Claudine Luypaerts, better known to music fans as Maurane, was born on November 12th 1960 in the Belgian town of Ixelles. Her parents were both talented musicians and the young Claudine grew up with her brother and sister in an extremely musical household, filled with the sounds of Bach and Debussy. Claudine began playing music herself at the age of 8, taking violin classes. But the young girl soon proved that she was not at all suited to any form of fixed classes, and when she wanted to play the piano and the guitar she bypassed the necessity of a teacher and taught herself. While continuing to listen to classical music, Claudine also began to become a passionate fan of musicals such as "West Side Story" and "Les Demoiselles de Rochefort" and she soon began singing herself. 

In her teens (around the age of 16 or 17) Claudine began performing at various music festivals and song contests, under the name Claudie Claude. In 1979 she performed in Albert André Lheureux’s show "Brel en mille temps", starring alongside Philippe Lafontaine and Daria de Martynoff (who is one of her team of songwriters today). It was her performance in this show that brought the young singer to the attention of the famous French songwriter Pierre Barouh. After they had sorted out a few artistic differences, Barouh offered her the chance to record her début single, "J’me roule en boule", on his own label Saravah in 1980. Unfortunately, neither this single nor the following ones ("Fais soleil" in 81, "T’as pas la pêche" in 83 and "Moi l’argent, toi jeune" in 85) failed to make a great impact on the French or Belgian music scene. In spite of these disappointments, Claudine was determined to continue her singing career, busking in the streets or performing in local restaurants to make ends meet. She also found work as a backing singer, working in the studio with Jo Lemaire and Philippe Lafontaine. In April and May 1985 the young singer performed in concert for the first time, appearing at the Sentier des Halles in Paris. The success of these early concerts meant that Maurane was finally able to spend time recording her début album (co-produced by Saravah, Les Editions 23 and Franc’Amour). With the single "Danser", released in 86, Maurane established herself as a talented singer with a powerful voice and an upbeat jazzy sound (the influence of Claude Nougaro, one of young Maurane’s greatest musical idols is evident).

Following this first success, Maurane went on to form a trio with fellow Belgian musicians Houben and Loos. The threesome recorded a highly accomplished first album, "H.L.M." (giving free rein to their mutual passion for jazz) on the Belgian label Igloo. Maurane continued to travel extensively throughout 86, appearing at various music festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the "Printemps de Bourges" in France. The young singer’s performances earnt her rapturous applause and numerous awards (including the "Prix de la Sacem", "Le Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros" and "Le Trophée du Midem" at the international record industry fair held in Cannes). 

Maurane briefly ventured into acting, landing a part in the Belgian film-maker Ronny Couteure’s film "Carnaval" in 1987. Maurane performed well in the role, but she was convinced that her real talent was singing. She particularly adored performing live and that autumn she set off for Paris to give a week of shows at the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris. Maurane’s dynamic swing style combined with her charismatic stage presence and her infectious brand of humour soon won over the French public.

The following year Maurane met the famous French songwriter Michel Berger who offered her a lead role in a new version of "Starmania", the hit musical he had written in 1978 with Luc Plamandon. Maurane accepted and found herself cast in the role of Marie-Jeanne (the role originally made famous by Fabienne Thibeault). Maurane toured with the show for several months, throwing herself into the part with veritable passion and immensely enjoying this new form of collective work, but, exhausted by the gruelling schedule, she eventually quit the show to pursue her own solo career.

