Mano Solo was born in Châlons-sur-Marne on 27 April 1963. His father, Jean Cabut (aka Cabu) is a famous political cartoonist renowned for his satirical work in the anarchist press. Mano's mother, Isabelle, is also a well-known French militant, famous for leading several high-profile ecologist campaigns. She also founded France's very first 'green' magazine, La Gueule ouverte.

In 1968 - in the midst of the student riots and workers' strikes paralysing Paris at the time - the family moved from Châlons-sur-Marne to Ozoir-la-Ferrière (a town near Paris). Given his parents' militantism and the country's socio-political turmoil, young Mano grew up in a highly politicised environment. Indeed, the family home in Ozoir-la-Ferrière was often filled with groups of artists and intellectuals (many of whom were well-known figures on the French arts scene).

Mano grew up to be a 'troublesome' adolescent and before long he ended up getting involved in drugs and delinquency. But the troubled teenager also began to show signs of having inherited a certain artistic talent. Mano also proved to have an excellent ear for music and, at the age of 17, he went on to play guitar with a local punk rock group, Les Chihuahuas. But Mano also devoted much of his time and energy to painting. Indeed, he began to develop a reputation for himself on the gallery scene in the 80's, with a series of paintings which he signed with the pseudonym Boredom (a reference to the famous Sex Pistols' song). Word of Mano's work soon spread across the Atlantic, and the young French artist was offered an exhibition in New York. Mano's illustrations were also used by several French magazines including the literary magazine, Les Nouvelles Littéraires. The prodigious young talent also started his own fanzine, "La Marmaille Nue" (which lasted from 1986 to 1988).

But in the end music would win out over Mano's artistic ventures. Influenced and encouraged by his close friend, the singer Eric Lareine, he soon went on to launch his own singing career. Mano had already written several songs and before long he found himself performing them with the alternative French rock group, La Marmaille Nue (yes, them again!) Mano established his reputation as a singer on stage at the Théâtre du Tourtour in Paris, making a major impact on the audience with his wild performances and his furious outspokenness. Teenage audiences readily identified with Mano's lyrics, which expressed all the rage and pent-up fury of adolescent revolt.

Mano Solo soon went into the studio to record his debut album, "La Marmaille nue". Released on 3 December 1993, the album exploded onto the French music scene with the force of a Molotov cocktail. 30-year-old Mano expressed himself with rage and violence, unleashing a string of hard-hitting, emotionally-charged lyrics on an unsuspecting public. Mano's rage and despair were not only fuelled by the social and existential problems facing his "no future" generation, but also by his own fight against illness. For Mano, who had recently discovered that he was seropositive, had decided to speak out about AIDS (often, it must be said, in a brutal, provocative way).

French music fans appeared to appreciate Mano Solo's blunt outspokenness, however. Indeed, Mano's debut album, "La Marmaille nue", went on to sell over 100,000 copies! But Mano's intense and violent poetry is best sampled live on stage, and the singer's concerts also went on to prove extremely popular with French music fans. In 1994 Mano performed 80 dates in all, including a 10-day stint at L'Européen in Paris, where he brought the house down in February of that year. Mano would return to the capital on 14 November to perform at the legendary Olympia music hall.

Meanwhile, Mano Solo's videos continued to enjoy great success on French television - indeed, they were broadcast practically non-stop on several leading music shows! Inevitably, Mano Solo went on to become one of the most talked-about young artists on the French music scene. (Unfortunately, though, the French media were often more interested in the fact that Mano was seropositive than they were in his music).

Winning a grant from FAIR (a fund set up to help up-and-coming young rock artists), Mano returned to the recording studio in 1995 and his second album, "Les Années sombres" (The Dark Years) was released in the summer of that year. As the title suggests, this was a gloomy, moody album over which the threat of death hovered continually like a black cloud. However, Mano continued to rage against his seropositivity with incredible energy and drive. Many of the lyrics on this new album were co-written in collaboration with Napo (a pre-eminent member of Les Chihuahuas). As for the music on "Les Années sombres", this proved to be a rather eclectic affair, moving from tango through African rhythms to modern 'chanson réaliste'.

Mano's second album proved to be an even bigger hit than his first, going on to sell over 150,000 copies! The public showed themselves to be more supportive of Mano Solo than ever. Which was just as well, because on 9 October 1995, the singer had a brutal announcement to make to his fans. "I've got good news and bad news for you," Mano announced in mid-concert, "The good news first - I'm no longer seropositive. Now the bad news - I've got AIDS!"

Mano's suffering was all too visible as he made his brutal announcement, and his fans were obviously shattered by the news, although all they could do was look on helpless from the sidelines. Needless to say, Mano would go on to express his pain and inner rage through his work. Indeed, it's fair to say that few artists have ever managed to do so with quite so much eloquence!

The concert at which Mano announced that he had AIDS was presented as the singer's final 'adieu' to the music scene after two years of phenomenal success. But Mano was a born fighter and his music career was not destined to end so soon. Far from it. In fact the following year Mano teamed up with his old punk group, Les Chihuahuas, and went into the studio to record a more radical, political album. Mano and Les Chihuahuas released this album under the pseudonym Les Frères Misère (deliberately underlining the fact that this was a temporary collaboration, not any kind of permanent arrangement). The album proved to be as explosive and hard-hitting as Les Chihuahuas' earlier work, the songs' incendiary lyrics railing against unemployment, racism and other problems facing the "no future" generation.

