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Michel Polnareff is one of the French music scene’s more unconventional figures. This talented singer/songwriter, who has spent his entire life swimming against the tide, has experienced a rollercoaster of ups and downs in the course of his long career. He has earnt a famous reputation for his wildly non-conformist lifestyle, but also made a name for himself with his legendary melodies.
Michel Polnareff was born in the Lot et Garonne region on 3 July 1944. His parents had fled to the French countryside during the war but returned to the capital shortly after Michel’s birth. Young Michel grew up in Paris in a very artistic environment. His father, Leib Polnareff, was a musician who worked with some of the top stars on the French music scene (including Edith Piaf and the Compagnons de la chanson) under his stage name Léo Poll. Michel’s Breton mother, Simone Lane, was a former dancer.
Michel was surrounded by music from an early age, his father introducing him to the classical composers while his mother, Simone, would play her collection of Gershwin and Cole Porter songs. Michel soon turned into something of a child prodigy, learning to play the piano at the tender age of 5 and going on to become an extremely talented young musician. Indeed, at 11 and a half years old, he won one of the top awards at the Paris Conservatoire. Young Michel also proved to be an extremely creative composer and one of his greatest passions during his teenage years was to write his own jazz orchestrations for famous classical pieces.
After passing his ‘baccalauréat’ at the age of 19, Michel went off to Montluçon for seven months to do his national service. Michel’s time in the French army proved most interesting - his national service consisted of playing the bass drum in his regiment’s band. On leaving the army he went on to work in an insurance agency then a bank. But the world of finance did not interest Michel in the slightest and in 1964 he renounced his financial career, preferring to earn his living busking with his guitar in Montmartre. His busking career actually proved quite successful, and it certainly gave him useful live experience performing his songs in front of an audience. In 1965 Michel entered a rock contest at the fashionable Locomotive club in Paris, and, much to his surprise, carried off the first prize - which consisted of the "Disco Revue" award and a recording contract with the renowned Paris record label Barclay. But Michel Polnareff, a spirited non-conformist even at this early stage of his career, refused to accept his prize.
Fortunately for French music fans Polnareff was given another chance to sign to a record label when his old schoolfriend Gérard Woog introduced him to Lucien Morisse, director of the famous Europe 1 radio station. Thanks to Morisse, who went on to become Polnareff’s manager, the singer was signed to the AZ record label with whom he recorded his first single "La poupée qui fait non". Polnareff, who throughout his career would remain interested in the latest music technology, set off to record his single in London (which offered better-equipped studios and more talented sound engineers than Paris in the 60’s). Polnareff soon began working with a number of well-known English musicians, even inviting Jimmy Page, the famous guitarist from Led Zeppelin, to record with him (something of a feat in itself !).
"La Poupée"
Released on 26 May 1966 "La poupée qui fait non" proved to be phenomenally successful, catapulting Michel Polnareff to fame almost overnight. Polnareff’s distinctive melodic style immediately marked him out from other French music stars of the same era. While French record production in the early 60’s remained dominated by the "Yéyé" movement (a soft style of French rock’n’roll), Polnareff’s catchy melodies were more in keeping with American hippie groups such as the Mamas and the Papas. Polnareff’s divergence from mainstream French style was never more in evidence than on his 1966 hit "Love Me Please Love Me". The song’s overtly romantic melody and famous piano intro was pure Polnareff.
