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The contemporary Belgian music scene is a small world and one which, sadly, has grown even smaller with the premature death of Pierre Rapsat. When the singing star passed away in April 2002 Belgium lost one of its most sincere and best-loved artists. Rapsat enjoyed popular success in his homeland in the course of his thirty-year career, but failed to break through onto the neighbouring French music scene. However, his talent for mixing rock sounds with the poetry of the French language is absolutely undeniable.
Born in Ixelles, a commune of Brussels on 28 May 1948, Pierre Rapsat began life as Pierre Raepsaet. His Flemish father, who was born in Dottignies, a town near the French border, had spent two years of his life in a concentration camp at Dachau. His Spanish mother came from a family who had been forced to flee their homeland during the civil war. Moving home several times after their son's birth, Pierre's family finally settled in Verviers, a town in the province of Liège, where his father found work. Pierre, who moved to Verviers at the age of 10, spent his formative years in the textile town and remained deeply attached to it throughout his career.
As a teenager growing up in Belgium, Pierre had two main sources of musical nourishment – British pop and rock (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones etc.) and French 'chanson' Léo Ferré, Georges Brassens). He bought his first guitar at the age of 13 and began writing his own compositions soon afterwards. By the age of 18 Pierre had decided on his vocation – from now on he was to invest all his time and effort into his dream of becoming a songwriter and composer.
Pierre – known as Pierrot to his closest friends – launched his career by forming groups to play at local dances before he crossed paths with Éric Van Hulse. Van Hulse, working under the pseudonym Eric Vion, had already started writing his own lyrics and he and Pierre soon teamed up together with the intention of recording a first single. Paul Simul was invited on board as the group's singer and the trio recorded "Bye Bye Dave" in a basic 8-track studio in Antwerp. Meanwhile, Pierre continued to compose music for other groups including the Tenderfood Kids (a group in which he also played bass).
In 1970 Pierre went on to form his own group, Laurélie. But the band released just one album together (on the Barclay label) before going their separate ways. Undeterred by this early split, Pierre went on to join Brussels-based outfit Jenghiz Khan for two years, but then new doors and musical horizons began to open for him. Jenghiz Khan recorded a successful debut album, "Welt Cult", in the early 70s but the band split shortly afterwards. Wearying of 'artistic differences' caused by collective work, Pierre decided it was time to launch his own solo career – and stepped behind the mike for the first time as a singer. Meanwhile, the budding artist was forced to earn a daily living through a series of odd jobs, working as a disc-jockey and waiter. Over the next eighteen months Pierre worked solidly on his demo tapes – and ended up signing a seven-year recording contract with Warner.
Solo success
Pierre went into the studio in 1973 to record his debut solo album, "New York". Unusually for the time, both an English and a French version of the album were released – and if this was a novel concept for those days, recording rock songs in French was even more brave and innovative! Pierre Rapsat's gamble paid off, however, and critics gave "New York" rave reviews, praising his "pioneering, visionary" approach. Following in the footsteps of Michel Jonasz and Julien Clerc, Rapsat developed his own mature melodious rock style, packing his songs with meaningful lyrics. He also had a good ear when it came to picking the best studio musicians. (His team of Patrice Tison, Pascal Arroyo, François Bréant and Albert Marcœur all went on to work with French music star Bernard Lavilliers).
Pierre Rapsat returned to the forefront of the music scene the following year with a second album entitled "Musicolor". It was during this period that he penned "L’Enfant du 92ème", one of his most famous songs which he originally gave to Jeanne-Marie Sens - and then re-recorded himself on his third album "Je suis moi". "Je suis moi" (I Am Me) proved to be something of a turning-point in Rapsat's career, fusing as it did the inventiveness and creativity of Anglo-Saxon rock and poetic French 'chanson' lyrics. It was on this album that Rapsat gave up using English altogether and began singing solely in French. This meant he was able to give free rein to his talent for wordplay and his passion for juggling with the different sounds of French words.
Pierre Rapsat went on to represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest in the Hague in 1976. He came 8th with the song "Judy and Co". Hardly an historic achievement, but his performance took him one step further towards developing his definitive half-rock, half-chanson style.
From this point on Rapsat embarked upon a hectic recording schedule, releasing "Je suis moi" (1977), "Les Artistes d'eau douce", "l'Enfant du 92e", "Gémeaux" (1978), "1980" (in 1979!) and "Donner tout son cœur" (1980). The singer was also increasingly busy on the road. In fact, Rapsat spent most of the late 70s touring incessantly and honed his live act to such a point that he brought the house down wherever he played. At this stage of his career Rapsat used the same band of musicians on the road as he did in the studio – i.e. the group Transfert made up of Christian Willems (drums), Jean-François Maljean (keyboards), Christian Wagemans (bass) and Christian Boissart (guitar).