Readopting their old punk bondage gear, Mano and Les Chihuahuas performed in Paris at the Bataclan in October 96, getting their audience pogo-ing away just like in the good old days.

Still bravely waging war on AIDS and 'hanging on in there', Mano Solo went on to set up his own publishing company with the money he had earned from his albums. And it came as no surprise to anyone when he decided to call the company … La Marmaille Nue! Following the publication of a collection of poems, "Je suis là" (I'm Here) in 1995, Mano went on to publish his first novel "Joseph sous la pluie" (Joseph in the Rain) in 1996.

Mano made a comeback on the French music scene on 21 October 97, releasing a brand new album entitled "Je ne sais pas trop" (I Don't Really Know). Most of the tracks on this new album had actually been recorded live when the singer performed in Paris with a string ensemble at L'Eldorado in June of that year. The album, for which Mano himself designed the cover as usual, was as double-edged as ever, Mano pitting his passion for life against an encroaching sense of doom. Mano's return to the concert circuit was greeted with rapturous applause and hundreds of dedicated fans turned out to support the singer when he performed at the legendary Olympia (15 - 17 January 1998). Mano was soon back into the swing of things, and he continues to set off on mini concert tours whenever his health is up to it.

Meanwhile, Mano continues to fight a furious on-going battle against AIDS, as the deeply personal lyrics from his song "C'est plus pareil" show: "J'ai tellement parlé de la mort, que j'ai cru la noyer, la submerger de ma vie, l'emmerder tant et tellement, qu'elle abandonne l'idée même de m'emmener avec elle." ("I've spoken about Death for so long now, that I believed I could drown Death with my life. I thought I could infuriate Death so much that He would finally abandon the idea of trying to take me with Him").

Mano Solo rocketed back into the French music news in September 2000 with a sixth album, entitled "Dehors" (Outside), which presented a radically different image to his earlier work. The songs on "Dehors" revolved around positive, upbeat lyrics and revealed a totally different Mano to the angry young man who had spent his time raging against the world (and French journalists!)

Mano admitted he now felt calmer and more serene, having come to terms with his seropositivity which, he claimed, had trapped him in a public persona he now felt uncomfortable with. In a conscious attempt to throw off his old image, Mano experimented with a lighter, upbeat sound on "Dehors", mixing in African and South American influences (c.f. the album's opening track, "Il y a sûrement des pays qui valent le coup"). While continuing to bring up the same themes in his songs (love, death, social exclusion etc.), Mano opened his focus out onto other people rather than gazing in on himself. The track chosen as the first single release from the new album was "Je taille ma route". Following the release of this new album, Mano embarked on a new tour which included two dates at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris (October 2nd and 3rd).

There's no doubt about it, Mano Solo's work aims to provoke and disturb. He throws his hard-hitting songs in the public's face like a boxer throwing punches - and yet, no-one ever really minds the pain he inflicts. For, while Mano Solo sings about suffering, his songs are also about hope and the indomitable nature of the human spirit. And for that alone, he ranks as one of the greatest songwriters on the contemporary French music scene.

At the end of 2002, Mano Solo was back in the spotlight with" La Marche" (a live album recorded at concerts in Clermont-Ferrand and Toulouse during his tour the previous year). This new album, which Solo had thrown himself into body and soul, was a chef-d’œuvre revealing his own original musical universe.

In February 2004, Mano Solo took to the stage for a one-off date with Les Têtes Raides, appearing at Le Bataclan in Paris. The rest of 2004 was largely taken up with work on his new album. A number of the tracks featured on "Les Animals," which hit record stores in September 2004, had originally been intended for Juliette Gréco, but Solo ended up recording them himself. While Solo’s universe was still very much centred on Paris (c.f. songs such as "Paris avance" and "Botzaris" with Les Têtes Raides), new horizons opened up with "Barrio Barbes" and "Savane.” While his songs had lost none of their hard-hitting emotional charge, Mano adopted a more distanced vocal style on “Animals.” Following the release of the album, Mano hit the road again in October 2004, playing a series of concert dates across France.

The tour, which proved to be a full-on rock'n'roll affair, included three dates at the legendary Olympia, in Paris, in January 2005. Mano and his musicians remained on the road right through until July.

Mano later admitted the tour, with its barrage of stage equipment and countless backing musicians, had exhausted him and he had suffered from the pressure of playing big venues and being unable to change dates to suit him. After the tour, Mano retired to the safety of his home in Pantin, in the Paris suburbs. Here he began work on a very different project, joined by just the core group of his musicians: the accordionist Régis Gizavo, guitarist Daniel Jamet and pianist/trumpeter Fabrice Gratien. Working with this trio he experimented with a new, simpler sound and rediscovered the pleasure of making music again.

In a bid to retain greater artistic control over his work, Mano decided not to renew his contract with Warner. Instead, he vowed he would produce his new album himself. In the autumn of 2006, he launched a subscription service via Internet, whereby fans could download tracks, video clips and other multi-media bonuses prior to his new album release. A concert was organised at the Olympia on 18 September 2006 marking the official launch of the project.

Mano Solo’s new album, "In the Garden", was finally released in March 2007. It proved to be a simple mix of rock, ‘guinguette’, guitar and accordion, recorded in the same punk spirit that had always motivated his work. Together with Gizavo, Jamet and Gratien, Mano served up a series of vibrant new songs designed to be performed live with a small backing band. Mano’s new aim was to get back to basics and get closer to his fans once again.

April 2007