Francis Lalanne was born in Bayonne, a town in the French Basque region, on 8 August 1958. Young Francis was surrounded by a very cosmopolitan family in his early years - his paternal grandparents were part-Basque, part-Béarnais and his maternal grandparents Lebanese, while his mother was born in Uruguay. What's more, Francis's father worked for the United Nations and the family travelled a great deal so Francis ended up spending part of his childhood in Uruguay, where he learnt to speak Spanish before the family moved on to Marseilles in the south of France.

Around the age of 12 Francis developed a passionate interest in writing and singing and was soon able to pick out his first songs on the guitar. The talented youngster soon went on to master the piano too and encouraged his younger brother, Jean-Félix, to take up guitar. Teaming up with their brother René the Lalanne brothers went on to form the group Bibi-Folk, performing their first concerts at youth clubs and student venues in the Marseilles region.

Francis would continue his career in the arts, completing a drama course at the local Conservatoire. Then, after passing his 'baccalauréat', he moved up to Paris and studied literature at the Sorbonne. While studying hard for his DEUG, Francis did not neglect his music career however, performing free concerts in mental hospitals and prisons with guitar in hand.

It was around this period that Lalanne met the French actor Jean-Luc Moreau, a man who was to play an influential role in his later career. Lalanne began to devote an increasing amount of time to his singing career and soon went on to record a demo tape which he sent to various French record companies. Unfortunately, French record labels rejected Lalanne's demo, claiming that his songs were not commercial enough.

Undeterred by this rejection, Lalanne soldiered on and ended up recording his debut album, "la Maison du bonheur", in 1979. Lalanne gained an instant fan club thanks to the radio station France Inter which gave extensive airplay to the album's title track. Praised by the critics and celebrated by the French record-buying public Lalanne found himself an overnight star. This newfound star status appeared to surprise the 20-something singer who prided himself on his anti-conformism and his rebel status!

Nothing could stop Lalanne's dizzy rise to fame, however, and after putting in an acclaimed performance at the Printemps de Bourges Festival in April 1980, the young singer went on to complete an extensive national tour, bringing the house down when he appeared at the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris in November of that year.

Following this success, Lalanne went on to release a second (untitled) album which featured songs such as "la Plus belle fois qu'on m'a dit je t'aime" (The Most Wonderful Time Someone's Said 'I Love You'") and "J'ai pas trouvé la fille qui me fermera les yeux" (I Haven't Found The Girl To Close My Eyes"). Lalanne's impassioned style and his subject matter - love, loneliness, friendship and other major emotions - attracted plenty of critics as well as fans. Detractors also attacked Lalanne's highly interactive stage shows - which, incidentally, could last up to several hours at a time! - criticising them for being excessive.

Lalanne's ability to arouse hostile feelings appeared to increase with his success. But the good thing was, so did his fanbase. In 1981 Lalanne was back in the music news with a new live album "Toi mon vieux copain" (which featured songs with hard-hitting social commentary such as "des Mains de chômeur" and "Pleure un bon coup ma p'tite Vero"). This new album, a much darker work than Lalanne's previous albums, mixed a certain sadness and nostalgia with his usual melodrama.

In November and December '81 Lalanne returned to the live circuit, performing a two-month run at Bobino in Paris. His new show featured a mix of song, theatre and dance routines choreographed by Lalanne's close friend, the famous French dancer Patrick Dupont. The show proved a huge success with committed Lalanne fans who appreciated this chance to catch the multiple facets of the singer's talent.

Lalanne was back on stage in April '82, bringing the house down at the Printemps de Bourges festival - with a mega-concert lasting four and a half hours! A few months later the singer returned to the studio to record a new album entitled "Celle qui m'a emmené". In November of that year Lalanne performed at the Hippodrome de Pantin in Paris, delighting the audience with a three-act show which mixed elements of music and theatre. On this occasion Francis was joined on stage by his younger brother, Jean-Félix, who had become a first-class guitarist by this time. (The following year a live recording of the show was released as an album).

Lalanne's hectic touring and recording schedule continued throughout 1983 and 1984. The singer, who claimed to have become a lot more "demanding" when it came to the quality of his songwriting, took some time off from his gruelling schedule, however, to begin work on material for a new album. Later that year Lalanne was back in the music news with "Amis d'en France", a new album of songs recorded live in concert. Unfortunately for Lalanne, this new album failed to live up to expectation and sales soon proved extremely disappointing.

This did not stop Lalanne from returning to the live circuit, performing a two-week stint at the Palais des Congrès in Paris in October 1984. This time round fans were treated to a pared-down show with no stage décor - just the singer and his guitar on stage in direct contact with the audience.

After this show Lalanne took time off to concentrate on a project he had had simmering away in his mind for several years - recording a rock opera the singer described as being "partway between Tolkien, Homer and Star Wars"! Lalanne's rock opera never made it to the stage, but the first instalment, "Coup de foudre - Athom le rebelle volume 1", arrived in record stores in 1985 and "Mai 86 - Athom le rebelle volume 2" was released the following year.

Confirming his status as a multi-talented artist with a finger in many pies, Lalanne branched out in a new direction in 1986 co-producing his younger brother René Manzor's film, "le Passage", with the actor Alain Delon. What's more, Lalanne himself wrote the film's theme song "On se retrouvera", which went on to become a major hit in the French charts.