Being something of a pioneer on the Belgian music scene, Rapsat was also one of the first recording artists to become interested in video. And in 1980 he teamed up with Michel Perrin, a producer on Belgian radio and television, to create a special "Bizarostyl" show around his songs. This video extravaganza won a special mention at the Montreux television festival later that year.
Rapsat returned to the recording studio in 1981 to work on a new album entitled "Un coup de rouge, un coup de blues." For the first time in his career the singer appeared to be totally satisfied with the result. And, cresting a new wave of inspiration, he immediately returned to the studio to work on his next album, "Lâchez les fauves". Preceded by an unforgettable single - "Passager de la nuit" - "Lâchez les fauves" was released in 1982 and warmly received by the Belgian public. Indeed, the album marked the beginning of Rapsat's reign on the Belgian music scene. And when "Cover Girl, quel est ton nom?" was released later that year it shot straight to the top of the charts, earning the singer a gold disc. Following this success, Rapsat embarked upon a new tour, playing sell out concerts across the country. Bowing to public demand, tour organisers were forced to double - and in some cases even triple - the number of dates!
Rapsat returned to the recording studio in 1984 to record a new album entitled "Ligne claire." The songs on the album were intended as his own personal tribute to the world of cartoons – and "Elle m'appelle" and "Animal" were soon rocketing up the French charts. Following the release of "Ligne claire," Rapsat embarked upon a major tour of Belgium then performed his first series of concerts in Quebec. Rapsat also continued with his groundbreaking video work, shooting clips for several of his new songs including "Illusions". "When I record an album," the singer once admitted, "what really interests me is the production side of things – it's as if I were working on a film. My songs are carefully written, rehearsed, corrected and then prepared with the help of the sound engineer. Production work starts really early on in the process and everything is coloured with great precision."
Two years after "Ligne claire", Rapsat returned to the forefront of the Francophone music scene with a tenth album entitled "J'aime ça". (This album featured a new series of hits - "Où es-tu Julian?", "Noï" and "Ecris ton nom"). Meanwhile, Rapsat's popularity continued to grow and on 24 May 1986 the singer brought the house down at the "Forest National" (a big stadium venue in Brussels), playing to a capacity audience of 8,000. This was the first time a Belgian artist singing in French had marked such a triumph at the "Forest National". And on this occasion Rapsat reinforced his normal backing group bringing new musicians such as guitarists Jean-Pierre Froidbise and Thierry Plas on board.
Rapsat's subsequent albums were to prove less of a commercial success, however. The singer's 1988 album, "Haut les mains", was something of a transitional work (although it did feature the unforgettable "Soleil noir", which went on to become one of Rapsat's live classics).
After working away in the Studio Gallery in Brussels for several months, Rapsat returned to the forefront of the Francophone music scene in 1990 with "J'ouvre les yeux". After this he began preparing a tour with a new team of musicians. In fact, his backing group was completely overhauled. (Drummer Christian Willems was the only musician to be kept on from Rapsat's previous tour bands). Rapsat also began working with a new production outfit, "Team for Action", at this point. Meanwhile, on the recording front "J'ai besoin de nous" - a compilation featuring 17 of his greatest hits and a special bonus track - was released in 1991.
This marked the beginning of Rapsat's collaboration with producer and musical arranger Eric Melaerts which continued on his next album, "Brasero". "Brasero" found Rapsat returning to a much more pared-down style of production. Working in close collaboration with Melaerts and studio mixer Dominique Blanc-Francard, the singer determined to act his age, assuming the first signs of wrinkles and the first grey hairs. This desire to adopt a more mature public persona and musical approach led Rapsat to return to playing in smaller venues where he could have a direct contact with his audience. Interestingly enough, his next tour was called "Face à Face" (Face to Face) and included dates at the Beursschouwburg in Brussels and Le Trocadéro in Liège. Once again, Rapsat changed the line-up of his backing group for his live shows, welcoming guitarist Francis Charlier and keyboard-player Xavier Tribolet on board.
The "Francofolies" Years
In 1994 Belgium got its own version of the famous "Francofolies" music festival pioneered in the French town of La Rochelle. The Belgian version of the festival was held in Spa - a few miles away from Rapsat's home in Verviers – and the singer threw himself into "Francofolies" from the start, helping get the Belgian version of the festival on its feet and attract an impressive turn-out of fans. Rapsat not only went on to become a core member of the "Francofolies" organising committee, deciding which acts would appear, he also took to the stage as a much-loved performer. One of the most memorable occasions was when Rapsat took to the stage with Jeff Bodart and Jean-Luc Fonck from the group Sttellla for a crowd-rousing version of "Animal" – and followed this by duetting with French star Laurent Voulzy on an unforgettable live version of "Le Soleil donne".
