Renaud, whose real name Renaud Séchan, is a French singer-songwriter who has produced no less than 23 albums.
Arrived at adolescence and little gifted for studies, he quickly turned to Maoist and Trotskyist circles and actively participated in French May 68.
It was at this time that he composed his first songs. Titles like "Crève salope" in particular, a title that will know its heyday with protesting students.
In 1969, he definitively stopped studying and began to frequent the robber gangs of Argenteuil, République and Bastille. Brawls and small breakages become his daily lot for a while.
Until 1975, he lived odd jobs, played apprentice actors and was noticed one evening by Jacqueline Herrenschmidt and François Berheim who offered him to make a record.
His first album "Amoureux de Paname" came out in stride and had a great esteem success.
The year 1977 arrives when the singer's destiny will completely change when the album "Laisse béton" is released. Album from which will be extracted the cult title of the same name. Thanks to this title, the whole of France now knows the singer.
In 1979, the album "Ma gonzesse" was released, from which it was mainly "C’est mon dimanche". Song that will be banned from the air altogether.
It was in 1980 that the notoriety of the singer exploded when the album "Marche à l'ombre" was released, more violent and darker than the previous one. Huge success partly due to the song of the same name and others like "Dans mon HLM", "Les aventures de Gerard Lambert" and "It is not because you are". The album will sell more than 700,000 copies.
New air gap in 1981 with the release of the album "Le retour de Gérard Lambert" which, despite titles like "Manu" and "La blanche", will not have the same enthusiasm as the previous one.
After a one-year maritime interlude where the singer took off on a boat with his little family, he returned in 1983 with the album "Morgane de toi", an album recorded in the United States. Hugely successful album that sold over a million and a half copies. Album carried by titles like "Morgane de toi", "Dès que le vent soufflera" or "En cloque".
In 1986 the album "Mistral gagnant" was released, an album with colossal success. The titles "Mistral gagnant", "Miss Magie" go a real tobacco, to the point of triggering a controversy in England for the sulphurous "Miss Magie" in which the singer does not really take gloves to skin the Iron Lady.
But the singer sinks slowly but irretrievably into depression. Deep discomfort, one of the main triggers of which is the death of his friend Coluche, a death that deeply marks him.
He released the album "Putain de camion" in 1988 which he would dedicate to his children. Album with average success because released without promotion.
The album "Marchand de cailloux" released in 1991 will do little better, an album openly oriented towards anti-Gulf War and anti-socialist leaders.
We know the rest, the descent into hell, alcoholism, severe depression in the years that follow. But that's another story.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
• Amoureux de Paname 1975
• Laisse béton 1977
• Je suis une bande de jeune 1977
• Adieu minette 1978
• La boum 1978
• C’est mon dernier bal 1979
• Ma gonzesse 1979
• Sans dec 1979
80s Decade :
• Marche à l’ombre 1980
• Dans mon HLM 1980
• Viens chez moi, j’habite chez une copine 1980
• It is not because you are 1980
• Les aventures de Gérard Lambert 1980
• Banlieue rouge 1981
• Mon beauf 1981
• Manu 1982
• Dès que le vent soufflera 1983
• En cloque 1983
• Doudou s'en fout 1984
• Morgane de toi 1984
• Miss Magie 1985
• Mistral gagnant 1986
• Baby sitting blues 1986
• Jonathan 1988
• La mère à Titi 1988
• Me jette pas 1989
• Allongés sous les vagues 1989
90s Decade :
• Il pleut 1990
• Marchand de cailloux 1991
• Le p'tit voleur 1992
• La ballade Nord Irlandaise 1992
• Tout in haut de ch'terril 1993
• Eun' goutt' ed' jus 1993
• C'est quand qu'on va où 1994
• Le petit chat est mort 1995
• Adios Zapata ! 1995
• Le sirop de la rue 1995
• Son bleu 1995
• Je suis un voyou 1995
• Fallait pas 1996
2000s Decade :
• Docteur Renaud, Mister Renard 2002
• Manhattan Kaboul 2002
• Cœur perdu 2002
• Dans la jungle 2005
• Anaïs Nin 2005
• Les bobos 2006
• Arrêter la clope 2006
• Les cinq sens 2007
• Vagabonds 2009
2010s Decade :
• Toujours debout 2016
• J'ai embrassé un flic 2016
• Les mots 2016
• Héloïse 2017
• Les animals 2019
2020s Decade :
• Corona song 2020
• Si tu me payes un verre 2022
• L'amitié 2022
Tracks :
1975 ... a first title that goes somewhat unnoticed. The style, like the look, is already there. But for now, that is not enough ...