In 1987 Lalanne concentrated on his writing and also branched out to work in the theatre, playing the lead in Jean-Luc Moreau's production of the Molière classic "Don Juan". The production proved a huge hit at the box-office, Lalanne playing over 200 shows to packed houses. Following this major stage success, Lalanne retired to his study for a while to write "Adjedhora", a "political philosophical" essay published by Flammarion later that year.

After these extra-curricular activities Lalanne turned his attention to his music career once again, releasing an album of songs recorded in Spanish on his own label. "De corazon" went on to become a major hit with the record-buying public, earning the singer a gold disc a few months after its release.

Lalanne was soon involved in a flurry of extra-curricular activity again very soon, sponsoring yachtsman Thierry Caroni in a solo transatlantic sailing race. While the singer himself did not actually take part in the race, he would later go off sailing in the boat "Athom le rebelle", taking a break from his hectic music career to relax on the ocean wave.

In 1989 Lalanne stepped in to produce his brother René Manzor's new film "3615 code Père Noël". (The film was presented at the "Festival du Film fantastique" in Avoriaz later that year). Lalanne also devoted considerable time and energy to his own career, bringing out a new album - recorded in French - entitled "Avec toi". One of the songs on the new album, "Flash back 87 multicoque au vent", was directly inspired by his recent ocean-going experiences in "Athom le rebelle".

Later that year Lalanne turned his attention to writing once again, publishing "le Chant de l'Ibex" (a treaty on versification) and "le Roman d'Arcanie" (a novel in verse). After his publishing exploits, the singer hit the road again touring the French provinces then appeared at the Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris, where fans gave him a warm welcome after his long absence.

Lalanne was back in the music news in the spring of '92 with a new album entitled "Tendresses". The first single release "Reste avec moi" proved to be another chart hit and the album itself sold 450,000 copies. Encouraged by this return to popularity, Lalanne went on to perform at the Zénith in Paris in January '93 and this run of concerts resulted in the release of a new live album later that year.

1994 saw the publication of a new Lalanne work, "les Carnets de Lucifer". The following year Lalanne turned his attention to his music career once again, performing a two-week run at the Auditorium des Halles in Paris in February 1995. This new show, staged in much smaller surroundings than usual, featured Lalanne's customary mix of music, theatre and poetry.

While theatre played only a minor role in Lalanne's multi-faceted career, each of the singer's stage roles was critically acclaimed. And Lalanne earned rave reviews once again when he appeared in "l'Affrontement" with French actor Jean Piat. Lalanne went on to bring out a new album entitled "Face cachée" in 1996 but this time round sales failed to live up to expectation. Lalanne's popularity was not what it once was. The singer's anti-conformist image and his tendency to sound off - and occasionally attack press photographers - when angry had earned him plenty of enemies in the course of his career. Times had moved on and the French public were no longer so keen on the idea of a long-haired romantic neo-folk star performing elaborate stage routines dressed in white shirts and knee-high leather boots!

Unperturbed by critics and detractors, Lalanne continued his different activities, editing a collection of poetry books for French publishers Les Editions des Belles Lettres. The singer also bought out the ailing Starlux company (which specialises in making plastic figurines) and went on to turn the company's fortune around within three years! In 1999 Lalanne attempted to make a (not altogether successful) stage comeback in a new version of Herbert Pagani's 70s musical "Megalopolis". He went on to return to the French music news the following year, recording a new album entitled "Sans papier". Released on January 1st 2000, the album was another typical Lalanne mix of social comment and emotional outpouring .  

In 2003 the singer agreed to try a new media venture and became the lead figure of a TV reality show, "60 days, 60 nights" broadcast on Canal +. The show presented Lalanne’s everyday life, which enabled the artist to meet again with the public. Using this opportunity, his record label East West released his new album, "D’une Vie à l’autre" at the beginning of March 2003. The album was announced by a first single entitled "Changer". A few concerts were organized during the summer of 2003 and a tour planned for the Autumn.

This autumn tour turned out to be an entirely acoustic affair billed as "Lalanne Unplugged." The mini-tour included 10 concert dates where the singer went in for a distinctly intimate ambience, establishing direct contact with his fans.

In 2004, Lalanne made the acquaintance of British drummer Derrick McKenzie, who plays with the group Jamiroquai. The pair hit it off immediately and although they are diametric opposites in terms of personality and musical tastes, Lalanne and McKenzie embarked upon a surprise musical project together. Their joint album, "Reptile", was released on 14 March 2005. The album, recorded in London with the musicians from Jamiroquai, is certainly the most musically diverse of Lalanne’s career to date featuring a rich mix of groove, funk, world music, rock and R&B. But the lyrics remained in Lalanne’s habitual part-poetic, part-protest vein.

Later that same year, on 24 March 2005, Lalanne celebrated 30 years in the music business with a special concert at Le Casino de Paris. Fans were treated to the singer duetting with Linda Lemay and jamming with Derrick McKenzie and his friends from Jamiroquai. This exceptional performance was captured on the DVD "Live au Casino de Paris" (released on 2 May 2006).

Shortly after the release of this live DVD, Lalanne – a passionate football fan – headed off to Germany to follow the French team in the World Cup. On his return to France, he devoted a large part of his time and energy to his favourite hobby, hanging out with wolves. The singer also filmed a special report on the behavioural instincts of the pack.

August 2006