France Gall

French singer (1947–2018)

For the self-titled albums, see France Gall (1973 album) and France Gall (1976 album).

France Gall

Gall in 1968

Born|

Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall

(1947-10-09)9 October 1947

Paris, French Fourth Republic

Died| 7 January 2018(2018-01-07) (aged 70)

Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

Burial place| Montmartre Cemetery, Paris, France
Occupation| Singer
Spouse|

Michel Berger

(m. 1976; died 1992)​

Children| 2, including Raphaël Hamburger
Father| Robert Gall
Relatives|

* Paul Berthier (grandfather)
* Jacques Berthier (uncle)

Musical career
Genres|

* Yé-yé
* pop
* synth-pop

Works| France Gall discography
Years active| 1963–1997
Labels|

* WEA France
* Philips France

Musical artist

Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall (9 October 1947 – 7 January 2018), known professionally as France Gall, was a French yé-yé singer. In 1965, at the age of 17, she won the tenth edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", representing Luxembourg. Later in her career, she worked with singer-songwriter Michel Berger, whom she married in 1976. Her most successful singles include "Résiste", "Ella, elle l'a" and "Évidemment".

## Early life

[edit]

Gall was born in Paris on 9 October 1947, to a highly musical family. Her father, the lyricist Robert Gall, wrote songs for Édith Piaf and Charles Aznavour. Her mother, Cécile Berthier, was a singer as well and the daughter of Paul Berthier, the co-founder of Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois. The only daughter of her family, France had two brothers: Patrice and Philippe. In spring 1963, Robert Gall encouraged his daughter to record songs and send the demos to the music publisher Denis Bourgeois. That July, she auditioned for Bourgeois at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, after which Bourgeois wanted to sign her immediately. France was subsequently signed to Philips.

At the time, Bourgeois was working for the label as artistic director for Serge Gainsbourg and assumed this role for Gall as well. He encouraged her to record four tracks with the French jazz musician, arranger and composer Alain Goraguer.

## Career

[edit]

### Early career

[edit]

The first airplay of Gall's first single "Ne sois pas si bête" ("Don't Be So Stupid") occurred on her 16th birthday. It was released in November and became a hit, selling 200,000 copies.[1] Gainsbourg, who had released several albums and written songs for singers including Michèle Arnaud and Juliette Gréco, was asked by Bourgeois to write songs for Gall. Gainsbourg's "N'écoute pas les idoles" ("Don't listen to the idols") was Gall's second single; it reached the top of the French charts in March 1964 and stayed there for three weeks.[citation needed]

At the same time, Gall made her live debut, opening for Sacha Distel in Belgium. She teamed with Distel's business manager Maurice Tézé, a lyricist, which allowed her to create an original repertoire, unlike the majority of her contemporaries who sang adaptations of Anglophone hits. Elaborate orchestrations by Alain Goraguer blended styles, permitting her to navigate among jazz, children's songs, and other genres. Examples of this mixed-genre style included "Jazz à gogo" (by Alain Goraguer and Robert Gall) and "Mes premières vraies vacances" (by Jacques Datin and Maurice Vidalin). Gall and Gainsbourg's association produced many popular singles, continuing through the summer of 1964 with the hit song "Laisse tomber les filles" ("Leave the girls alone") followed by "Christiansen" by Datin-Vidalin. Gainsbourg also secretly recorded Gall's laughter to use on "Pauvre Lola [fr]", a track on his 1964 album Gainsbourg Percussions.[2]

### Eurovision

[edit]

Eurovision Song Contest 1965 – Serge Gainsbourg, France Gall, and Mario Del Monaco France Gall in 1966

Gall was then selected to represent Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965. From the 10 songs proposed to her, she chose Gainsbourg's "Poupée de cire, poupée de son".[3] On 20 March 1965, Gainsbourg, Gall, and Goraguer attended the finals of the song contest in Naples, where the song was "allegedly booed in rehearsals for straying so far from the sort of song usually heard in the Contest at this point."[4]

Although the delivery during the live show may not have been Gall's strongest performance — one critic wrote that Gall's performance was "far from perfect,"[5] another noted that her voice was out of tune and her complexion pale,[6] and when Gall called Claude François, her lover at the time, immediately after the performance, he shouted at her, "You sang off key. You were terrible!"[7] — the song impressed the jury and it took the Grand Prix.[3] Success at Eurovision ensured that Gall became even better known outside Europe and she recorded "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" in French, German, Italian and Japanese. There appears to be no English version released by France Gall, although there was an English cover version by the English 1960s star Twinkle.[8] The song also was used in Ningyocho station jingles.[9]

### Summer tour

[edit]

In 1965, Gall toured France for several months with Le Grand Cirque de France (The Great Circus of France), a combination of radio show and live circus. Her singles continued to chart successfully, including the Gainsbourg-penned "Attends ou va-t'en" ("Wait for me, or go away") and "Nous ne sommes pas des anges" ("We are not angels"). She also had a hit with the song "L'Amérique" ("America") by Eddy Marnay and Guy Magenta.[citation needed]

Stewart Mason states this early period of Gall's career, culminating in the Eurovision win:

> [A]lthough many dismissed Gall as a Francophone Lesley Gore, making fluffy and ultra-commercial pop hits with little substance, Gall's hits from this era stand up far better than most. Only Françoise Hardy was consistently making records up to these standards during this era. Though Gall's high, breathy voice was admittedly somewhat limited, she made the most of it. Even dopey hits like "Sacré Charlemagne", a duet with a pair of puppets who were the stars of a children's show on French TV, have an infectious, zesty charm; meatier tunes, like the sultry jazz-tinged ballad "Pense a Moi" and the brilliant rocker "Laisse tomber les filles", were as good as any single produced in the U.S. or Great Britain at the time.[10]

### 1966

[edit]

In 1966, her children's song "Les Leçons particulières" ("Private lessons") caused notoriety and displeasure; the same occurred when Jean-Christophe Averty choreographed a troupe of men on all fours to accompany her children's song, "J'ai retrouvé mon chien" ("I've found my dog"), on his television programme Les Raisins verts.[11]

Also in 1966, Gall released another successful song written by Gainsbourg titled "Les sucettes" (Lollipops). Although the song was ostensibly about a young girl who likes aniseed-flavoured lollipops, plays-on-words in the lyrics implied another meaning, that of oral sex.[12] Gall was 18 at the time the song was released, and she maintained that she was ignorant of the song's double entendres.[12] She said she had sung "with an innocence of which I'm proud" and later said that this humiliation caused her to avoid going out in public after being "betrayed by the adults around me".[12] She then refused to sing the song and vowed never to work with Gainsbourg again.[12][13] Gall left for a tour in Japan shortly after the song was released and it has been stated that she felt mistrust for producers until meeting Michel Berger.[12]

### Psychedelic era and transition to adulthood

[edit]

At the beginning of 1967, Gall sang "La Petite" in a duet with Maurice Biraud, which describes a young girl coveted by a friend of her father. The controversy over this performance overshadowed her release that year of Gainsbourg's poetic Néfertiti. Her next single was recorded with the orchestration of the English composer David Whitaker. New authors Frank Thomas and Jean-Michel Rivat [fr] were brought on board. They wrote "Bébé requin" ("Baby Shark"), a song which was a success for Gall at the end of 1967, her last one for six years.[citation needed]

This was followed by "Teenie Weenie Boppie", an anti-LSD song by Gainsbourg, which has been described as "a bizarre tune about a deadly LSD trip that somehow involves Mick Jagger".[10] Gainsbourg then sang an anti-capital punishment song with Gall, "Qui se souvient de Caryl Chessman?" ("Who remembers Caryl Chessman?"), about a prisoner on death row.[14]

Stewart Mason wrote about this period: "The psychedelic era found Gall, under Gainsbourg's guidance, singing increasingly strange songs ... set to some of Gainsbourg's most out-there arrangements."[10]

Her next record "C'est toi que je veux", again with Whitaker, also failed to make an impact. With this string of recordings in the late 1960s, none of them an unmitigated success, and making the transition from teenage to adult performer, Gall faced some challenges in this period through the early 1970s. Mason wrote,

> No longer a teenager, but without a new persona to redefine herself with, (and without the help of Gainsbourg, whose time was taken by his own albums and those of his wife Jane Birkin), Gall floundered both commercially and artistically. A label change from Philips to BASF in 1972 didn't help matters ..."[10]

### German-language career

[edit]

France Gall (1968)

Although struggling in her home country, Gall regularly recorded in Germany from 1966 to 1972, in particular with the composer and orchestrator Werner Müller. She had a successful German career with songs by Horst Buchholz and Giorgio Moroder: "Love, l'amour und Liebe" (1967), "Hippie, hippie" (1968), "Ich liebe dich, so wie du bist" ("I love you the way you are") (1969) and "Mein Herz kann man nicht kaufen" ("My heart is not for sale") (1970). Her other German hits included "Haifischbaby (Bébé requin)", "Die schönste Musik, die es gibt" ("The most beautiful music there is"/"Music to Watch Girls By"), "Was will ein Boy" ("What does a boy want?") (1967), "Ja, ich sing" ("Yes, I sing"), "A Banda (Zwei Apfelsinen im Haar)" ("Two oranges in my hair"), "Der Computer Nr. 3" (1968), "Ein bisschen Goethe, ein bisschen Bonaparte" ("A bit of Goethe, a bit of Bonaparte"), "I like Mozart" (1969), "Dann schon eher der Piano player" ("I prefer the piano player") (1970), "Ali Baba und die 40 Räuber" ("Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves") (1971), "Komm mit mir nach Bahia, Miguel" ("Come with me to Bahia, Miguel") (1972).

### Post-Gainsbourg career: New label, new beginnings

[edit]

Gall had several other releases in France in 1968, none of which aroused any great interest. At the end of 1968, on reaching the age of 21, Gall separated from Denis Bourgeois and spread her wings upon the expiration of her contract with Philips. She moved to the record label La Compagnie in 1969, with whom her father Robert signed a contract,[15] where she made a number of recordings, but did not succeed in finding a coherent style with Norbert Saada as artistic director.

