How should we describe Yves Simon - as a writer who sings or a singer who writes? Well, let's just say both! From the very beginning of his career Yves Simon has moved between songwriting and literature with the greatest of ease, inter-weaving the lyrics of his songs and the words of his novels. But writing, in one form or another, has remained a constant passion throughout his globetrotting career.
Yves Simon was born in Choiseul, in the Vosges region, on 3 May 1945. Yves's mother, Yvonne, worked as a nurse at the local hospital while his father André worked on the railways, a profession which allowed his son to indulge his passion for adventure, travelling free on the trains and exploring Paris and the French provinces. Young Yves developed an artistic bent in his teens, taking up a number of hobbies which revolved around music and literature.
When he was 15 years old Yves teamed up with four musically-minded friends and formed his own group, les Korrigans. Yves appointed himself as the group's guitarist and les Korrigans went on to develop their own repertoire (a repertoire which was strongly influenced by the rock'n'roll craze sweeping the music scene at the time!) Taking their style cue from the Beatles, les Korrigans went in for sober suits and smart haircuts, bringing the house down when they played on the local music scene in venues such as the Vittel and Contrexéville Casino.
Besides listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, young Yves also developed a passionate interest in French chanson, discovering the work of Juliette Gréco and Georges Brassens. However, at that early stage of his career Yves was more interested in theatre and literature than music and, after passing his 'baccalauréat' in 1961, he went on to study theatre at Nancy University. Meanwhile, he also took drama classes at the local Conservatoire. This proved to be a bit of a 'dilettante' period for Yves, the young teenager experimenting with everything from acting to reading, songwriting and playing the guitar. Versatility
In the autumn of 1965, Yves moved to Paris, throwing himself into the capital's rich cultural life. After enrolling at the Sorbonne, Yves also went on to study at the IDHEC, the most prestigious of French film schools. Yves eventually gained a literature degree from the Sorbonne, but eventually dropped his studies at the IDHEC.
Yves went on to concentrate his attention on his singing career and the young singer got his first big break after appearing on the French TV show "Le Jeu de la chance" in December 1965. Following his impressive performance on the show, Yves was invited to audition at the Pathé Marconi recording studios. However, Yves went on to sign his first recording deal not with Pathé Marconi, but with the Fontana label. In 1967, shortly after signing this first recording deal, Yves went into the studio to record his debut album "Ne t'en fais pas petite fille", which was closely followed by "La Planète endormie" in 1969.
However, these two albums, which were a bit like rough drafts of Yves's final work, would sink without a trace on the French music scene. A few well-known French singers such as Claudie Chauvet and Annabel Buffet went on to perform a couple of Yves Simon songs but on the whole, Yves's work aroused scarcely any media attention whatsoever. Rather than stay in Paris and watch his music career stagnate, Yves decided to take a break from Europe and set off travelling round Turkey, the Balkan states and the USA.
Yves gained much valuable new experience on his travels and when he returned to France he had already finished a rough draft of his first novel. "Les jours en couleur" (written in 1969) was finally published in January 1971 and Yves's second novel, "L'homme arc-en-ciel", followed in September of that year. Yves Simon's novels proved to be a huge success, literary critics falling over themselves to praise the young writer's talent. As a result, offers of work in the French press began flooding in and a few months later Yves began writing articles for the magazine Actuel and was soon presenting a show on the radio station Europe 1. Yves's amazing versatility marked him out as a unique artist, capable of turning his hand to singing, composing or writing. Yves In Wonderland
In the early 70's Yves turned his attention to his recording career once again, releasing a new single entitled "Les Gauloises bleues" in 1972. The single proved to be a minor hit and before Yves even got round to recording a new album, he was invited to support his idol Georges Brassens. After performing with Brassens in Paris at "Bobino" in November, Yves would go on to support Maxime Le Forestier and Philippe Chatel (two French stars who shared his passion for Brassens).
Yves Simon's live concerts set the tone for his new album "Au pays des merveilles de Juliet" (In Juliet's Wonderland), released in 1973. Yves soon went on to establish a reputation as a highly original songwriter, his work managing to weave a dream-like charm while taking a sharp and very intelligent look at the world around him.
Yves Simon's work met with huge commercial and critical success and no one was surprised when the album "Au pays des merveilles de Juliet" won the prestigious 'Grand Prix de l'Académie du disque'. Needless to say, the title track from the album - inspired by the French actress Juliet Berto - went on to become an absolute classic. Interestingly enough, Yves Simon would go on to work with Juliet Berto not long afterwards on Bertrand Van Effenterre's film "Erica Minor".