Maurane returned to the studio to work on her second album, which was released in February 1989 on her new label Polydor. The album, known simply as "Maurane" produced a whole string of hit singles ("Toutes les mamas", "Pas gaie la pagaille" and "Tout pour un seul homme") which received a great deal of airplay in France. Written by Evert Verhees, Arnould Massart, Kevin Mulligan and Maurane herself the new album proved a great success, selling over 150,000 copies. Maurane went on to perform 6 dates at the prestigious Olympia music hall in Paris in May 89. Despite suffering from incredible pre-concert nerves, Maurane gave a brilliant performance, combining her catchy swing style with moments of real humour. The public adored her, 2,000 people leaping from their seats to give her a standing ovation at the end of each show. Following this enormous success, Maurane embarked upon an extensive international tour which took her as far as Japan. In July 1989 Radio France Internationale recognised the rising star’s talent, presenting Maurane with an "Octave" award for Best Female Artist of the year. The singer soon added another award to her collection, winning "Le Prix du Festival d’été international du Québec" at the international summer music festival in Quebec.

Despite her new-found star status Maurane lost nothing of the simple, down-to-earth approach which had won her so many fans. She was also determined to build on her success, returning to the studio to record a new album in October 1991. Her new album, "Ami ou ennemi", found Maurane working with a new group of collaborators besides her usual accomplices. Her Belgian alter ego Peter Lorne made important contributions as did the well-known French songwriter Jean-Claude Vannier and Louis Calaferte, whose poems were set to music by Maurane. The single which really set album sales rocketing was the simple yet moving "Sur un prélude de Bach", a song written by Jean-Claude Vannier and set to a piece of music by Bach. This single was closely followed by a second hit, "Ca casse", written by Peter Lorne, on which Maurane proved not only her incredible vocal skills but also her ability to convey deep emotions. In May 92 Maurane returned to the Olympia, opening her show with Charles Trenet’s old music-hall hit "Boum". After an extensive European tour, Maurane returned for another French tour in March and April 93, performing at the Olympia from April 13th to 15th. (This exuberant performance is captured on Maurane’s live album, "Une fille très scène", which was released in April 94). Maurane was now greatly in demand in France. The singer was invited to perform at the "Printemps de Bourges" festival in April, then headed down to sing at the "Francofolies" festival in La Rochelle in July.

Maurane was by now dividing her time between her personal life in Brussels and her professional life in Paris. In June 92 she had married Pablo, a singer like herself, and on December 29th 93 she gave birth to a baby daughter, Lou. Happily settled with her husband and daughter in Brussels, Maurane was loathe to leave the new-found stability of her family life. She did not even make the trip to Paris for the "Victoires de la Musique" awards in February 94, where she was voted Best Francophone Artist of the Year. And deservedly so - her album "Ami ou ennemi" had sold over 400,000 copies !

At the end of the year, however, Maurane did return to Paris, performing at La Cigale with Nicolas Fizman and Arnould Massart (from December 6th-11th). In the informal space of La Cigale, a smaller venue than she usually sang in, Maurane performed new versions of her best-known songs, specially arranged to give them a more intimate feel. These memorable concerts were tinged with nostalgia, especially when Maurane paid a moving tribute to her old friend the poet Louis Calaferte, who had recently died.

Evidently blossoming in her new role as mother, Maurane was back in the media spotlight in November 95 with the release of a new album, "Différente", specially dedicated to her daughter (who had inspired three tracks on the album). This more mature album featured songs by members of her faithful songwriting team, including Philippe Lafontaine and Jean-Claude Vannier, who penned the moving ballad "Juste une petite fille". "Différente" is certainly the most directly autobiographical of Maurane’s albums, the singer baring her inner emotions and personal history to the public for the first time.

In October 96 Maurane kicked off a major tour, performing three dates at the Grand Rex in Paris before moving on to the provinces. Joined on stage by Arnould Massart and the 11-strong Guildhall String Ensemble, Maurane communicated her infectious joie de vivre to a fully appreciative audience. 

Throughout her career Maurane has frequently performed at benefit gigs and taken part in fund-raising tours. The singer gave an enthusiastic performance at the "Soirée des Enfoirés" in 1996, raising funds for the "Restos du Coeur" (the charity set up by the late French comedian Coluche to help the homeless). Since 1993 Maurane has also been closely involved with Sol En Si (Solidarité Enfant Sida, an association helping children affected by AIDS). Indeed, earlier this year she set off on tour with Alain Souchon, Maxime Le Forestier, Michel Jonasz, Catherine Lara, Francis Cabrel and new recruit Zazie, donating all the proceeds to the charity.

