Patrick Juvet

Patrick Juvet (August 21, 1950) was a Swiss singer-songwriter who enjoyed great success in the late 70s as a disco artist. Born in Montreux, he started studying piano at the age of 7 and was heavily influenced by the music of The Beatles. In 1968 he moved to Paris and then relocated to Germany to pursue a career in modelling. Upon his return to France in 1971, he met record producer Eddie Barclay, who produced his first single "Romantiques pas morts" and also his 1972 studio debut, La Musica. The album was a commercial success in France, selling over 30,000 copies. That same year, Patrick Juvet wrote the music for Claude François hit “Le Lundi au soleil,” which quickly rose to the top of the French charts. In 1973, he was selected to represent Switzerland at the 18th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Je vais me marier, Marie,” finishing in 12th place. Now an established artist in the French pop scene, Patrick Juvet released his second album Love in 1973, followed by the glam rock-tinged 1974 single “Rappelle-toi Minette.” Co-written with his background vocalist Daniel Balavoine, Chrysalide arrived in 1974 and helped launch the then-unknown singer’s career through the single “Couleurs d'automne.” Over the next few years, he collaborated with lyricist and electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre on 1977’s Paris by Night and then dropped the 1978 disco blockbuster I Love America. Produced by Henri Belolo and Jacques Morali, who had previously worked with The Village People, the album’s title track became a transatlantic hit, reaching Number 5 in the US and Number 12 in the UK. Despite his newfound international fame, Patrick Juvet failed to replicate the success of “I Love America” with 1979’s Lady Night and only released two albums during the 80s: Still Alive (1980) and Rêves Immoraux (1982). Things went downhill from there as he struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction. In the following decades, Patrick Juvet released Solitudes in 1991 and toured with Âge Tendre well into the 2010s before succumbing to a cardiac arrest in Barcelona, on April 1st, 2021.