Françis CABREL : Live RTL2 (20-02-2005)

Biography
"Cabrel was born into a modest family, his father was employed as a blue-collar worker and his mother was a cashier. He has a sister, Martine, and a brother, Philippe. His paternal grandfather, Prospero Cabrel, immigrated to Gascogne from Friuli, Italy, in the 1920s with his wife and six children. Cabrel's mother, Denise Nin, was born in Gascogne to an Italian family who had also immigrated from Friuli. The family's original surname, Cabrelli, was abandoned in the 1700s.
A shy teenager, Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" inspired him to pick up a guitar and start writing his own songs. At 16, enthralled by music, he started to sing the songs of Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Dylan. He also learned English by translating the lyrics. He would later say that his guitar enabled him to appear more interesting to others.
Expelled from secondary school in Agen for lack of discipline, he went to work in a shoe shop while playing gigs with a group named "Ray Frank and Jazzmen," which later became known as "les Gaulois" because every member of the band had a moustache. Indeed, at that time, Cabrel's appearance was that of a hippie, with long hair and a moustache.
In 1974 he took part in a song contest organised by Sud Radio and performed in front of a panel of judges, which included Daniel and Richard Seff. With his own song "Petite Marie", dedicated to his wife Mariette, he won the contest and was signed to a record deal by CBS.
In 1977, during CBS's "New French Song" campaign, his first record "Ma ville" was released. However, he quickly realized that CBS, having tampered with the accent of his singing voice on "Petite Marie", had thus interfered with the expression of his true personality. That version of the song is disavowed by Cabrel today.
At the Paris Olympia he opened for Dave for one month. He also won the "prix du Public" at the Festival de Spa in Belgium in 1978.
Although he writes predominantly for himself, he has written for other artists, in particular Rose Laurens ("Quand tu pars", 1986). Cabrel is involved in the politics of Astaffort commune in Lot-et-Garonne and was elected its councilor in March 1989.
While Cabrel is best known for singing in the French language, he has also recorded Spanish renditions of many of his most popular compositions.
In 1989, Cabrel's album "Sarbacane" was released. The singer spent months honing the new songs on "Sarbacane" to perfection, working out the musical arrangements and recording part of them in a makeshift studio he had set up in his own home. "Sarbacane", undoubtedly one of Cabrel's finest works, proved an enormous hit with the public, selling almost 2 million copies. The singles "Sarbacane" (dedicated to his daughter) and "C'est écrit" also did incredibly well in the charts. By now Francis Cabrel had become one of the most popular recording stars on the French music scene and his life was one busy whirl of TV and radio interviews, autograph signing and promotion. Naturally, a tour was called for and Cabrel soon set off on an extensive tour - which included hundreds of dates in the provinces as well as several concerts at the Zénith in Paris - accompanied by his faithful musicians Gérard Bikialo (on keyboards), Denys Lable (on guitar) and Bernard Paganotti (on bass).
Meanwhile, Cabrel continued his work on behalf of humanitarian associations and charities, taking part in the famous "Soirée des Enfoirés" to raise money for the Restos du Coeur (the charity set up by the late great comedian Coluche to help the homeless). He also recorded compilation albums with other French stars on behalf of AIDS charities such as Sol En Si (Solidarité Enfant Sida) and Urgence. In 1990 Cabrel embarked upon a mini tour with singer Dick Rivers, delighting audiences with their re-worked versions of American rock'n'roll classics. This mini tour, performed without the slightest bit of publicity in smaller, more intimate venues such as the Bataclan in Paris, allowed Cabrel to make closer contact with his fans and wind down a little after his busy promotional schedule earlier in the year.
Following several more months of intensive touring, which took Cabrel all over Europe, South America and Quebec, the singer released a triple live album entitled "D'une ombre à l'autre". The 43 tracks on this mega opus included memorable acoustic versions of Cabrel's greatest hits.
Cabrel fans had to wait another three years for the release of any new Cabrel material, the renowned perfectionist shutting himself away in the studio for months on end to work on his next album. "Un samedi soir sur la terre", the singer's eagerly-awaited 8th album, was finally released in 1994. Musically things had changed little from the early days - Cabrel was still surrounded by his loyal group of musicians and the guitar remained the most distinctive feature of the "Cabrel" sound. But the song-writing was more expressive than ever. Twenty years after "Petite Marie" the new singles "Je t'aimais, je t'aime, je t'aimerai" and "La Cabane du pêcheur" displayed extremely mature, sophisticated lyrics. One of the most outstanding tracks on the new album was undoubtedly "Corrida", Cabrel's attack on the cruel sport of bull-fighting. The album was followed by a new tour and a series of memorable concerts in Paris - at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Olympia and the Zénith. In February 1995 the music profession honoured Cabrel at the annual "Victoires de la Musique" awards ceremony, presenting him with an award for Best Album of 94 (for "Un samedi soir sur la terre"). Later that year Cabrel went on to win Le Trophée RFI/ Conseil de la Francophonie for his hit single "Je t'aimais, je t'aime, je t'aimerai"…." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Cabrel