Just a few months after he had been catapulted to the forefront of the French music scene with "La poupée qui fait non", Polnareff won the prestigious "Prix critique de la Rose d'Or d'Antibes". From this point on there was no stopping his lightning rise to fame with a string of hits including "Sous quelle étoile suis-je né?" and "L'oiseau de nuit" (1966), "Le rois des fourmis" and "Ame câline" (1967) and "Le Bal des lazes" (written by Pierre Delanoë, in 1968). Polnareff’s songs did not just rocket to the top of the French charts, they also proved enormously successful throughout Europe. Even the British music press, notorious for giving French musicians a hard time, showered Polnareff with rave reviews, hailing him as a major new talent. Like other major French stars of the day, Polnareff recorded versions of his songs in English, Spanish and Italian, which only served to increase the singer’s popularity outside his homeland. In the autumn of 1967 Polnareff was even presented with an award in Germany, after having been voted the most popular foreign artist of the year. Polnareff soon embarked upon a hectic touring schedule, playing dates across France. But in September 1967, just as he was all set to perform at the prestigious Paris music-hall L'Olympia, Polnareff called off his concert, claiming he was not sufficiently experienced to play at this major venue.
Scandal with "L'amour avec toi"
It was not long before the French media began to focus on the Polnareff phenomenon. However, French journalists appeared more interested in the singer’s outrageous stage costumes and ever-changing hairstyle, than in his songwriting talent. French society in the 60’s was still incredibly conservative and Michel Polnareff’s avant-garde performances and wild bachelor lifestyle, did not fit into notions of normal social behaviour. Unable to pigeon-hole Polnareff into any particular category, French journalists often turned the singer into a scapegoat, criticising his ‘scandalous’ behaviour. Polnareff ignored criticism of all kinds and continued doing exactly as he pleased, recording songs with explicit lyrics such as his 1966 hit "L'amour avec toi" (which was banned from being played on the nation’s airwaves before 10 o’clock in the evening).
Yet, despite being labelled as a provocative non-conformist, Polnareff remained extremely popular. Charles Trenet complimented Polnareff on his work and the famous French theatre director Jean-Louis Barrault also recognised Polnareff’s talent, inviting him to write the music for his production of "Rabelais" in 1968. Polnareff was more than happy to accept such an invitation, for he longed to devote more time to his composing work. Indeed his greatest dream was to write a hit musical like "West Side Story".
In 1968 Polnareff performed at the prestigious Olympia for the first time. Following his success at the famous Paris venue, the singer went on to record a whole new series of hits between 1989 and 1969 (including "Tous les bateaux" and the famous "Dans la maison vide", which the singer wrote in collaboration with Jean-Loup Dabadie). In1969 Polnareff was given the chance of writing his first film score, composing the music for François Reichenbach’s film "L'Indiscret".
Polnareff returned to the Olympia on 14 and 15 January 1970, then embarked upon another extensive tour. It was around this period that the singer adopted his most famous ‘look’, appearing on stage with his blond curls falling over a pair of dark glasses with dazzling white frames. These glasses, which were to form an indissociable part of Polnareff’s image from now on, provoked a series of strange rumours and suppositions. In fact, the reason for the glasses’ sudden appearance was quite simple - Polnareff began wearing them to protect his extremely short-sighted, delicate eyes. Yet the French media continued to criticise Polnareff for his extravagant appearance and unconventional social life. It was in response to this new wave of attacks in the media that Polnareff recorded his famous song "Je suis un homme" (I Am a Man) in 1970, hoping that this would put paid to the rumours about his sexuality. However, far from calming matters the song appeared only to cause Polnareff further problems. Indeed, the singer was attacked on stage in the middle of a concert in Périgueux in May of that year.
Polnareff gets the blues
Weary and depressed about the continuing attacks against him, Polnareff cancelled the rest of his tour. The singer also called off a mega-concert he had intended to perform in June at the Palais des Sports in Paris, where he would have played on stage surrounded by a full symphony orchestra. Polnareff’s depression deepened when on 11 September 1970 he received the news that his former manager, Lucien Morisse, had committed suicide.