By 1998 Maurane had established herself as a major star on the French music scene, scoring a whole string of hits. And earlier this year the singer released a compilation of these hits on a new album entitled "L'un pour l'autre". (This album also featured five Maurane classics which had never been released before). The title track from "L'un pour l'autre" was soon released as a single. But the highlight of the Belgian star's new album was undoubtedly "C'est magique" - a duet which Maurane recorded with French superstar Eddy Mitchell who also wrote the lyrics for the song. (At the beginning of December 98, Maurane and her loyal songwriter Peter Lorne were awarded the prestigious "Oscar de la chanson française" for the song "L'un pour l'autre").

In the summer of 98 Maurane branched out in a new direction, playing the lead role in the romantic comedy "Le Comptoir", a film directed by Sophie Tatischeff (daughter of the legendary French film-maker Jacques Tati). Incidentally, Maurane's performance in the film received rave reviews from French film critics.

In the run-up to the new millennium Maurane began preparing a new album, gathering a team of songwriters and arrangers around her and focusing her efforts on her own songwriting. The creative process behind Maurane's fifth album, "Toit du monde", involved a long series of ups and downs and several of the singer's collaborators actually let her down at the last minute. But Maurane finally ended up working with a small team of collaborators she could really trust.

The core trio - Tomas Gubitsch, Jean Dindinaud and Nicolas Repac - not only produced some excellent material for Maurane's new album, but also rallied round to support the singer when her father died in 1999. Deeply affected by the loss of her father, Maurane ended up channelling some of her grief into writing "L'Homme qui m'a le plus manqué" (The Man I Miss The Most). This tribute to Maurane's father was included as the last track on the new album and featured an instrumental accompaniment written by her father before he died. Released at the end of August 2000, "Toit du monde" struck a more serious, spiritual note than Maurane's previous albums and musically speaking, she also opened herself up to new musical influences, experimenting with 'world' sounds and even a touch of electro beats.

"Il neige des e-mails" had preceded the album as the first single release in May, and "Pour les âmes, pour les hommes" followed as the second single release in the autumn of 2000. Whetting French music fans' appetites with a mini-series of concerts (September 29th - November 5th), Maurane announced she would return to perform a major tour of France in 2001.

It continued until the end of the year. Apart from a duet with Lara Fabian, "Tu es mon autre", fans had to wait until 2003 to hear Maurane's voice on an album again. "Quand l'humain danse" came out in May. Largely recorded in Brussels, the 14 songs on this album reflect the singer's optimism and peace of mind. A number of other artists contribute to the album: "Un pays mais" is sung with Marc Lavoine, "Mais la vie" with Lara Fabian, and "Petites minutes cannibales" with Véronique Sanson. Words and music were written by Peter Lorne, Daniel Lavoie, Louise Forestier, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Gildas Arzel and Jean-Claude Vannier. All in all she enlisted the help of a group of friends to ultimately come up with a very personal album.

Shortly after, Maurane went on the road again, giving concerts across France, and a live album, "L'heureux tour" also came out in 2004.

Maurane soon got round to preparing material for a new album, "Si aujourd'hui", released in January 2007. The album was largely produced by Daran and it featured contributions from the songwriting team Art Mengo/Marc Estève as well as Arnoult Massart and Philippe Lafontaine. However, Maurane’s new album was, on the whole, a rather patchy affair and it did not enjoy the same public success as her other albums had done in the past.

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Maurane remains an extremely popular figure with fellow musicians as well as fans. Her impressive vocal skills and exuberant personality combined with beautiful melodies and carefully-crafted lyrics have made her one of the most important Francophone artists on the international music scene.

February 2007