Yves was back at the forefront of the French music scene in 1974 with a brand new album entitled "Respirer chanter". This album, inspired by Yves's travels in the US, became famous for the track "J'ai rêvé New York" on which the singer experimented with a style of spoken chanting (which sounds remarkably like the precursor of rap!) "Respirer chanter" was a very private, personal affair but it proved an overwhelming success with Yves Simon fans, going gold within a few weeks of its release.
Yves gave his first major series of concerts in Paris at the end of 1974, bringing the house down at the legendary Olympia. On this special occasion, Yves invited the Argentinean accordion-player Astor Piazzola to France for the first time to accompany him on stage. Later that year Yves performed his first tour in Japan (a country with which he retained close links throughout his career). May 1975 also saw the release of one of Yves's rare live albums ("Yves Simon en concert au Théatre de la Ville"). To Write ... Or To Sing
In 1975 Yves Simon also rocketed back into the media spotlight with two new studio albums and a brand new novel entitled "Transit-Express". Yves's new group, also called Transit-Express, were featured on Yves's first live album recorded in May 1975 ("Yves Simon en concert au Théâtre de la ville") and also on his studio album "Raconte-toi". "Raconte-toi", brimming with Yves's usual brilliant songwriting contained some real musical gems (c.f. "Les Films de Polanski" and "Les Héros de Barbès").
By this stage of his career Yves Simon was at the height of his fame. And the two weeks of concerts he gave at the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris in May 1975 attracted a massive turnout of fans. However, by the following year Yves began to look as if he were beginning to tire of the trappings of celebrity and fame.
The singer's 1976 album "Macadam" featured contributions from a host of top French stars including Jacques Higelin and Laurent Voulzy. A number of talented musicians such as harmonica-player Jean-Jacques Milteau and bandoneon-player Marcel Azzola also joined Yves in the studio, but the album was bitter and disillusioned in tone. What's more, Yves Simon appeared to be able to whip up less and less enthusiasm for his incessant tours.
The singer returned to the media spotlight in 1977 with a brand new album entitled "Un autre désir". This album also featured contributions from a host of well-known stars including Pierre Akendengué, Sapho and Claude Engel. Yves was soon caught up in his hectic touring schedule again, flying off to perform concerts in Japan, Canada and Germany, before returning to play to his French fans at the Elysée-Montmartre in Paris. However, by the end of 1977, exhausted by his hectic touring and recording schedule, the 32-year-old singer decided to take a break from live performance in order to devote more time to writing and travelling.
Later that year Yves Simon branched out in a totally new direction, writing the soundtrack to Diane Kurys's film "Diabolo Menthe". The film proved to be a huge smash at the French box-office and the theme song from "Diabolo Menthe" also did well in the charts. What Will Tomorrow Bring?
Meanwhile, Yves was hard at work on a new novel entitled "L'Amour dans l'âme". Like its predecessors, Yves Simon's fourth novel sold well in French bookstores and ended up being translated into several different languages. Having decided to take a break from live performance, Yves was able to devote more time to his writing career and before long he began writing articles for Actuel again. Yves also turned his hand to screen writing, working on the scenario for Diane Kurys's new film "Cocktail Molotov".
Yves turned his attention to his recording career once again in 1979, releasing a new album entitled "Demain je t'aime" (I'll Love You Tomorrow). Later that year he also recorded a track on the children's compilation "Emilie Jolie". The 80's marked a certain turning point in Yves Simon's career. The singer not only underwent a major image change, losing his beard and adopting an 80's look, but his music also tuned into an 80's groove. On Yves's 1981 album "Une vie comme ça" 70's rock guitars were replaced by a more synthetic rock style and Yves songs were couched in smoother, more urban tones. Yves turned resolutely towards the future on tracks such as "Qu'est-ce que sera demain?" (What Will Tomorrow Bring?), boldly launching himself into the Mitterrand years.
Yves had grown very attached to Japan over the years and on 6 August 1982 he took part in a special concert in Hiroshima to commemorate the explosion of the atom bomb (6 August 1945). An audience of over 20,000 watched Yves's live show. Later that year Yves Simon's fourth novel "L'Amour dans l'âme" was, like most of his other works, published in Japanese.
Yves returned to the forefront of the French music scene in 1983 with a new album entitled "USA-USSR". This album had a distinctly upbeat, tropical sound to it and tracks such as "Tropiques", "Amour-Sagaie" and especially "Amazoniaque" proved popular with the public. "Amazoniaque", the most outstanding track on Yves's new album, was accompanied by a very trendy 80's pop video. It was while shooting a video for another track from the album ("Barcelone") that Yves would meet the actress Pascale Rocard, who ended up living with the singer for several years.
