Claude Nougaro

The French singer-songwriter Claude Nougaro enjoyed a long, if somewhat sporadic, musical career which spanned four decades. He came from a musical family (his father was a respected opera singer and his mother a pianist) and after failing his baccalaureat he began a career in journalism. His life as a journalist was interrupted by a short spell in the French Foreign Legion in Morocco performing his mandatory military service.

During the 1950s he began to publish songs through Marguerite Monnot, songwriter to Edith Piaf, before eventually taking to the stage himself in cabaret in Paris. He slowly built up his career as a performer and created a following in France. In response to the significant civil unrest which occurred in France in 1968 Nougaro wrote the protest song 'Paris Mai', a recording which would eventually be banned from French radio but which cemented Nougaro in the consciousness of the French people.

During his professional life the singer recorded 19 studio albums. After being dropped by his record company in 1984 Nougaro went to New York in search of inspiration, he found it with the release of his self-financed 1987 album 'Nougayork' which became a surprise success earning him 'Best Album' and 'Best Artist' in the 1988 French music business awards Victoires des la Musique. A spate of hit albums followed but his health began to deteriorate after 1995 following heart surgery. He eventually died of cancer in March 2004 aged 74.