Hervé/Kent, who has always been extremely proud of being a pure 'Lyonnais', was born in Venissieux (a suburb of Lyon) in 1957. Born into a modest, working-class family, Kent began working in a local factory as soon as he finished school. But the young man's ambitions extended far beyond the factory production line.

Kent, a passionate music fan, dreamt of forming his own band and seeking his fortune in the music world. In 1977 Kent fulfilled his childhood ambition, becoming the charismatic lead singer of Starshooter, a pioneering rock group who exploded onto the French music scene in the late 70's. The wild anarchy of the punk movement was sweeping France at this point. Caught up in the general fever of youth rebellion, the four members of Starshooter expressed their anger and revolt through their hard-hitting songs which fused open provocation with ironic humour.

Kent - better known to music fans at the time as Kent Hutchinson - became one of the most prominent figures on Lyon's thriving nightlife scene. By day the young man worked hard at his drawing-board, developing cartoon characters. Kent's distinctive cartoon style soon caught on and he even published several cartoon albums including "Sales amours" in 1982. Yet, while Kent's career as a cartoon illustrator was taking off, his musical career was about to hit rock bottom. After recording five albums and performing countless concerts across the country, the group Starshooter split up in 1982.

Kent was the only member of the original foursome who decided to continue his music career, launching himself as a solo artist. Just after Starshooter's split in 1982, Kent went into the studio to record his début solo single. Entitled "Partout c'est la merde", this first single was heavily inspired by the singer's rock past.

Kent soon followed this single release with a début album, entitled "Amours propres", for which he wrote all the lyrics and musical arrangements himself. Having discovered that he could no longer go by the name Kent Hutchinson (as Hutchinson was registered as a brand name), the singer changed his name to Kent Cokenstock - a name inspired by the title of a famous Tintin album. Despite the fact that Kent Cokenstock still had a loyal following of fans from his Starshooter days, the singer's first album met with a rather lukewarm reception. Wavering between the anarchic revolt of his early songwriting and the more poetic feel which was beginning to creep into his new work, Kent Cokenstock was still in the process of forging a new identity for himself. Meanwhile the singer continued to record a couple of new singles ("Tiny Tinto" in 1983 and "Tout petit doute" in 1984). Yet, Kent's new work still failed to make any impact on the French charts and his label CBS decided not to renew the singer's recording contract. Meanwhile Kent continued his parallel career as a cartoon artist, and even began working as a fashion illustrator. He also took up karate in his free time.

After CBS dropped him, Kent went through a difficult period of transition, finally deciding to pack his bags and leave France to live in Cameroon for a while. On his return the singer signed to a new label, Barclay, and in 1985 he went back into the recording studio to begin work on a new album, which he called "Embalao" (a reference to his stay in Africa).

1985 was a to prove a successful year for Kent. Following hot on the heels of the singer's album release came the publication of his best-known cartoon book, "Les aventures de Bob Robert l'aviateur".

Two years later Kent returned to the studio to record his third album, "Le Mur du son", working with guitarist Jacques Bastello for the first time. Following the pair's extremely successful collaboration in the studio, Bastello would go on to become Kent's inseparable sidekick throughout the rest of his career and even wrote much of the singer's new material.

In the 80's Kent turned his attention to his songwriting career, penning songs for a number of French stars. In 1989 he went on to write all the tracks on Hervé Paul's album "Une autre vie".

The following year Kent focused on his own singing career, recording a new album entitled "A nos amours". Apart from a few contributions from François Bréant and Hervé Paul, Kent wrote all the tracks on his new album in collaboration with his new sidekick Jacques Bastello. The album showed Kent's poetic side for the first time and also revealed his sharp sense of observation when it came to describing contemporary society. The single "J'aime un pays" received a great deal of airplay and did relatively well in the charts, going on to become one of Kent's best-known songs. It became clear that the singer had finally left his rock days behind and settled into a new identity.

Kent returned to the studio at the end of the year to work on a new album, "Tous les hommes", which was released in December 1991. This new album confirmed the singer’s exceptional songwriting talent, featuring tracks such as the excellent "Je suis un kilomètre" (inspired by a young boy he met by a roadside in Romania). Later that year Kent turned his attention to his songwriting career, writing an adaptation of an English hit for the French star Johnny Hallyday, which gave the singer the hit "Tout pour te déplaire".