Following the onset of a second major depression in January 1971, Polnareff booked into a hospital in the Paris region to undergo a special sleep treatment. The cure appeared to work for in May of that year Polnareff set off on an extensive tour accompanied by four Scandinavian musicians. The tour ended in September and the following month Polnareff finally got to play at the Palais des Sports, although this time it was merely in the role of guest pianist at Johnny Hallyday’s concert. (The following year Hallyday would join Polnareff on stage at the Olympia to perform a medley of old rock’n’roll classics). At the end of 1971, Polnareff turned his attention to his composing work once again, writing the soundtrack for Nadine Trintignant’s film "Ca n'arrive qu'aux autres". Polnareff also composed the music for "La Folie des grandeurs", Gérard Oury’s famous comedy starring Yves Montand and Louis de Funès.
Polnareff’s health was by now almost back to normal and the fact that the singer had taken up sport in his free time helped him maintain his mental equilibrium. Meanwhile, Polnareff continued his hectic touring and recording schedule, his perfectionist nature leading him to supervise each stage of the production process. In 1972 he also devoted a great deal of time and energy to song-writing, composing a series of brilliant new songs including "Holidays", "La mouche" and "On ira tous au paradis" (which Polnareff wrote in collaboration with Jean-Loup Dabadie).
Polnareff charged with indecency
In the 60’s Polnareff had enjoyed a lightning rise to fame in spite of attacks in the media, but the singer’s career in the 70’s was soon beset by greater problems. These began in the autumn of 1972 when Polnareff was preparing to stage his new show "Polnarévolution" at the Olympia (6 - 22 October 1972). A huge publicity campaign for the show was launched and 6,000 posters showing the singer cheekily baring his behind were plastered across billboards all over France. Not surprisingly, a new Polnareff scandal soon ensued and the singer ended up appearing in court on 8 December 1972 charged with "gross indecency". He was found guilty of the charge and fined 10 francs per poster. The media had a field day over Polnareff’s scandalous behaviour (and the notorious publicity poster consequently became a collector’s item !)
The show went on in spite of Polnareff’s famous court case and in October 1972 the singer appeared at the Olympia, accompanied by the group Dynastie Crisis. The concerts proved a huge success, thousands of fans greeting Polnareff’s arrival on stage with rapturous applause. At the end of 1972 Polnareff embarked upon a tour of Japan (a country where he was already a huge star). After performing his new show "Polnarêve" at the Olympia in March 1973, Polnareff set off on another extensive international tour, which took him from Polynesia, to North America via the Indian Ocean.
While Polnareff kept firm control over the artistic side of his career, he delegated responsibility for his financial affairs to a business man named Bernard Seneau (who handled the singer’s accounts from 1971 onwards). Polnareff was totally disinterested in the financial side of his career and put complete trust in Seneau. However, when the singer returned from his exhausting international tour he discovered that this trust had been seriously misplaced. During the singer’s absence in the summer of 73 Seneau had embezzled millions of francs from his bank account and disappeared. Polnareff soon found himself embroiled in a huge financial scandal, owing the tax authorities over a million francs. The singer’s response was immediate and drastic - he decided he would leave the country. After another brief spell in hospital (to recover from his mother’s death that same year) Polnareff booked a cabin on the luxury liner "France" and set sail for New York at the end of 1973. This was the beginning of the singer’s long exile from his homeland which continues to this day.
At the top of the billboard charts
After spending three months in New York, Polnareff moved to Los Angeles where he took time off his career to recover from the devastating events of 73. Enjoying his new-found anonymity in the United States, Polnareff settled down to a more peaceful lifestyle, getting involved in a number of new sports (including karate, body-building and squash).
It did not take Polnareff long to resume his singing career, however. Thanks to one of his close friends, the singer soon signed a new recording deal with the American label Atlantic and went into the studio to begin work on a new album. "Tibilli", Polnareff’s first album in exile was released in 1974, but it enjoyed only a limited success. The following year, however, Polnareff’s single "Jesus for Tonight" (taken from the singer’s new album, "USA", recorded almost entirely in English) shot straight into the prestigious Billboard charts at n°35.