Rapsat returned to the music news just before the summer of '95 thanks to a catchy reggae song with an ecological message. "Blue note dans l’univers" marked the beginning of his collaboration with Jean Tranchant (a sound engineer who had already made a name for himself working with the likes of Laurent Voulzy, Alain Souchon and Belgian singer Maurane). Tranchant would assure the production work on Rapsat's next album too – an album on which, for the first time in years, the singer did not write all the songs himself. Instead, Rapsat invited a number of prestigious guest songwriters such as Jacques Duvall and Jean-Luc Fonck on board. Despite the superb production and all-star songwriting team, this 14th (!) album (entitled simply "Pierre Rapsat") left the singer with the impression that he had not taken his ideas and eclectic fusion of styles as far as he might have.
Meanwhile, Pierre Rapsat was already bubbling over with ideas for a new project: the recording of a live album. This took place at the "Francofolies" festival in Spa in 1996 and the resulting album was entitled "Passager d'un soir". Rapsat's live album, which featured explosive, powerfully rhythmic versions of his most popular songs went down a storm with fans. And, hot on the heels of success, he went on to bring out "Un dimanche en automne" (One summer in autumn), a song he wrote the day after the famous "Marche blanche" or white procession which found 300,000 Belgians taking to the streets to express their sadness and anger at the crimes committed by paedophile killer Marc Dutroux.
The album "Passager d'un soir" marked the end of an era in Rapsat's career. For many years the singer had been toying with the idea of presenting a totally new kind of show – and this appeared to be the ideal moment! The singer's next performance, entitled "Pierre Rapsat seul en scène… enfin presque" ("Pierre Rapsat, almost alone on stage"), was a virtual one-man show in which Rapsat looked back over his more-than-two-decade-long career through anecdotes, jokey references, lesser-known songs and new and unexpected versions of old favourites. If Rapsat had been worried that a more intimate show would not go down so well with fans, audiences' enthusiastic reception of his virtual one-man show convinced him he did not need explosive rhythms and major decibels to please the crowd. Taking to the stage with just one musician his multi-instrument-playing "alter ego", Didier Dessers, Rapsat delighted audiences night after night.
Meanwhile, Belgium was rocked by another major scandal when the Agusta & Dassault affair broke, revealing high-level corruption amongst Belgian ministers and government officials. An enquiry into the "Brabant killers" later that year was to expose fresh examples of corruption and dubious dealings at state level. These events would inspire Pierre Rapsat to put pen to paper and react with his song "Mensonge", denouncing political liars who broke their oath to serve the nation and the people.
Rapsat's new album, "Volte-face", released in 1998, found the singer continuing his collaboration with Didier Dessers. Boosted by the success of three top-selling singles - Pile ou Face, J’attends le soleil and Si les Femmes – "Volte-face" went down a storm with its unexpected sound. Rapsat certainly appeared to have achieved the aim he had recently confided in press interviews of "playing the 'surprise' card and turning up where people least expect me!"
Encouraged by this new success, Rapsat sat down to write eleven new songs. The result was a simply superb album entitled "Dazibao". This album appeared to strike a real chord with music fans who rushed out to buy it in droves, earning Rapsat a gold disc for his Belgian sales. "Dazibao" also marked a major comeback for Rapsat in France – and deservedly so, this mature new work found the singer displaying a new-found sensitivity and artistry on songs such as the bluesy "Tout le monde veut y croire" and the touching "Jardin secret".
In April 2001 Rapsat turned his attention to his live work again, giving a special one-off show at the Cirque Royal in Brussels. Taking to the stage with the string orchestra, "L’Ensemble des musiques nouvelles", Rapsat recorded a new live album on this occasion (which included a special bonus track in the form of a duet recorded in the studio with Lio). The album, released a year later in 2002, was named after one of Rapsat's most famous songs: "Tous les rêves sont en nous".
By rights, Pierre Rapsat should have been able to sit back and enjoy the success of his new live album, but just as he climbed this new pinnacle of his career he was struck down by cancer. The singer was forced to cancel his concert at the Spa Francofolies in July 2001 and, much to his regret, he also had to pull out of his planned guest appearance at Maurane's concert at the Olympia in Paris in September. A number of other cancellations followed as Rapsat underwent radical chemotherapy treatment. The singer managed to soldier back on stage at the end of February 2002, however, performing several concerts in his hometown and following this with one show in Ath on March 1st.
But Pierre Rapsat finally lost his battle against cancer. He died at home in Verviers just before dawn on Sunday April 20th, leaving a 20-year-old son, Thomas, to mourn him. Given Rapsat's talent, popularity and sincerity – not to mention the impressive length of his career – his death sent shockwaves through the Belgian nation. Tributes began pouring in hours after the announcement of his death and Belgian radio and television stations immediately altered schedules to pay their own homage. A special 'condolences page' was set up on the Internet and the day after Rapsat's demise all the major newspapers devoted at least one full page to his obituary. Rapsat's funeral also proved to be a major event in the Belgian music world, with numerous celebrities including Adamo, Les frères Taloche, Claude Barzotti, François Pirette and Plastic Bertrand turning out to pay their last respects.
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