She went her own way in 1969 with two adaptations: one Italian and the other British: "L'Orage/La Pioggia)" ("The Storm") which she sang with Gigliola Cinquetti at the 1969 Sanremo Music Festival, and "Les Années folles" ("Gentlemen Please"), created by Barbara Ruskin.[15] Ruskin had actually released it as a single herself that year on the President label.[16] Gall's version made the Ultratop 50 Singles chart in Belgium that year.[17] She also had it released in Spanish as "Los años locos".[18][19]

Her songs "Des gens bien élevés", "La Manille et la révolution", "Zozoï" and "Éléphants" were largely ignored. La Compagnie went bankrupt within three years of its creation, co-founder and singer Hugues Aufray's blaming the failure entirely on Norbert Saada.[15]

The early 1970s continued to be a barren period for Gall. Although she was the first artist to be recorded in France for Atlantic Records in 1971, her singles "C'est cela l'amour" (1971) and "Chasse neige" (1971), faltered in the charts. In 1972, Gall, for the last time, recorded songs by Gainsbourg, "Frankenstein" and "Les Petits ballons", but these also failed to chart. The results of her collaboration with Jean-Michel Rivat as artistic director, "La Quatrieme chose" (1972), "Par plaisir" and "Plus haut que moi" (1973) all failed to meet with commercial success. From the 1970s, Gall started regularly visiting Senegal. She bought a hideaway there on the island of N'Gor, close to Dakar in 1990.

### Collaboration with Michel Berger

[edit]

Gall was enthralled by Michel Berger's music when she heard his song "Attends-moi" ("Wait for Me") one day in 1973. During a later radio broadcast, she asked him for his opinion on songs which her then producer wanted her to record. Although he was disconcerted by the quality of the songs, there would be no question of collaboration.

In 1974, after she sang vocals on the song "Mon fils rira du rock'n'roll" on Berger's new album, Gall's publisher asked him, at her behest, to write for her. Gall had already made her mind up that "It will be him and nobody else".[20] In 1974, "La Déclaration d'amour" was to be the first in a long line of hits which marked a turning point in Gall's career. Meanwhile, the two artists had fallen in love and married on 22 June 1976, the only marriage for both.[21] After they married, Gall only sang songs written by Berger until his death in 1992.[22]

In 1978, pushed by Berger, she again trod the boards of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where she had auditioned 15 years earlier, starring in a show titled Made in France. The most novel aspect of this show was that, except for the Brazilian drag act Les Étoiles, the members of the orchestra, choir and the dance troupe were exclusively female.[23] In this show, France sang "Maria vai com as outras" the original, Brazilian (Portuguese) version of "Plus haut que moi".[citation needed]

In 1979, Gall took part in a show which remains memorable for many. Composed by Michel Berger and written by the Québécois author Luc Plamondon, the rock opera Starmania enjoyed a success not usual for musicals in France. The show played for one month at the Palais des congrès de Paris. In 1982, Gall rehearsed in the Palais des Sports of Paris to present Tout pour la musique, an innovative spectacle marked by its use of electronic music. The songs "Résiste" and "Il jouait du piano debout" ("He played the piano standing") quickly became French pop standards.[citation needed]

### 1980s and humanitarian projects

[edit]

In 1985, Gall joined Chanteurs Sans Frontières, on the initiative of Valérie Lagrange. She also worked for S.O.S Éthiopie for the benefit of Ethiopia under the aegis of Renaud. At the same time, she gave a successful series of concerts lasting three weeks at the new venue Le Zénith in Paris, where she performed new songs like "Débranche" ("Unplug"), "Hong-Kong Star", and gave solid acoustic performances of "Plus haut", "Diego libre dans sa tête" and "Cézanne peint".

In 1985 and 1986, Gall worked with Berger, Richard Berry, Daniel Balavoine and Lionel Rotcage [fr] for the benefit of Action Écoles, an organisation of schoolboy volunteers which collects essential food products in France for African countries where famine and drought prevail. On 14 January 1986, during a trip to Africa, Balavoine died in a helicopter crash. In 1987, the song "Évidemment", written by Berger and sung by Gall, was a moving homage to their lost friend. The song appeared on the album Babacar.

On the same album, the song "Babacar" was about a child Gall and Berger had thought about adopting from Dakar, Senegal after meeting a mother who had begged Gall to take her child.[12] Instead of adopting the child Berger and Gall decided to help financially by writing a song about the dilemma and donating the proceeds of the song to the child. The costs covered an apartment for the family and paid study costs for both the mother and child.[12]

Gall topped the pop charts in many countries in 1987 and 1988 with another song from the Babacar album, "Ella, elle l'a" ("Ella's got it"), a Berger tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. Following the release of Babacar, Gall launched a show produced by Berger. Opening at Le Zénith, the successful production toured throughout Europe, and gave rise to the live album Le Tour de France '88.

### 1990s and later

[edit]

Gall took a break from singing in the early 1990s and did not record any more for several years. She did make an album titled Double Jeu with Berger, released 12 June 1992.[24] Following the release of Double Jeu, Gall and Berger announced a series of concerts in various Parisian venues; this project was nearly cancelled by Berger's death from a heart attack on 2 August 1992. Although Gall was strongly affected by Berger's death, she wanted to complete the project they had planned. She decided to commit to the performances at Bercy and promoted the songs that she and Berger had created together.

