After finishing school, he spent 6 months in America to perfect his English. He became more and more interested in the visual arts and trained as photographer and film technician. As a trainee film production assistant, he wrote and directed his first short film at 20. He released three short films over a period of ten years, notably José Jeannette which was awarded the Prix Georges de Beauregard, the Prix du Public de Nancy and the Prix Spécial du Jury in Montréal.

During the shooting of his third short film, he encountered difficulties with the production people. Small format films no longer interested Bénabar. He decided to write a full length film... a project which is still waiting to be finished.

He did manage to sell his writing talent to television. To Canal+ for example: he has written sketches and editorial reviews for the series "H". However his musical career would take off from another direction altogether. At the age of 25, he wrote his first songs when a friend asked him to write some lyrics for him and it was then that he discovered that writing songs and music was much more flexible and gave him more freedom and satisfaction than script writing.

Despite his ability to play trumpet, Bénabar could barely read music. He taught himself all he knows about music, spending all his time between the piano and computer. His recipe for success? Inspiration, concentration, staying focused.

Barnabé

At first he didn't intend singing, but via his duo Patchol et Bénabar he got into it. His pseudonym became Bénabar, from the "verlan" (French backward slang) of the name of the clown Barnabé.

The duo Patchol et Bénabar toured together and in 1996 while they were doing some concerts in Paris they met their future "associates": Denis Grare on sax, accordion and backing vocals, Vincent Schaeffer, playing trumpet and trombone, Pascal Vignon on the drums, Stéphane Benveniste, playing double bass. They built up an original repertoire and they crystallised into the band Bénabar et Associés, with Bénabar singing and playing piano.

Their first album La Petite Monnaie was released in January 1998 on Zébuth, an independent label (distributed by Night & Day). A modest but real success, the record was followed up by a tour all over France. The media were very enthusiastic and the group got extensive radio and television coverage: France 3 (national and regional TV network), MCM, Europe 1, France Inter, and the local Radio France stations and Fip. In Paris they played the most prestigious venues: L’Européen, Le Café de la Danse and Le Cabaret Sauvage.

Since 1997 they have played 275 live dates, sometimes under what has to be said difficult conditions. They were living proof of the saying "anyone who has not slept 6 to a room in a Formule 1 motel cannot even begin to imagine what prehistory was like".

Bénabar, the consecration

Gathering material for their new album, they deliberately slowed down the touring, to spend more time broadening their repertoire and working on new song arrangements, notably with Fabrice Ravel, Chapuis (Artango). Bénabar then signed with Universal Music Publishing and created his own production unit: Pétaouchnok. He also beefed up the group with some new members: Stéphane Moufflier on drums, Florent Silve on double bass and Alain "Bulon" Buisson on guitar and banjo.

The group then started a collaboration with Garance Productions, the largest concert organisers in France setting up tour dates for the biggest French and international artists playing in France. The support of Garance meant they could tour and prepare their second album without yet having signed with a label. Artistic direction was handed over to Alain Cluzeau (Paris Combo, Les Pires, La Trabant…) Recording and final mixing of the album Bénabar was carried out in September and October 2000.

Bénabar, the album, was released on 18 September 2001 with Zomba Records and was an instant success with both the public and music critics alike. Henri Salvador was won over by the album, in particular by the opening song Bon Anniversaire, and vowed he would share the stage with the 30 year old Bénabar during his next shows. The two musicians share a certain easy movement from humour to seriousness. Salvador kept his promise and invited Bénabar to star as the support act for his 2002 French tour. Besides concerts in Paris in larger and larger venues, including the Café de la Danse, the New Morning, the Elysée Montmartre and a sold out concert at the Olympia, the tour had no less than 140 dates. The overwhelming success of the live performances punctuated an already best selling album on its way to going gold. Not forgetting his peers, Bénabar collaborated on an album in homage to Brassens: Les Oiseaux de Passage where he gives his rendition of Brassens Embrasse-les Tous.

He may have left filmmaking aside, but his songwriting reflects his first love: the cinema. Bénebar has been strongly influenced by the director Claude Sautet. Like Sautet, Bénabar enjoys delving into the details of people's lives, describing their personal worlds, revealing all their faults and failings and he has a way of making us find them lovable.

The hazards of show business

It only took 18 months for Bénabar to come up with a new album. Entitled "Les Risques du Métier", the album featured tracks tinged with both humour and melancholy. It was recorded in Brussels where the young artist lives half the time. Alain Cluzeau and the musicians that toured with him on his last venture also took part in the album. Thanks to arranger Fabrice Ravel a few string sessions were introduced in this piece of work that, otherwise, sounded very similar to his previous album.