Kent soon called a temporary halt to his songwriting however in order to embark upon a new series of concerts. The singer, who takes an evident pleasure in his live performances, proved a great hit when he appeared at "La Fête de l'Humanité" (the annual festival organised by the French Communist Party) in September 1992. Then between 12 and 24 October Kent performed at "Le Café de la Danse", a small intimate venue in the Bastille area of Paris. Kent’s exuberant live performances always prove a great winner with audiences, sharing his enthusiasm and joie de vivre with the crowd who generally end up singing along with his songs and shouting for encores at the end of each show.

Kent returned to the studio in 1993 to begin work on his new album "Un Autre occident". This 17-track album found the singer tapping a rich poetic vein once again, setting poetry and short texts by various authors to music - "Pater Noster" was a tribute to Jacques Prévert, Samuel Beckett’s words were adapted for "Les Mirlitonnades" and Paul Eluard’s poem for "L'Enfance maîtresse". The new album, recorded in a studio in Yerres on the outskirts of Paris, featured contributions from a startling diversity of artists including the Russian group Terem Quartet, the vocal quartet Chanson Plus Bifluorée and singer William Sheller.

Kent then embarked upon a hectic touring schedule which ended in a triumphant performance at the legendary Paris music-hall L’Olympia on 10 February 1994. His appearance at this prestigious venue confirmed that Kent was now accepted as one of the top French singers of the day. In July Kent followed this success with another memorable performance, this time at the Francofolies Festival in Montreal (the sister festival to the famous French event which is held every year in La Rochelle). Kent brought the house down again later that year when he performed at La Cigale in Paris (13 - 15 October). The result of this busy year’s touring was an excellent live album, entitled "Kent en scène", which was released on 14 February 1994. This album includes the famous duet "Juste quelqu'un de bien" which Kent performed with his close friend the French singer Enzo Enzo. The song, which Kent had written especially for Enzo Enzo, went on to become a phenomenal hit when the pair recorded it as a single later that year.

In 1995 Kent continued to devote time and energy to his songwriting, co-writing a track with Michel Fugain which featured on Fugain’s new album "Ici-bas". Later that same year Kent also made his acting début, starring in Diane Bertrand’s film "Un samedi soir sur la terre", which appeared on general release the following year. The multi-talented Kent then went on to publish his third novel "Des gens imparfaits" (which followed "Les Nouilles froides" in 1989 and "Un été pourri").

1995 also proved to be an eventful year in Kent’s personal life, the singer becoming a father for the first time.

Yet despite the fact that he began branching out into other activities such as acting and writing, music remained Kent’s absolute priority. In 1996 he returned to the studio to begin work on his eighth album, "Nouba", which was released in June of that year. This album, placed under the direction of American producer Mitchell Froom, was a rich fusion of traditional French accordion and Middle Eastern melodies (c.f. "Nouba", "Est-ce que tu m'aimeras"). For the very first time in Kent’s career the album also featured several love songs, including the moving "Ainsi va l'amour", on which the American star Suzanne Vega provided backing vocals.

In the autumn of 96 Kent set off on another national tour, one of the highlights of which was his memorable series of shows at the Trianon (the intimate Paris venue just up the road from La Cigale) between 23 and 26 October.

Later that year Kent, who has always spoken out on environmental issues, performed a special concert in aid of Crii-Rad, the independent French laboratory committed to measuring levels of radioactivity in high-risk areas.

On 14 July 1997 Kent was invited to perform at the French Francofolies festival in la Rochelle, where he brought the house down with his exuberant live show. The singer then went on to perform at the Café de la Danse in Paris (1 - 13 December 1997), before embarking upon a mini-tour to finish the year.

Kent returned to the studio at the start of 98 to begin work on a mini-album entitled "Métropolitain". Released earlier this year, the album proved a major surprise for Kent's habitual fans - they discovered the French 'pop/variété' star experimenting with a radically different style, adapting his lyrics to a new techno beat. What's more, Alain Gac, the trendy young producer renowned for setting up the Rennes-based record label Rosebud, was called in to the studio to assist Kent with his new sound (which fans are probably hoping will only be a temporary conversion!). But this was not the only surprise in store for Kent fans in the course of 98. Later that year the multi-talented singer/songwriter went on to prove that he was also a gifted author. Indeed, the release of Kent's album "Métropolitain" was swiftly followed by the publication of a novel entitled "Quelque chose de beau" (Something Beautiful).