She performed at the Bercy in September.[citation needed] All the songs she performed were written by Michel Berger from Double Jeu, and from their discographies. A year later, she performed in a show in the Salle Pleyel in Paris featuring new musicians. The repertoire featured songs written exclusively by Berger, but Gall included her own versions of songs originally performed by others.

In 1996, Gall asked Jean-Luc Godard to produce the video clip of her song "Plus haut", taken from her album France. Godard initially refused, but later agreed, and directed a dreamy, picturesque video titled "Plus Oh!" near his residence in Rolle, Switzerland. It was given its first and only airing (due to copyright issues) on 20 April 1996 on the French television channel M6.

After a year in Los Angeles, she released her album France in 1996. The same year, she headlined at the Paris Olympia.[citation needed] In 1997, she announced her retirement and recorded an unplugged show for French television showcasing songs from her final album.

## Personal life

[edit]

Gall married her collaborator and songwriter Michel Berger on 22 June 1976.[21] They had two children together, Pauline and Raphaël.[25]

Her daughter Pauline was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis soon after she was born. She and Berger focused their hopes on the progress of medical research and to keep details of Pauline's condition a secret from the public. She entered into a pact with her husband to alternate their professional projects to take care of their daughter in the hope that a cure would be found.

Michel Berger died of a heart attack in 1992 at age 44.[21] In April 1993, Gall was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was successfully treated.[citation needed]

Pauline died in December 1997.[22] Following the death of her daughter, Gall made only occasional public appearances.[22]

She was a patron of the French charity Cœurs de Femmes and a regular poker player until her death.[26]

## Film career

[edit]

After a TV film directed by Jean-Christophe Averty and dedicated to the songs of Gall was distributed in the United States in 1965, Gall was sought by Walt Disney to appear as Alice in a musical film version of Alice in Wonderland, after having already made  Alice into a cartoon in 1951. Although Gall had insisted she did not want to become involved in film work, this was the only project which appealed to her. The project was cancelled after Disney's death in 1966.[citation needed]

In 1966, Gall appeared in the television film Viva Morandi, made in the same psychoanalytical mould as the (1965) Federico Fellini film Giulietta degli Spiriti (Juliet of the Spirits). She played La Grâce alongside Christine Lebail, who played La Pureté, both singing "Les Sucettes" in a segment which was prominently labelled "Fantasy" in a clear reference to the song's sexual undertones. [citation needed]

In 1993, she considered appearing on screen for a cinematographic collaboration with her best friend, screenwriter Telsche Boorman. This planned project was never completed due to Boorman's death in 1996.

In January 2010, Gall was portrayed by Sara Forestier[27] in a feature film released in France, Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque), based on the graphic novel by writer-director Joann Sfar.

## Death and legacy

[edit]

Tomb of France Gall

As a farewell to her career, France Gall par France Gall, a documentary movie was shot in 2001, and millions watched the documentary when it was broadcast on French television that year. She staged and appeared in the 2007 France 2 documentary Tous pour la musique, marking the 15th anniversary of Michel Berger's death.[citation needed]

A long-term breast cancer survivor, Gall died, aged 70, of an infection after a two-year battle with a cancer of undisclosed primary origin, at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 7 January 2018.[28]

She was buried with her husband and daughter on 20 Avenue Rachel (division 29) at Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.[citation needed]

On 9 October 2023, Google celebrated what would have been her 76th birthday, five and a half years after her death, with a Google Doodle.[29]

## Discography

[edit]

Main article: France Gall discography

### Albums

[edit]

* N'écoute pas les idoles (March 1964)
* France Gall (Mes premières vraies vacances) (August 1964)
* Sacré Charlemagne (December 1964)
* Poupée de cire, poupée de son (April 1965)
* Baby pop (October 1966)
* Les Sucettes (November 1966)
* 1968 (January 1968)
* France Gall (1973)
* Cinq minutes d'amour (1976)
* France Gall (6 January 1976)
* Dancing Disco (27 April 1977)
* France Gall Live (live album, 9 November 1978)
* Starmania (various artists) (16 October 1978)
* Paris, France (19 May 1980)
* Tout pour la musique (10 December 1981)
* Palais des Sports (live album, 4 November 1982)
* Débranche! (2 April 1984)
* France Gall au Zénith (live album, 4 February 1985)
* Babacar (19 February 1987)
* Le Tour de France 88 (live album, 7 November 1988)
* Double jeu (with Michel Berger, 12 June 1992)
* Simple je – Débranchée à Bercy (live album, 29 October 1993)
* Simple je – Rebranchée à Bercy (live album, 28 January 1994)
* Pleyel (live album, concert recorded in 1994, published in December 2005)
* France (29 March 1996)
* Concert public Olympia / Concert acoustique M6 (live album, Concert public recorded at Olympia in 1996 and Concert acoustique recorded as a Concert privé special in 1997, released 24 April 1997)
* Best of France Gall (compilation, 15 June 2004)
* Évidemment (compilation, 7 October 2004)

### Singles

[edit]