Polnareff’s exile in the United States was to prove extremely advantageous for his musical career. The singer soon discovered that American studios offered far more advanced technology than French ones and it was not difficult to find talented American session musicians to work with either. Polnareff, who had long been fascinated by new recording techniques, was perfectly at home in California. Indeed, the French singer soon got into working with the latest computer technology (a domain which had scarcely started getting off the ground in France in the mid-70’s).
In 1975 Polnareff set off on another Japanese tour which, once again, proved a huge success. On 26 October the French radio station RTL organised a mega-concert for the singer in Belgium at the Forest-National in Brussels. (Polnareff was still unable to perform in France. Indeed, the singer would have been placed under immediate arrest the moment he set foot on French soil). RTL organised a special series of trains to ferry thousands of French fans to the Belgian concert but when the fans arrived they discovered that the lorries transporting the sound system had not got to the venue in time. As the audience stood around waiting in frustrated silence, Polnareff took to the stage to perform a brilliant improvised concert which met with rapturous applause from his fans.
Meanwhile Polnareff continued his composing work, writing the soundtrack for Lamont Johnson’s 1976 film "Lipstick" (which starred the famous American actress Margaux Hemingway). The theme tune from the movie went on to become a huge hit, heralding the arrival of the disco craze which would sweep the country in the late 70’s.
In 1977 Polnareff wrote his poignant "Lettre à France" (Letter to France), a song in which he expressed his overwhelming nostalgia for the country he ad been forced to flee. The following year the singer returned to France (for the first time in five years) to attend a court hearing concerning his tax fraud. Despite the fact that the judge declared Polnareff’s former accountant Bernard Seneau guilty of the fraud, the singer was still liable to pay over a million francs to the French tax authorities. Polnareff took advantage of his trip to France to promote his new album, humourously entitled "Coucou me revoilou" (Hi, I’m Back Again !). Yet in spite of the success of the singles "Lettre à France" and "Une simple Mélodie", the album failed to make any major impact on the French music scene.
In 1979 Polnareff set off to Japan, for the fourth and last time, scoring a huge hit with Japanese music fans once again.
Two years later Polnareff was to make a triumphant comeback with his 1981 album "Bulles" (which went on to sell almost 1 million copies). This very 80’s-sounding album, on which rhythm boxes and synthesizers predominated, produced a string of hit singles including "Tam Tam" and the famous "Radio". In spite of Polnareff’s enforced exile, the French public had never forgotten the singer. On the contrary, as his incredible album sales showed, Polnareff was still an extremely popular figure on the French music scene. In November 1981 Polnareff recorded a special concert for French television (which featured on his next album "Telé 82"). Meanwhile the singer’s problems with the French courts were gradually being sorted out, and he was able to return to France form time to time.
In 1984 Polnareff worked with the famous French director Gérard Oury once again, composing the soundtrack for his new comedy "La vengeance du serpent à plumes" (which starred the late great French comedian Coluche). The following year Polnareff went into the studio to record a new album entitled "Incognito". Despite the fact that this album did not equal the phenomenal success of "Bulles" it did spawn two hit singles, "Dans la rue" and "Viens te faire chahuter" (a song which was accompanied by a very Californian-style video). Encouraged by the appearance of this new album, the French media began announcing that Polnareff was going to stage a comeback concert in Paris in September 1985 but this eagerly hoped-for event never actually happened.
Royal Monceau
After the release of the album "Incognito" Polnareff kept an extremely low profile (apart from a new single "Goodbye Marylou" which was released in June 1989). Polnareff’s absence from the music scene provoked a flurry of rumours, some people claiming that he was desperately ill, others speculating that he had left the States and gone into exile in a top secret hideaway. In fact Polnareff had returned to France and moved to the provinces where he took a room above a small bistrot for a few months. Here he immediately set to work writing songs for a new album. Once his writing period had borne fruit Polnareff arrived in Paris, moving into a luxury suite at the Royal Monceau in September where he immediately installed a hi-tech recording studio. It was here in room 128 that Polnareff set to work recording his new album, "Kama Sutra", with the English producer Ben Rogan and a host of talented musicians including Mike Oldfield (of "Tubular Bells" fame) on guitar. Polnareff went on to stay at the Royal Monceau for over two years, during which time he lived as a virtual recluse. While keeping a low profile, the singer nevertheless spent a lot of time partying with his old friends and keeping up on what was happening on the French music scene. Polnareff also spent a great deal of time playing around with the countless electronic gadgets which filled his hotel room and accompanied him wherever he went.