Meanwhile, Yves remained busy with his writing career, publishing a new novel "Océans" in 1983. The novel, which was highly autobiographical in many places, proved to be his first commercial best seller. Armchair Travellers
Yves, who has remained influenced by travel and foreign countries throughout his career, brought out a new album in 1985 entitled "L'Abyssinie". Once again, Yves Simon fans were given the chance to become armchair travellers on tracks such as "Déplacement du centre du monde vers le Pacifique" (Movement of the Centre of the World to the Pacific) and "Amour à Tokyo" (Love in Tokyo). Later that year the prodigious author would also publish a collection of short stories entitled "Tard dans la nuit" (Late At Night).
Yves returned to the media spotlight in 1988 with a brand new album entitled "Liaisons". The album proved to be a huge success, thanks largely to the two chart-topping single releases "Nés en France" and "Deux ou trois choses que je sais d'elle". Yves Simon's close friend, the famous French singer/songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman, joined his friend in the studio for this album, recording two duets with the singer.1988 would prove to be a memorable year for Yves Simon on the award front too, his book "Le Voyageur magnifique" winning the coveted Prix des Libraires.
Throughout his career Yves Simon has committed himself to numerous political and social causes, speaking out on several human rights issues. On 10 March 1989 Yves was one of numerous French celebrities who signed the famous "Appeal Against Fundamentalism". In his private life Yves Simon continued to enjoy several prestigious friendships, frequenting the likes of actress Simone Signoret, singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg and even President Mitterrand.
In the autumn of 1991 Yves Simon went on to win one of the most prestigious French literary awards, Le Prix Médicis, for his novel "La Dérive des sentiments". Yves's triumph in the literary world was soon echoed by a major event in his music career, the singer's record company releasing a 10-CD set retrospective of his work at the end of 1991. Amour
The following year Yves resumed his collaboration with French filmmaker Diane Kurys, composing the soundtrack for her new film "Après l'amour". However, during the 80s, Yves would devote more time to his writing career than music, publishing a new collection of writing entitled "Sorties de nuit". The collection proved to be another critical triumph, earning Yves the coveted 'Grand Prix de poésie de la Sacem' (the poetry award from the French Songwriters and Composers Association) in 1994.
Yves's next novel "Le Prochain amour", published in 1997, did not carry off any major literary awards, but it proved to be a huge success with literary critics. However, "Un instant de bonheur", a collection of short stories published in 1998, would go on to win the 'Grand Prix de la chanson de l'Académie française'.
Meanwhile, Yves Simon has pursued his successful journalistic career. Earlier this year, he wrote an article about the war in Kosovo which was published in le Monde. (The article can also be found on the singer's Internet site: http://www.yves-simon.com/. However, the major event of Yves Simon's career in 1999, and the one which all his fans have been waiting for, is the release of his new album. (After all, Yves has been so busy with his other activities that this is his first new album in over eleven years!)
As a tantalising preview to the album, a first single ("Sarah et Tobie") has already been released. Yves himself describes the single as a kind of "bibilical rap"! He had already started mixing different musical genres on his last album and on his new album he took these experiments a little further, weaving in Arabic-sounding violins, Rai music and rap-style phrasing. The lyrics on Simon's new album tackled a wide range of subjects exploring the themes of art, painting (on the song "Basquiat"), human rights and the female condition ("Les Souffrantes") as well as tackling burning topical issues on "Pardonnez" (a song about the teenage French girl Florence Rey who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for taking part in a burglary where a number of police officers were killed).
After this album, Simon returned to his writing desk, delving into his literary imagination once again. The next few years were devoted to publishing a collection of poetry ("Le Souffle du monde, 2000), three novels - "la Voix perdue des hommes" (2001), "Les éternelles" (2004) and "Je voudrais tant revenir" (2007) - and two autobiographical essays, "La Manufacture des rêves" (2003) and "Epreuve d'artiste" (2007).
In July 2007, Yves Simon took everyone by surprise appearing live on stage at the Francofolies festivals in La Rochelle and Spa after a thirty-year absence from live performance. The audiences at both festivals gave the singer a warm welcome, wild applause greeting his set of old hits and new songs. The latter gave fans a foretaste of what was in store on Simon's new album, "Rumeurs", released just a few months later in October. 2007: "Rumeurs"
Simon later admitted that the thirteen songs on his new album had been "conceived" in his kitchen while his partner was busy making dinner and asked him to sing to her. The songs, marked by a classical style of writing and a certain lightness of touch, largely revolved around women, love and romance once again. "Patrice", "Les filles ont des sentiments", "La Métisse" and "Irène, Irène" were sentimental ballads while "Marguerite" paid tribute to the famous French novelist Marguerite Yourcenar.
Source: http://www.rfimusic.com/artist/chanson/yves-simon/biography