* 9 October 1963 — "Ne sois pas si bête", adaptation by Pierre Delanoë of "Stand a little closer", original words and music by Jack Wolf and Maurice "Bugs" Bower
* 1964 — "N'écoute pas les idoles", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1964 — "Jazz à gogo", words by Robert Gall music by Alain Goraguer
* 1964 — "Laisse tomber les filles", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1964 — "Sacré Charlemagne", words by Robert Gall and music by Georges Liferman
* 1965 — "Poupée de cire, poupée de son", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1965 — "Attends ou va-t'en", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1965 — "Nous ne sommes pas des anges", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1965 — "Baby pop", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1966 — "Les Sucettes", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1967 — "Néfertiti", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1967 — "Bébé requin", words by Jean-Michel Rivat and Frank Thomas, music by Joe Dassin
* 1967 — "Toi que je veux", words by Jean-Michel Rivat and Frank Thomas, music by Joe Dassin
* 1968 — "Le Temps du tempo", words by Robert Gall and music by Alain Goraguer
* 1968 — "Y'a du soleil à vendre", words by Robert Gall and music by Hubert Giraud
* 1968 — "24 / 36", words by Jean-Michel Rivat and Frank Thomas, music by Joe Dassin
* 1969 — "Homme tout petit", words by Jean-Michel Rivat and Frank Thomas, music by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre
* 1969 — "Les Années folles", adaptation by Boris Bergman of the British song "Gentlemen Please", original words and music by Barbara Ruskin
* 1969 — "Baci, baci, baci", adaptation by Eddy Marnay from Italian lyrics by Sergio Bardotti and Claudio Tallino and music by Franco and Giorgio Bracardi
* 1970 — "Zozoï", words by Robert Gall and music by Nelson Angelo
* 1970 — "Les Éléphants", words by Jean Schmitt and music by Jean Géral
* 1971 — "C'est cela l'amour", words by Jacques Lanzmann and music by Paul-Jean Borowsky
* 1971 — "Chasse neige", words by Étienne Roda-Gil and music by Julien Clerc
* 1972 — "Frankenstein", words and music by Gainsbourg
* 1972 — "5 minutes d'amour", words by Jean-Michel Rivat and Frank Thomas, music by Roland Vincent
* 1973 — "Plus haut que moi", adaptation by Yves Dessca and Jean-Michel Rivat of "Maria vai com as outras" by Toquinho and Vinicius de Moraes
* 1973 — "Par Plaisir", words by Yves Dessca and Jean-Michel Rivat, music by Roland Vincent
* May 1974 — "La Déclaration d'amour", words and music by Michel Hamburger (Michel Berger)
* October 1974 — "Mais, aime la", words and music by Berger
* 1975 — "Comment lui dire", words and music by Berger
* April 1976 — "Ce soir je ne dors pas"
* June 1976 — " Ça balance pas mal à Paris" (duet with Michel Berger), words and music by Berger
* May 1977 — "Musique", words and music by Berger
* October 1977 — "Si, maman si"
* January 1978 — "Le meilleur de soi-même"
* March 1978 — "Viens je t'emmène", words and music by Berger
* January 1979 — "Besoin d'amour", words by Luc Plamondon and music by Berger
* June 1980 — "Il jouait du piano debout", words and music by Berger
* October 1980 — "Bébé, comme la vie", words and music by Berger
* October 1980 — "Donner pour donner" (duet with Elton John), words by Michel Berger and Bernie Taupin, music by Michel Berger — Archives INA : Reportage Antenne 2, 1981
* 1981 — "Tout pour la musique", words and music by Berger
* 1981 — "Résiste", words and music by Berger
* May 1981 — "Amor También", words and music by Berger
* 6 April 1984 — "Débranche", words and music by Berger
* 17 September 1984 — "Hong Kong Star", words and music by Berger — Archives INA : Extrait de "Hong Kong Star", Antenne 2, 1984 FR No. 6
* 4 February 1984 — "Calypso", words and music by Berger
* 20 May 1984 — "Cézanne peint", words and music by Berger
* 3 April 1987 — "Babacar", words and music by Berger FR No. 11 GER No. 14
* 24 August 1987 — "Ella, elle l'a", words and music by Berger FR No. 2 GER No. 1 NL No. 38
* 7 March 1988 — "Évidemment", words and music by Berger
* 12 September 1988 — "Papillon de nuit", words and music by Berger
* 20 March 1989 — "La chanson d'Azima"
* 29 May 1992 — "Laissez passez les rêves", words and music by Berger, duet with Michel Berger
* 12 October 1992 — "Superficiel et léger"
* 15 January 1993 — "Les élans du coeur"
* 6 May 1993 — "Mademoiselle Chang" (live)
* 5 November 1993 — "Si, maman si" (live)
* December 1993 — "Il jouait du piano debout" (live)
* 2 February 1994 — "La négresse blonde" (live)
* 15 March 1994 — "Paradis Blanc" (live)
* 14 November 1994 — "Les princes des villes"
* 15 March 1996 — "Plus haut"