Back on the road by July 2003, Bénabar went on to appear at a number of major music festivals including the Vieilles Charrues in Carhaix.

In October 2003, he concentrated his attention on the French capital, performing a series of concerts at famous Parisian venues such as L’Olympia, L’Élysée-Montmartre and Le Trianon. Bénabar then hit the road again, touring the French provinces. In February 2004, he returned to Paris to play at Le Grand Rex where he recorded the album "Live au Grand Rex" (released as both a CD and DVD). Over the following months, Bénabar hit the festival circuit, appearing at a number of major events such as the Printemps de Bourges and the Francofolies festival in Spa, Belgium. In November 2004, he performed at the three Zénith venues (in Lille, Orléans and Paris).

After touring his album "Les Risques du métier" for an intensive on-the-road stint, (lasting almost twelve months), Bénabar called a halt to his concert performances and shut himself away to begin work on a new album .

His fourth opus, released on 24 October 2005, was called "Reprise des négociations" (Negotiations have been resumed). The singer later admitted that he found the idea of borrowing a bit of vocabulary normally associated with the trade union movement "amusing." For the first time in his career, Bénabar honed his album to perfection in the studio, spending a full three months on the project, whereas he had recorded his debut album in just a week. Bénabar has always been a singer who prefers to get out on the road and meet his fans. (Incidentally, he has performed no less than 350 concerts since 2002.)

In terms of songwriting style, "Reprise des négociations" proved to be very much in the same vein as "Les Risques du métier." But this time round Bénabar did not simply pen well-observed social portraits of what he saw around him. Instead, he broached much more personal themes, talking about himself on candid songs such as "Triste compagne" and "Tu peux compter sur moi", a moving ballad about adolescent ties. The album also revolved around nostalgic tracks about his childhood, including the first single release "Maritie & Gilbert Carpentier" (a reference to the pair of famous French TV producers from the 70s). "Reprise des négociations" was definitely a more introspective album, but it lacked none of Bénabar's traditional verve or vivacity. Not surprisingly, the album proved to be an instant hit, rocketing up the charts shortly after its release. Bénabar, a respected symbol of the "nouvelle chanson" movement, had become a major fixture on the French music scene in his own right.

In February 2006, Bénabar kicked off an extensive national tour, playing dates up and down France. Meanwhile, sales of the album "Reprise des négociations" topped the 300,000 mark, confirming Bénabar as a popular new fixture on the French music scene. Thousands of fans turned out to see the singer when he appeared live, bringing the house down at the Folies Bergères in Paris (22 - 28 February 2006). Tickets for his three dates at Le Zénith (6 - 8 June) sold out within days.

Bénabar also proved to be a big hit on the summer festival circuit, putting in appearances at the Printemps de Bourges (1 May), Solidays (9 July), Terre-Neuvas, in Brittany (7 July), the Francofolies in La Rochelle (17 July) and the Paléo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland (22 July). The young Parisian’s fans turned out in force to enjoy songs from "Reprise des négociations" live on stage.

Bénabar ended his tour with a grand finale at Bercy stadium, in Paris, on 30 November 2006. The tour proved to be an unmitigated success with 750,000 fans flocking to see the singer live on stage.

After selling an impressive 1.3 million copies of his previous album, "Reprise des négociations", Bénabar returned to the forefront of the French music scene with a new album in October 2008. "Infréquentable" found Bénabar mining the same rich songwriting vein which had brought him success in the past, combining his jaunty vocals with lyrics describing day-to-day events with wit, humour and tender cynicism.

The marked difference between "Infréquentable" and the singer's previous albums was that this new offering revealed a slightly darker, more introspective side to Bénabar. Bénabar wrote the music and all the lyrics on his new album himself with the exception of "Pas du tout", a track composed by Louis Chédid (who had cast Bénabar in the role of the mad chemist in his children's stage musical "Le Soldat rose"). "Infréquentable", which had a stronger pop feel to it than previous albums, featured a vibrant string section (recorded in London) and feisty guitars. The first single chosen for release from the album was "L'Effet papillon."

Coinciding with the release of this new album, Bénabar headed off to six major towns across France for face-to-face meetings with fans. The singer presented songs from "Infréquentable" and then engaged in a question-and-answer session with the audience.

November 2008