Renaud

French singer-songwriter and actor Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan is better known by the single name Renaud. A remarkable career of 23 albums released over nearly 50 years has proved him to be one of France's most popular vocal artists. Born in Paris, his music has always been about the experience of living there and is heavily influenced by his life as an activist and his passion for politics. He began writing songs whilst staging a month-long student sit-in at the Sorbonne University and his early musical life was as a busker on the streets of Paris, where he was spotted by producer Paul Lederman and invited to perform at the newly opened café/theatre CafConc. He released his debut LP 'Amoreux de Paname' in 1975 before concentrating on his work as an actor for a few years. In 1978, his second LP 'Laisse Béton' was released. The title song became an overnight success and increased the popularity of the French slang language Verlan. Equally popular was 1979's LP release 'Ma Gonzesse' which led to a sell-out tour. This was followed by the release of 'Marche à l'Ombre' (1980) and 'Le Retour de Gérard Lambert' (1981), the latter including the anti-drug song 'La Blanche' (1981).

In 1983, Renaud's record sales soared with the release of 'Morgane de Toi', and there was similar success in 1985 with 'Mistral Gagnant'. Over the next ten years, he released a total of five albums, none of which repeated the popularity of 'Mistral Gagnant'. They included 'Renaud Cante el' Nord' (1992), an album of traditional French folk songs, and 'Renaud Chant Brassens' (1996), a selection of songs by French poet and song-writer Georges Brassens. In 2002, Renaud released his best-selling album to date, 'Boucan d'Enfer', which has sold over two-and-a-half million copies and was number one in the French, Belgian and Swiss Albums Charts. He had further French number one albums with 'Rouge Sang' (2006), 'Molly Malone - Balade Irlandais' (2009) and the self-titled 'Renaud' (2016). In 2019, he released the album 'Les Animals' and from it, the single 'Les Mômes et les Enfants d'Abord'.