* 5 November 1996 — "Privée d'amour"
* 25 October 1996 — "Message personnel"
* 14 February 1997 — "Résiste" (remix)
* 15 May 1997 — "Attends ou va-t'en" (live)
* 2004 — "Zozoï" — Reissue of 1970 single
* 20 August 2004 — "La seule chose qui compte"
* 24 October 2024 — “La prisonnière” (recorded in 1974)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Made in France: France Gall's Baby Pop. RPM International. 2012. p. 1.
2. ^ France Gall par France Gall, autoportrait télévisé (France 3, 2001), quoted in the French Wikipedia article about France Gall. Original quote: "C'est quelqu'un que j'avais du plaisir à voir parce que je l'admirais et j'aimais ce qu'il écrivait. Et j'aimais bien sa timidité, son élégance et son éducation. C'était très agréable comme relation. [...] J'étais très impressionnée que cet homme travaille pour moi et s'intéresse à moi ..."
3. ^ a b France GALL, Serge GAINSBOURG & Alain GORAGUER (28 March 1965). à propos du Grand Prix de l'Eurovision. ORTF/Institut National de l'Audiovisuel.
4. ^ Jamie McCloughlin, A Bluffer's Guide to Eurovision. 13 July 2009. Accessed 20 February 2012. Archived 21 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ All Kind of Everything: The Irish Eurovision Web Site. Luxembourg 1965 – "Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son" Archived 16 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
6. ^ Martine Bordeneuve. Jukebox Magazine, No. 20, July–August 1988. Quoted in French Wikipedia article Poupée de cire, poupée de son, access 20 February 2012. Original text: « Le 20 mars, devant 150 millions de téléspectateurs, la voix tremblante et le teint pâle, elle interprète sa chanson. Plébiscitée par le jury à la majorité absolue, elle se trouve propulsée à la première place. ... »
7. ^ Gilles Verlant. Gainsbourg (biography). Albin Michel, Paris, 2000; ISBN 2-226-12060-2. Quoted in French Wikipedia article Poupée de cire, poupée de son. The complete quote: « Pire que ça : Cloclo, son fiancé secret, au lieu de la féliciter, se met à hurler dans le combiné « Tu as chanté faux, tu étais nulle... »
8. ^ Twinkle album: Golden Lights. A Lonely Singing Doll (ASIN B0019BF9Z0).
9. ^ "Japanese jingles". YouTube.
10. ^ a b c d Mason, Stewart. France Gall biography, all Music Guide, accessed 20 February 2012.
11. ^ Video: France Gall. "J'ai Retrouvé Mon Chien" (1966); viewed 20 February 2012.
12. ^ a b c d e f g "SPOTLIGHT THIS WEEK: France Gall", The New European, 18 January 2018
13. ^ "France Gall, French singer who shot to fame in 1960s, dies". 7 January 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
14. ^ Bouvier, Y.-F.; S. Vincendet (2005). L'Integral et cætera. Éditions Bartillat. ISBN 2-84100-341-8.
15. ^ a b c Pierre Pernez, France Gall, comme une histoire d'amour (chapter "Un Nouveau Contrat"). Publisher: Cité ISBN 9782824606736
16. ^ Spectropop - Spectropop presents BARBARA RUSKIN, An Illustrated U.K. Discography
17. ^ Ultratop - France Gall – Les années folles
18. ^ Popsike - FRANCE GALL - Los años locos + 1 SINGLE ESPAGNE 1970 SPAIN P/S CHANTE ESPAGNOL
19. ^ Cover Info - Gentlemen, Please (1969) Barbara Ruskin
20. ^ "Ce sera lui ou ce sera personne", France Gall by France Gall, documentary France 3
21. ^ a b c "Michel Berger : l'éternel jeune homme qui marqua à jamais le patrimoine de la chanson française" Archived 15 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Senior Actu, 16 November 2007 (in French)
22. ^ a b c "France 3 – Programmes, vidéos et replay – Pluzz France 3". France3.fr. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
23. ^ France GALL (9 April 1978). France GALL sur son concert au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. ORTF/Institut National de l'Audiovisuel.
24. ^ "Les petites histoires des plus grandes chansons de France Gall", Le Dauphine, 8 January 2018 (in French)
25. ^ Knoops, Roy (8 January 2018). "Eurovision 2024 Luxembourg: France 3 to air special documentary about France Gall". Eurovision News. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
26. ^ "France Gall face à nos lecteurs, J'avais besoin de retrouver le public". Le Parisien (in French). 5 November 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
27. ^ "Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) - Full Cast & Crew". IMDb.
28. ^ "Mort de France Gall, une chanteuse qui donnait tout pour la musique", Le figaro, 7 January 2018 (in French)
\- Guyard, Bertrand (7 January 2018). "La chanteuse France Gall est morte". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 7 January 2018.
\- Maev Kennedy, "France Gall: French singer who inspired My Way dies age 70", The Guardian, 8 January 2018.
29. ^ "France Gall's 76th Birthday".