1977 ... then comes THIS title. France is in shock...visual and sound. But who is this alien looking like a thug who brings a fresh and healthy wind to French song ...
1977 ... a truly unique style and completely outside the standards of the time. And that's what will make all the difference ...
1978 ... a first Intimist title which already shows the singer's very special pre-arrangements in this area
1978 ... titles very simple but of formidable efficiency. And this is only the beginning, the best is yet to come ...
1979 ... he confirms, title after title, an obvious talent. A talent that will prove in the future as one of the best of the 80s on the French side
1979 ... another simple ballad that works perfectly. Just like these texts that speak to everyone ...
1979 ... the first BIG year with 3 heavyweight titles. What better way to prepare for the transition to the next decade ...
1980 ... change of decade. The character begins to mutate...in style, but also in ideas ...
1980 ... a title that will remain as one of its most emblematic. And always in this popular register that sticks to his skin
1980 ... no more black jackets, the denim jacket takes over. Obvious change of attitude ...
1980 ... sweet songs is really his thing, as paradoxical as it may seem. And the years that follow will continue to prove it vividly !
1980...a delirious title on a background of special western spaghetti music, he is the only one to dare to venture into this kind of terrain. But that's also its strength..
1981 ... each year, its flagship title. And for the year 1981, it will be this one. A linear evolution and perfectly mastered !
1981 ... the slow evolution straddling 2 eras. No more carelessness and utopian claims ...
1982...yet another title of transitions. The singer's metamorphosis is underway but it will not necessarily take place in a few months...
1983 ... the beginning of great popular songs. A less demanding but much more effective registry
1983 ... very simple melodies of which he is the only one to have the secret. And that make all the difference with the competition ...
1984...a title which will go much more unnoticed but which is far from deserving, that's clear. He's sure he can't produce big caliber title after big caliber title either...
1984...in the style of very simple melodies but with formidable efficiency, this one isn't bad either. An obvious mastery of the elements that make it possible to obtain the best of the best...
1985 ... he loves to sing for women...sometimes he loves them, sometimes he hates them, the proof ...
1986 ... which will surely remain as one of his masterpieces. Surely one of the most beautiful titles of the decade on the French side. MA-GIC !
1986...a title that doesn't really have much to do with the previous gem, neither on the style side nor on the sound side, we have to admit. Then there is something for everyone...
1988 ... after an empty year in 1987, we find the singer in great shape on this track with strong humanist overtones. Unfortunately, as soon as he goes down this path, success does not follow ...
1988 ... the humanist parenthesis being closed, here he is again in the popular register. A register that succeeds him rather well, that's clear...
1989...an 80s decade that ended gently once again. A decade of the 80s that will have seen him reach a level of notoriety that he would never have imagined, that's clear...
1989... now remains to be seen whether the following decade will be that of the ultimate consecration or, on the contrary, that of the slow but irreversible deceleration. Only the future can answer this question...
1990...a change of decade that is once again very smooth. A decade of the 90s which will unfortunately prove to be very disappointing...
1991... the only problem during this decade is that the singer will not know how to reinvent himself as he should have. But others will have the same problem, he will not be the only one far from it...
1992 ... a 'Renaud' style which begins to find its limits in an era where everything is going faster and faster. Tough law of the trade ...
