Renaud
Related: French music - bourgeois
Biography
Renaud Séchan, known as Renaud, (born in Paris on May 11, 1952) is a popular French singer.
His early work is characterized by a volatile temperament, innovative use of French, and edgy, dark, social and left-wing political themes. Raised in an educated milieu, the son of an intellectual, Renaud in the 1970s adopted the looks and attitude of working-class youth, and reflected this in his lyrics. A recurrent theme is his disgust for the average French people with petty bourgeois preoccupations and right-wing leanings (see beauf).
His music focuses on the disparity between classes, the abuse of political power, overbearing authority and disgust for the military, with rare glimpses of tenderness for his fellow humans, the planet earth, and art. His song Miss Maggie praised the kindness of women with the markedly ironical exception of Margaret Thatcher.
Renaud's later work is distinguished by love songs and songs he wrote for his daughter, family and friends. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaud_S%C3%A9chan [Nov 2005]
A Critical Introduction to the Works of the Singer-Songwriter Renaud
‘Une bouffée d’air frais et de subversion post
soixante-huitarde
dans la chanson française.’
In May 1968, at the age of sixteen, Renaud Séchan, who was to abandon school the following year, barricaded himself behind the gates of the Sorbonne. In the midst of the student protests, he spontaneously wrote his first song, Crève Salope, which was taken up by any student present in possession of a guitar. Six years later, after having travelled to different parts of France, worked in a bookshop and acted alongside Miou Miou and Coluche, Renaud once again took up his guitar and performed on the streets of Paris with his friend and accordionist, Michel Pons. In 1975 his first album Amoureux de Paname was released.
This thesis will provide a critical investigation of Renaud’s work, from 1975 onwards. It does not purport to be an exhaustive study, but will attempt to assess critically the importance of his œuvre and suggest what original qualities he has brought to the sphere of French chanson. Furthermore, it will identify areas in his work of particular interest and examine his songs in relation to a wider social and cultural context. --Kim Harrison, http://www.sharedsite.com/hlm-de-renaud/bibliotheque/etudiant/telechargement/kim_harrison_renaud_presentation_critique_oeuvre_these.rtf [Dec 2004]
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