## Further reading

[edit]

* Colard, Grégoire; Morel, Alain (2009). France Gall: le destin d'une star courage biographie (in French). Paris: J'ai lu. ISBN 978-2-290-01474-5.
* Jelot-Blanc, Jean-Jacques (2022). France Gall, 1947-2018: itinéraire d'une enfant gâtée (in French). Rosières-en-Haye: Camion blanc. ISBN 9782378483210.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to France Gall.

* Clips from INA archives
* Official website managed by WEA Music (offline)
* France Gall biography on RFI (offline)
* A Tribute to Gainsbourg: France Gall (offline)
* French forum of France Gall & Michel Berger

Awards and achievements

Preceded by

Gigliola Cinquetti
with "Non ho l'età"

|  Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
1965 | Succeeded by

Udo Jürgens
with "Merci, Chérie"

Preceded by

Hugues Aufray

|  Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest
1965 | Succeeded by

Michèle Torr

* v
* t
* e

France Gall

* Discography

Studio albums|

* N'écoute pas les idoles (10-inch)
* Mes premières vraies vacances
* Sacré Charlemagne (10-inch)
* Poupée de cire, poupée de son
* Baby pop
* FG (Les Sucettes)
* 1968
* France Gall (1973)
* France Gall (1976)
* Dancing Disco
* Paris, France
* Tout pour la musique
* Débranche !
* Babacar
* Double jeu (with Michel Berger)
* France

Live albums|

* Simple je – Débranchée à Bercy

Singles|

* "Laisse tomber les filles"
* "Sacré Charlemagne"
* "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"
* "Les sucettes"
* "Résiste"
* "Babacar"
* "Ella, elle l'a"
* "Évidemment"

Other songs|

* "Diego libre dans sa tête"
* "Message personnel"

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Eurovision Song Contest winners

Countries

| 1950s|

* Switzerland
* Netherlands
* France
* Netherlands

|

1960s|

* France
* Luxembourg
* France
* Denmark
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Austria
* United Kingdom
* Spain
* France
* Netherlands
* Spain
* United Kingdom

1970s|

* Ireland
* Monaco
* Luxembourg
* Luxembourg
* Sweden
* Netherlands
* United Kingdom
* France
* Israel
* Israel

1980s|

* Ireland
* United Kingdom
* Germany
* Luxembourg
* Sweden
* Norway
* Belgium
* Ireland
* Switzerland
* Yugoslavia

1990s|

* Italy
* Sweden
* Ireland
* Ireland
* Ireland
* Norway
* Ireland
* United Kingdom
* Israel
* Sweden

2000s|

* Denmark
* Estonia
* Latvia
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* Greece
* Finland
* Serbia
* Russia
* Norway

2010s|

* Germany
* Azerbaijan
* Sweden
* Denmark
* Austria
* Sweden
* Ukraine
* Portugal
* Israel
* Netherlands

2020s|

* Italy
* Ukraine
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Austria

Performers

| 1950s|

* Lys Assia
* Corry Brokken
* André Claveau
* Teddy Scholten

|

1960s|

* Jacqueline Boyer
* Jean-Claude Pascal
* Isabelle Aubret
* Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann
* Gigliola Cinquetti
* France Gall
* Udo Jürgens
* Sandie Shaw
* Massiel
* Frida Boccara
* Lenny Kuhr
* Lulu
* Salomé

1970s|

* Dana
* Séverine
* Vicky Leandros
* Anne-Marie David
* ABBA
* Teach-In
* Brotherhood of Man
* Marie Myriam
* Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta
* Milk and Honey

1980s|

* Johnny Logan
* Bucks Fizz
* Nicole
* Corinne Hermès
* Herreys
* Bobbysocks!
* Sandra Kim
* Johnny Logan
* Celine Dion
* Riva

1990s|

* Toto Cutugno
* Carola
* Linda Martin
* Niamh Kavanagh
* Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan
* Secret Garden
* Eimear Quinn
* Katrina and the Waves
* Dana International
* Charlotte Nilsson

2000s|

* Olsen Brothers
* Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL
* Marie N
* Sertab Erener
* Ruslana
* Helena Paparizou
* Lordi
* Marija Šerifović
* Dima Bilan
* Alexander Rybak

2010s|

* Lena
* Ell and Nikki
* Loreen
* Emmelie de Forest
* Conchita Wurst
* Måns Zelmerlöw
* Jamala
* Salvador Sobral
* Netta
* Duncan Laurence

2020s|

* Måneskin
* Kalush Orchestra
* Loreen
* Nemo
* JJ

Songs

| 1950s|

* "Refrain"
* "Net als toen"
* "Dors, mon amour"
* "'n Beetje"

|

1960s|

* "Tom Pillibi"
* "Nous les amoureux"
* "Un premier amour"
* "Dansevise"
* "Non ho l'età"
* "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"
* "Merci, Chérie"
* "Puppet on a String"
* "La, la, la"
* "Boom Bang-a-Bang"
* "Un jour, un enfant"
* "De troubadour"
* "Vivo cantando"

1970s|

* "All Kinds of Everything"
* "Un banc, un arbre, une rue"
* "Après toi"
* "Tu te reconnaîtras"
* "Waterloo"
* "Ding-a-dong"
* "Save Your Kisses for Me"
* "L'Oiseau et l'Enfant"
* "A-Ba-Ni-Bi"
* "Hallelujah"

1980s|

* "What's Another Year"
* "Making Your Mind Up"
* "Ein bißchen Frieden"
* "Si la vie est cadeau"
* "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley"
* "La det swinge"
* "J'aime la vie"
* "Hold Me Now"
* "Ne partez pas sans moi"
* "Rock Me"

