ↑

External links

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