Ignoring insistent requests from his record label CBS, Polnareff refused to get involved with any kind of promotional campaign for his new album. In fact no huge publicity campaign was needed. When "Kama Sutra" was released on 18 July 1990 it proved a phenomenal success with both the critics and the record-buying public. The album also spawned a whole string of hit singles including "LNAHO", "Toi et moi" and the title track "Kama Sutra", which was accompanied by a superb video of Polnareff shot in the corridors of the Royal Monceau. But the biggest hit from the album was "Goodbye Marylou" (released in 1989), which went on to become one of the most famous songs of Polnareff’s entire career. After more than two years in his luxury suite at the Royal Monceau, Polnareff moved just outside Paris living in a house in Chesnay, before moving on to Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche.
Meanwhile Polnareff’s eyesight had been steadily getting worse over the years and by the early 90’s the singer’s eye problems had become so serious that doctors warned him he ran the risk of losing his sight. After many months of anxious hesitation, Polnareff finally decided to undergo a cataract operation and in October 1994, just three months after the singer’s 50th birthday, Doctor Alain Hagège managed to restore his sight completely. Polnareff was advised to relax after the operation but his convalescence was complicated by the fact that packs of paparazzi dogged the singer’s every move, hoping to catch a picture of Polnareff’s radically altered appearance.
Sunset Boulevard
In 1995 Polnareff returned to the United States, moving into a luxury suite at the prestigious Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles. Surrounded by banks and banks of computer screens and a vast array of mobile phones, Polnareff began organising his comeback concert, an event eagerly awaited by thousands of fans as well as by the French and American media. Polnareff made his legendary comeback on Sunset Boulevard, performing his first concert in several years on 27 September 1995 at the famous Roxy. Accompanied by a host of talented American musicians (Alex Acuna of Weather Report fame on percussion, Sam Sims on bass and Dick Smith on guitar) Polnareff proved that he had lost nothing of his magic stage touch. He performed reworked version of all his greatest hits and, conceding to a special request from his record company Sony, Polnareff even included his new instrumental "Lee Neddy".
Polnareff’s next album was surrounded by a blaze of publicity, the media running endless articles on the French star and splashing his picture across the cover of hundreds of magazines. Following a hectic round of public appearances and an exclusive interview on the French TV channel Canal+, Polnareff released his long-awaited new album in June 1996. This album, heralded by a brand new single (a reggae remix of "Tout pour ma chérie") proved that Polnareff was definitely back to stay. The success of his comeback concert and the phenomenal sales of his new album, only served to increase the singer’s immense popularity in his homeland.
Polnareff continued to flit in and out of the French news in the final years of the 20th century - largely featuring in gossip and showbiz magazines as he inaugurated a luxury boutique in Los Angeles or paraded another new girlfriend on his arm! The singer/songwriter also added a series of new professional credits to his name, writing an anthem for the first edition of the "Modern Pentathlon" staged in Monaco in 2001. Later that same year Polnareff also added his signature to a public protest letter demanding that the length of singers' copyright (currently fixed at 50 years) should be brought in line with songwriters' copyright (which extends over 70 years).
Music fans are now eagerly awaiting Polnareff’s next studio album and hoping that their idol will soon be embarking on another tour. Meanwhile Michel Polnareff appears to be taking great delight in shrouding himself in a total veil of mystery, keeping the media guessing exactly what he will be up to next. Whatever happens, this exceptionally talented singer/songwriter can be proud of the fact that his long career and his incredible life story have already transformed him into a living legend on the French music scene.
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