In the autumn Kent teamed up with his old friend and musical accomplice Enzo Enzo and the pair set to work creating a new show with French musician François Bréant. Kent and Enzo Enzo premièred their new show, "Enfin seuls!", in Mâcon on 0ctober 1st 1998, winning their first-night audience over with a mix of new songs and professional dance routines - which included an impressive tap number! Following their success in Mâcon, Kent and Enzo Enzo went on to tour the French provinces with "Enfin seuls!" And in May '99 the duo brought the house down when they performed in Paris at the Théâtre des Abbesses.

After several months of silence, working in his studio but also far from home in the United States, Kent released a new album in September 2000, entitled "Cyclone". It showed the artist continuing to innovate and stay a few steps ahead of the game, with its melodic richness, its rock influences and eclecticism. Sadly, this album wasn't the success Kent had hoped it would be. On top of that, Kent went through a series of upheavals in his artistic life throughout 2001. He and his songwriting partner Jacques Bastello split after twelve years of working together, and he parted ways with the backing band that had accompanied him on the "Cyclone" tour. He also left his record company Barclay.

In search of a more acoustic sound, with accordionist Arnaud Mithivier particularly in mind, Kent started to work on new songs. He recorded them with his new group, playing them live to small audiences over three consecutive evenings, then reworked the recordings in the studio. He also decided to produce his albums himself, and signed a distribution contract with AZ. The new album, entitled "Je ne suis qu'une chanson", came out in October 2002. It was a more personal affair, and signalled an artistic change of direction for Kent. From February 25 to March 15, 2003, he performed at the Européen, a small concert hall in Paris, and then went on tour.

Kent's songwriting talents remained very much in demand. He wrote songs for Enrico Macias ("Oranges amères", 2003) and also Enzo Enzo ("Paroli", 2004).

Following these successful collaborations with other artists, Kent got the idea of asking musician friends to compose music for some new songs. Laurent Voulzy, la Grande Sophie, Michaël Furnon from Mickey 3D and M all responded to the invitation, and worked with Kent on "Bienvenue au club", which came out in February 2005. Recorded with a group of young musicians, the Playback Boys, the album revolved around a resolutely rock sound. Kent had dug out his old electric guitar and seemed to take great delight in rediscovering his rock roots, a direction reflected in his ensuing concerts.

Later that same year, EMI released "Inoxydable: 1977/1982", a greatest hits compilation commemorating Starshooter (the now-defunct band that Kent originally launched his career with).

Apparently committed to being involved with as many different spheres of the arts as possible, Kent continued working on illustrations for album covers and also devoted much time to drawing cartoon strips (two of the latest of which have been based on environmental issues). Meanwhile, he also penned songs for a number of artists including Nolwenn Leroy ("l'Enfant cerf-Volant) in 2005, followed by Les Tit'Nassels ("Alone") and Enrico Macias ("Sur les flots gris et les flots bleus") in 2006. Somehow Kent also found time to write a fantastical novel featuring a protagonist by the name of Jacky Bonaventure who is employed by a mysterious multi-national record label to track down a missing rock star. His novel, "Vibrato", was published in 2007 by Les Editions Jacques Lattès.

On 17 March 2008, Kent made a comeback on the recording front with a new album entitled "L'homme de Mars." The album, which comes in CD form with an accompanying cartoon strip drawn by Kent himself, includes music by the bassist and composer Fred Pallem (the mastermind behind the group Le Sacre du Tympan). "L'Homme de Mars" is a futuristic sci-fi tale of a Martian who beams down from the Red Planet to play the role of anthropologist on Earth (thus serving as a sort of neat 'double' for Kent who, in a recent interview, admitted how alienated he often feels in the modern world). The songs on this new album - which deal with topical themes such as social violence, consumer society, relationship breakdown and the fear of death - feature some finely-crafted musical arrangements that make full use of "sixties" pop, sweeping strings and vibrant brass. In the accompanying cartoon strip, Kent's stark black-and-white illustrations draw on 1950s sci-fi influences.

April 2008