Under his real name Jean-Jacques Tazartez, Nicolas Peyrac was born on October 6, 1949 in Rennes (Brittany). Along with his brothers he was raised in Brittany in a family of doctors. When his parents got divorced in the 1960's, Nicolas took off for New York with his mother. He lived there for about a year before returning to Brittany to live with his father. Already in love with music, he started listening to the great French classics early on, from Ferré to Brel. He taught himself how to play the guitar and, like every tormented adolescent, he wrote texts and poems. In addition he discovered Anglo-Saxon music which enriched his inspiration and musical culture.

As a young man, it seemed more and more obvious that his artistic talent was very strong. But he nevertheless gave into family pressure which led him straight to medical school. He began his studies at the same time as his beginnings in the world of music. And it wasn't the musician who came out first, but the photographer. As gifted in visual art (he also painted) as in music, he did some record covers, Gilbert Bécaud's among them.

In 1971, he left to live a while with his mother, a physiologist, in Africa. He continued his studies but his contacts in the music business enabled him to meet the music editor Patrick Legrand, brother of Michel, in 1972. Nicolas showed him several texts and had the satisfaction of hearing one of them sung a few months later by Marie Lafôret. The success of this 45 earned him an immediate contract with Pathé-Marconi.

This time it was as a performer that Nicolas finally started his career. But his first two 45's were flops. His record company hesitated whether to keep him when in 1975 he released "So far away from LA". Consequently Pathé-Marconi forgot their notions of firing him. In fact, this song met with immediate success with the public as well as the critics and Peyrac became a star overnight . He abandoned his medical studies almost near the end (He was in his 6th year). His success took all of his time, even more so because his next song "Et mon père" quickly became a hit. For this song, the Sacem (Société des Auteurs Compositeurs), the French association of Authors and Composers awarded him the "Oscar" of French music in 1975. In a few months, Nicolas Peyrac became part of the circle of the most talented singers of his generation.

The success of his musical recordings led to immediate and intense concert activity. In '76, Nicolas Peyrac opened at Théâtre de la Ville in Paris for Serge Lama. His success even took him all the way to Japan, a must for successful French artists. Already the author of two albums he released a third in '76 "Quand pleure la petite fille", then a fourth one "Et la fête est finie" in '77.

As for the stage he hardly left it. In '77 he toured with Maire-Paule Belle and headlined all summer. In December, he even played for three weeks at the prestigious Olympia theatre in Paris, opening for Dalida, but he would have to wait until '79 before headlining. 1977 was also the year of two new successes: "Je pars" and "le Vin me soûle".

After the birth of his daughter Amanda in '77 he lost his mother in 1978. It was to her that he dedicated his album "J't'aimais, j'ai pas changé". This death marked an empty period for the artist who left to spend some time in California. It was during this time that he met singer and songwriter Will Jennings with whom he would work several times in the 1980's.

Tours, albums, Nicolas Peyrac's artistic activity continued with vigour at the beginning of the eighties. But success didn't necessarily follow the same pace. The time of hit records already seemed to be a thing of the past. He continued touring, stopping off in Paris at Bobino in 1981. Every year his concerts took him to the other side of the world: the South Pacific in '82, Korea in '83, Africa(Gabon and Burundi) in '84, the Indian Ocean and Canada in '85. He also released four albums between '80 and '85: "Fait beau chez toi" (80), "Elle sortait d'un drôle de café" (82), "Flash back" (83, co-written with Will Jennings in Los Angeles) et "Neuvième" en 84.

Despite a full schedule, Nicolas Peyrac wasn't happy with his career or his personal life. His lyrics were sung by the biggest stars: "Je n'oublierai jamais" by Johnny Hallyday in '82 and "les Eaux du Mékong" by Placido Domingo in '85. But his own career lost ground in the music scene and in the public light. He then withdrew from this life.

He took advantage of this time to cultivate his other passions. As early as '86, on vacation at his friend Michel Berger's, he began writing a novel. Then he directed a television documentary on top-level athletes. The end of the eighties was truly difficult. Romantic break-up, professional difficulties, Nicolas lost his foothold and fell into a long and painful depression.

An album came out in '89 "J't'aimais trop, j't'aimais tellement", heavily shaded with his most intimate problems ("J'l'aime quand elle s'en va", "Et tous ces matins sans elle"). We hardly heard anything of Nicolas Peyrac for many years. Paradoxically, it was the sudden death of Michel Berger that marked a turning point in this difficult time. Deeply upset by Berger's disappearance in August 1992, Nicolas reacted with the strong desire to take control again. He started writing again, travelled to Cuba and made a new album "Tempête sur Ouessant". He had started working on this album as early as 1990 new songs without being able to finish . Surrounded by French musicians and friends (Sébastien Santa Maria, Philippe Chauveau) and Americans (Bruce Gaitsch), this album marked his return to the spotlight. But everything wasn't so simple and it would take him some time to be totally back on track.

In'93, with his father's help, the singer decided to immigrate to Quebec. So he settled in Montreal where he got a second wind and new motivation. It was here that he finished and published his novel in '94 entitled "Qu'importe le boulevard où tu m'attends". Then at his father's home in Brittany, he wrote a large part of his new album, "J'avance" which would see the light of day in '95.

Nicolas had a new companion, Pascale, and came back for intensive concert activity began doing concerts again in Quebec. We saw him during the major festivals (Festival d'Eté de Québec, FrancoFolies de Montréal) or during his tours throughout the Canadian Province.

In 1996 Nicolas Peyrac managed the big comeback to the Parisian and even French stage. In May he settled for a few days at Casino de Paris accompanied by seven musicians and a string orchestra. This event came out on an album "Puzzle" which appeared the following year. Nine months after Casino, he returned to Bobino from January 16 to February 1st 1997.

Two years after "J'avance", artistic differences caused conflict between the singer and his record label, Une musique, who refused to produce his album.

Bruised but battling on, Nicolas still returned to the Bras d'or studios in Boulogne. Whilst working on new songs accompanied by a faithful few, the singer decided to completely rework "Autrement", an already finished record. Unfortunately, Une musique would not back track, and refused in writing : the CD was not to be released…at least, not by them.

Virtually alone and without a contract, with a finished album in the bag, the singer resigned himself to having "Autrement" released by an independent label. Because of the small-scale structure, this work slipped by unnoticed by the majority, despite being a considerable hit with the critics.

However, that didn’t stop Nicolas Peyrac composing. Over a period of three years he was inspired, writing lyrics and recording non-stop. Through a friend, in 2002, he met Pierre Illias who was to become his manager, and a highly efficient one at that. In February of that same year he signed a contract for four albums with the major label BMG. He returned to the studios and a year later, in March 2003, the album "Seulement l'amour" was released, a record which oozes simplicity and radiates the serenity of a composer who loves what he does.

The tour of the singer of the hit "So far away" is still going on.

August 2004