Michel Polnareff | Artist
Michel Polnareff is a French singer-songwriter born 1944 in Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne. He was popular in France from the mid-1960s until the early 1990s for his baroque pop and later glam rock recordings and performances. As a teenager 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. In 1965 Polnareff won a prize in Paris of a recording contract at Barclay Records but wanting to be associated with the counterculture, he turned down this opportunity and instead signed with minor label AZ. His first single "La Poupée qui fait non" (1966), was an unexpected success, with its fresh musical style and Polnareff's atypical image. During this period, he played concerts in Brussels for one week sharing the bill with Jeff Beck. In France he gained many hits such as "La Poupée qui fait non", "Love me, please love me", "Sous quelle étoile suis-je né?", "Ta-ta-ta-ta", "Âme câline", "Mes regrets", "Gloria", "Holidays", and "Tibili". Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones performed on hit single "Holidays". Polnareff also played with his image: black glasses, fancy trousers, and ambiguous provocations. His song "L'Amour avec Toi" "could not be played before 10pm because it was considered "pornographic" at the time in France. From 1969 on, Polnareff was hugely successful: tours, music videos, and more hits. His bubble burst in 1973 when, during a world tour, he learned that 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 his manager and stayed in this capacity for many years. In 1975, his comeback song "Jesus for Tonight" made it onto the American Billboard. He also created the soundtrack for the exploitation flic Lipstick (1976), which starred American model Margaux Hemingway and her sister Mariel. But his success in the United States never reached the heights he achieved in France. The artists still records and performs to the present day, with the 78 year old's latest album, the creditable Polnareff chante Polnareff, being released in 2022. Standout albums among his early releases are Michel Polnareff (1966), Volume 2 (1968), Polnareff's (1971), and Michel Polnareff (1974).
Artist Website: wikipedia/Michel_Polnareff
Featured Albums: Michel Polnareff
Related Artists: Menage a Trois
Video Clips: Love Me Please Love Me, Holidays, Gloria
