Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine

Active as a stage performer since the late-1960s, Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine is a French vocalist celebrated for his evolving brand of complex, lyric-driven pop/rock. He was born in Dole, Jura, France, on July 21, 1948, and released the debut album Tout Corps Vivant Branché sur le Secteur Étant Appelé à S'émouvoir in 1978. The record featured his first underground hit, "La Fille du coupeur de joint," followed by albums like 1979's Autorisation de Délirer, 1980's De l'Amour, de l'Art ou du Cochon, and 1990's Chroniques Bluesymentales. Initially a cult figure whose music was ignored by mass media, he'd transformed himself into a commercially successful artist whose releases regularly cracked the Top 40 in France. La Tentation du Bonheur peaked at Number 27 in 1996, with 1998's Le Bonheur de la Tentation, 2001's Défloration 13, 2005's Scandale Mélancolique, and 2007's Amicalement Blues (a collaborative album recorded with blues singer Paul Personne) all peaking within the Top 20. Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine then hit a career-high chart peak in 2011 with Supplément de Mensonges, which charted at Number 2 in France, Number 22 in Belgium, and Number 32 in Switzerland. Three years later, Stratégie de l'Inespoir climbed to Number 10 in France, with the live album Vixi Tour XVII matching that chart placement in 2016. Thiéfaine remained active on the road during the decade's final stretched and later returned to the studio for 2021's Géographie du Vide, which hit Number 2 in France, and Number 6 in both Belgium and Switzerland.