Alain Barrière
Encyclopedia
Alain Barrière is a French
singer, who has been active since the 1950s and is known for participating in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest
.
, in 1955 Barrière enrolled in the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers
in Angers
. As a student he bought a guitar and started to write songs. On graduating in engineering in 1960, he moved to Paris
to take up employment, and started to perform in the evenings at small clubs around the capital. He won a song contest in 1961 with the self-penned song "Cathy"; his style was chanson
-based with no concession to the burgeoning yé-yé
scene, but nonetheless he was soon signed to a recording contract and started to release singles regularly, enabling him to give up his job and make at least a modest living from music.
" ("She Was So Pretty") was chosen as the French representative in the eighth Eurovision Song Contest
which took place on 23 March in London
. "Elle était si jolie" finished fifth of 16 entries.
, Pas de panique, alongside Pierre Brasseur
. This would be his only venture into acting, but his singing career reached its peak in the latter part of the decade with a string of hits making him one of France's biggest stars and a sell-out live attraction.
, topped the French chart, and was the third biggest-selling single of the year in Switzerland.
Barrière married in 1975 and he and his wife opened a nightclub-restaurant in a converted castle in Brittany. Although it proved a successful and popular venue, Barrière soon found himself facing severe tax problems, a result of dubious advice. In 1977 he took his family to the USA, where they remained for four years.
, the family were back in Brittany when Barrière's career was unexpectedly rejuvenated by the 1997 release of a CD containing remastered versions of his old hits, which proved to be a money-spinner. Shortly afterwards, Barrière released an album of new material, which also sold well.
He published an autobiography
in 2006 and continues to release both retrospective and newly-recorded albums.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
singer, who has been active since the 1950s and is known for participating in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
.
Early life
After growing up in a small town on the coast of BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, in 1955 Barrière enrolled in the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers
École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers
Arts et Métiers ParisTech is the French leading engineering school in the fields of mechanics and industrialization.The school trained 85,000 engineers since its foundation in 1780 by the Duke of La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt....
in Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
. As a student he bought a guitar and started to write songs. On graduating in engineering in 1960, he moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to take up employment, and started to perform in the evenings at small clubs around the capital. He won a song contest in 1961 with the self-penned song "Cathy"; his style was chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
-based with no concession to the burgeoning yé-yé
Yé-yé
Yé-yé was a style of pop music that emerged from France, Québec and Spain in the early 1960s. The term "yé-yé" derived from "yeah! yeah!" The style expanded worldwide, due to the success of figures such as the French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg....
scene, but nonetheless he was soon signed to a recording contract and started to release singles regularly, enabling him to give up his job and make at least a modest living from music.
Eurovision Song Contest
In 1963, Barrière's song "Elle était si jolieElle Était Si Jolie
"Elle était si jolie" was the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963, performed in French by Alain Barrière....
" ("She Was So Pretty") was chosen as the French representative in the eighth Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1963
The Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was the 8th Eurovision Song Contest. France had won the contest in 1962 but were incapable of hosting in 1963, as was their right, due to financial shortcomings. As was the case in 1960 - and as would become a tradition when smaller broadcasters could not afford to...
which took place on 23 March in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. "Elle était si jolie" finished fifth of 16 entries.
Success
"Elle était si jolie" turned out to be by far the biggest seller of Barrière's career to that point. He released his first album, Ma vie, in 1964 and the title-track became a huge hit. In 1965 he was offered, and accepted, a leading role in a heist thrillerHeist film
A heist film is a film that has an intricate plot woven around a group of people trying to steal something. Versions with dominant or prominent comic elements are often called caper movies. They could be described as the analogues of caper stories in film history...
, Pas de panique, alongside Pierre Brasseur
Pierre Brasseur
Pierre Brasseur , born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor.He was the son of actor Georges Espinasse and actress Germaine Brasseur while the latter was married to Albert Brasseur. His grandfather, Jules Brasseur, was an actor as well...
. This would be his only venture into acting, but his singing career reached its peak in the latter part of the decade with a string of hits making him one of France's biggest stars and a sell-out live attraction.
1970s
Barrière had gained a reputation for being uncompromising and at times difficult to work with. In the early 1970s he left his record company to set up his own label. He kept his fanbase, which ensured his records and concerts continued to provide a good living, despite his being overlooked by sections of the French broadcast media. "Tu t'en vas", a 1975 duet with fellow Eurovision veteran Noëlle CordierNoëlle Cordier
Noëlle Cordier is a French singer. She participated for France in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with the song "Il doit faire beau là-bas", finishing in third place of 17 entries . The song is very well thought-of and remains a favourite with Eurovision fans...
, topped the French chart, and was the third biggest-selling single of the year in Switzerland.
Barrière married in 1975 and he and his wife opened a nightclub-restaurant in a converted castle in Brittany. Although it proved a successful and popular venue, Barrière soon found himself facing severe tax problems, a result of dubious advice. In 1977 he took his family to the USA, where they remained for four years.
Later life
After returning to France, Barrière made several comeback attempts, to little avail. After another period spent overseas, this time in QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, the family were back in Brittany when Barrière's career was unexpectedly rejuvenated by the 1997 release of a CD containing remastered versions of his old hits, which proved to be a money-spinner. Shortly afterwards, Barrière released an album of new material, which also sold well.
He published an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
in 2006 and continues to release both retrospective and newly-recorded albums.
Singles
- 1963: "Elle était si jolie"
- 1963: "Plus je t'entends"
- 1964: "Ma vie"
- 1968: "Emporte-moi"
- 1968: "Tout peut recommencer"
- 1969: "C'était aux premiers jours d'avril"
- 1969: "Viva ouagadougou"
- 1970: "À regarder la mer"
- 1971: "Si tu ne me revenais pas"
- 1971: "La Mer"
- 1972: "Elle"
- 1973: "Pour la dernière fois"
- 1974: "Le Bel amour"
- 1974: "Séduction 13"
- 1975: "Tu t'en vas" (with Noëlle CordierNoëlle CordierNoëlle Cordier is a French singer. She participated for France in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with the song "Il doit faire beau là-bas", finishing in third place of 17 entries . The song is very well thought-of and remains a favourite with Eurovision fans...
) - 1975: "Celtina"
- 1975: "Mon improbable amour"
- 1976: "Si tu te souviens"
- 1978: "Et tu fermes les yeux"