1992 ... against a backdrop of Celtic folklore, he delivers here a lovely ballad that makes us instantly travel, at least by spirit. Bet successful as they say !
1993...in a style totally out of the ordinary for the time, he is taking a wild gamble here by covering very typical standards from the North of France. Crazy bet but the result for the less good child...
1993... he's the only one to dare to venture into such distinctive musical lands. But in the end he is far from being ridiculous and manages to bring up to date titles that are, to say the least, particularly outdated...
1994 ... the talent is still there. But the stroke of genius that worked miracles the previous decade is slightly to absent subscribers ...
1995 ... the little cat is dead but Renaud is not yet. The proof with this new Intimist title of very high class...
1995 ... here he is in Latin American sound mode, something rather rare with him. We can't take away from him the fact that he dares to venture into musical registers that others will never dare to explore...
1995...we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind him, but in any case he continues to believe in it. And us with him of course...
1995... the stall with the competition is more and more visible and he is the only one not to see it. On the other hand as long as he enjoys doing what he does why stop him...
1995...a nice tribute paid to Brassens through this title but which necessarily increases its delay with the head of the race. It really gets more and more complicated...
1996 ... a decade that ends prematurely with this title. The artist will be reborn the following decade...to better reshape behind...and reborn again
2002...there he is again, 6 years later, but he will now alternate between a period of resurrection and a period of extreme depression. This song sums it up brilliantly...
2002...a singer with extraordinary talent and capable of the best when the light suddenly decides to illuminate him. The proof with this title which will put him back in the race in a spectacular way !
2002...the 2000s will see him go through very highs and very lows, but he has this incredible ability to rise from the ashes periodically. Very few artists have been able to do as much and this all times combined...
2003... what is all the more surprising is that his level of inspiration remains high to say the least, which is no longer really the case with the level of his voice. A voice that leaves him little by little and above all inexorably...
2003...and still this writing talent that hits the mark every time. One of his very great strengths is to find the words that go well each time...
2005...in the middle of Ingrid Betancourt's story, the singer decides to pay her a vibrant tribute through this title. Defender of lost causes as always...
2005...despite his recurring excesses, fate continues to offer him beautiful gifts. The proof with a new companion who will succeed in extricating him from the depths of hell...
2006...a new life which will allow him to get back to composing and which will therefore produce a significant number of titles. Afterwards, not everyone will know a most favorable destiny...
2006...a good number of songs will be satirical self-portraits and relate in a very effective way its drifts and its excesses. A way to exorcise his demons but for how much longer...
2007...in its place, a bunch of other artists would have definitively sunk body and soul. His rage to live commands respect, that's clear...
2009...and here he is, quietly ending a new decade. With each new title we tell ourselves that it will surely be the last and each time he comes back. A truly exceptional longevity, especially when you know its ability to self-destruct...
2016... his inner demons will pull him down again and he will disappear from the radar for almost 7 years. And this time everyone agrees that he won't come back this time. It is very bad to know him, the proof !
2016... not only did he rise from the ashes in a totally unexpected way, but he also began to love the police. But what happens to him...?
2016... when he comes back from beyond the grave, he comes back to the surface for several years. This gives him time to compose again and continue to deliver titles of always certain originality...
2017...we can think what we want of him and his extreme paradoxes, but we can't deny his extraordinary talent. And which will allow him to stay in history as one of the most gifted singers of all...
2019...his voice is leaving him permanently which will seriously complicate things. At some point, the inspiration may well be there if there are no more voices at all, the adventure will necessarily stop this time for good...
2020...he couldn't escape the special song 'Covid'. And inevitably his will be different from the others and in a completely personal mode of derision as usual..
2022... it's been some time since he returned to the front of the stage and to see him continue the adventure like this calls out. When will he re-dark again, that is the question...
2022...
2023...
Wiki :
Official Website :
https://www.renaud-lesite.fr/ Greatest Hits :
Discography :