Son of a schoolteacher who was deported and died in the Auschwitz camp, Pierre Varenne, known as Pierre Louki, was born in Brienon-sur-Armençon (Yonne) on July 25, 1920. A watchmaker and member of the Resistance during the Second World War, he worked in the theater in Auxerre before moving to Paris, where he met Roger Blin, who cast him in Samuel Beckett's En attendant Godot. He also wrote a large number of songs for other performers, and had his first success in 1955 with "La Môme aux boutons", written for Lucette Raillat. His prolific pen served Colette Renard, Les Trois Ménestrels, Michèle Arnaud, Denise Benoît, Dany Dauberson, Dany Boy et ses Pénitents, Annie Fratellini, Jean-Claude Pascal, Jacqueline François, Annie Cordy, Juliette Gréco, Isabelle Aubret, Francesca Solleville, Jean Ferrat and Marcel Amont. A close friend of Georges Brassens, he opened his concerts with a humorous repertoire including songs from his Chansons Zidiotes (named after the 1958 EP), such as "Le Corps de garde " (1959), "Les Képis " (1960), "Les Iroquois " (1961), "Sous mon chapeau" and "L'Escarpolette " (1962). After his period with Fontana, he produced several albums for CBS, Louki Pleure - Louki Rit (1966), Pierre Louki (1968), Ce Sera pour Demain (1969), Chansons Clandestines (1971), À Bobino (1972) and Le Cœur à l'Automne (1976), for which Serge Gainsbourg wrote "La Main du masseur". In 1971, he returned to the theater, writing several plays, including La Petite cuiller, in which he toured France. He took part in Claude Berri's film Sex-shop (1972), recorded Chansons Quand Même (1982) and created the show Louki, que, quoi, dont, où at the Théâtre des Mathurins (1984). Between novels (of which he has published some twenty), Pierre Louki returned to song in 1991 with the album ReTrouvailles, followed by Vers Bissextils (1996), En Public (2001) and Salut la Compagnie (2004) for Saravah. Awarded the Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros in 1972 and the Prix André-Didier Mauprey by Sacem in 1999, Pierre Louki died on December 21, 2006 at the age of 86. The compilations Les Années Vogue 1958-1960 (2011) and Chansons Fines et Farfelues (2022) retrace his early career.