1990s|

* "Insieme: 1992"
* "Fångad av en stormvind"
* "Why Me?"
* "In Your Eyes"
* "Rock 'n' Roll Kids"
* "Nocturne"
* "The Voice"
* "Love Shine a Light"
* "Diva"
* "Take Me to Your Heaven"

2000s|

* "Fly on the Wings of Love"
* "Everybody"
* "I Wanna"
* "Everyway That I Can"
* "Wild Dances"
* "My Number One"
* "Hard Rock Hallelujah"
* "Molitva"
* "Believe"
* "Fairytale"

2010s|

* "Satellite"
* "Running Scared"
* "Euphoria"
* "Only Teardrops"
* "Rise Like a Phoenix"
* "Heroes"
* "1944"
* "Amar pelos dois"
* "Toy"
* "Arcade"

2020s|

* "Zitti e buoni"
* "Stefania"
* "Tattoo"
* "The Code"
* "Wasted Love"

Songwriters

| 1950s|

* Géo Voumard / Émile Gardaz
* Guus Jansen / Willy van Hemert
* Hubert Giraud / Pierre Delanoë
* Dick Schallies / Willy van Hemert

|

1960s|

* André Popp / Pierre Cour
* Jacques Datin / Maurice Vidalin
* Claude-Henri Vic / Roland Valande
* Otto Francker / Sejr Volmer-Sørensen
* Nicola Salerno / Mario Panzeri
* Serge Gainsbourg
* Udo Jürgens / Udo Jürgens, Thomas Hörbiger
* Bill Martin, Phil Coulter
* Manuel de la Calva, Ramón Arcusa
* David Hartsema / Lenny Kuhr
* Alan Moorhouse / Peter Warne
* María José de Cerato / Aniano Alcalde
* Emil Stern / Eddy Marnay

1970s|

* Derry Lindsay / Jackie Smith
* Jean-Pierre Bourtayre / Yves Dessca
* Mario Panas / Klaus Munro / Yves Dessca
* Claude Morgan / Vline Buggy
* Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus / Stig Anderson
* Dick Bakker / Will Luikinga / Eddy Ouwens
* Tony Hiller / Lee Sheriden / Martin Lee
* Jean-Paul Cara / Joe Gracy
* Nurit Hirsh / Ehud Manor
* Kobi Oshrat / Shimrit Orr [he]

1980s|

* Shay Healy
* Andy Hill / John Danter
* Ralph Siegel / Bernd Meinunger
* Jean-Pierre Millers / Alain Garcia
* Torgny Söderberg / Britt Lindeborg
* Rolf Løvland
* Jean Paul Furnémon / Angelo Crisci / Rosario Marino Atria
* Johnny Logan
* Nella Martinetti, Atilla Şereftuğ
* Rajko Dujmić / Stevo Cvikić

1990s|

* Toto Cutugno
* Stephan Berg
* Johnny Logan
* Jimmy Walsh
* Brendan Graham
* Rolf Løvland / Petter Skavland
* Brendan Graham
* Kimberley Rew
* Svika Pick / Yoav Ginai [he]
* Lars Diedricson / Gert Lengstrand [sv] / Marcos Ubeda

2000s|

* Jørgen Olsen
* Ivar Must / Maian-Anna Kärmas
* Marija Naumova / Marats Samauskis
* Demir Demirkan / Sertab Erener
* Ruslana Lyzhychko / Oleksandr Ksenofontov
* Christos Dantis / Natalia Germanou
* Mr Lordi
* Vladimir Graić / Saša Milošević Mare
* Dima Bilan / Jim Beanz
* Alexander Rybak

2010s|

* Julie Frost / John Gordon [da]
* Stefan Örn / Sandra Bjurman / Iain James Farquharson
* Thomas G:son / Peter Boström
* Lise Cabble / Julia Fabrin Jakobsen / Thomas Stengaard
* Charlie Mason / Joey Patulka / Ali Zuckwoski / Julian Maas
* Anton Hård af Segerstad / Joy Deb / Linnea Deb
* Jamala
* Luísa Sobral
* Doron Medalie / Stav Beger
* Duncan Laurence / Joel Sjöö / Wouter Hardy / Will Knox

2020s|

* Damiano David / Ethan Torchio / Thomas Raggi / Victoria De Angelis
* Ihor Didenchuk / Ivan Klimenko / Oleh Psiuk / Tymofii Muzychuk / Vitalii Duzhyk
* Jimmy Thörnfeldt / Jimmy Jansson / Loreen / Moa "Cazzi Opeia" Carlebecker / Peter Boström / Thomas G:son
* Benjamin Alasu / Lasse Midtsian Nymann / Linda Dale / Nemo Mettler
* Johannes Pietsch / Teodora Špirić / Thomas Thurner

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

Represented years|

* 1958
* 1965
* 1968
* 1973
* 1974
* 1976
* 1980
* 1982
* 1987
* 1988
* 1998
* 2000
* 2003
* 2005

Represented countries|

* Denmark
* Germany
* Greece
* Ireland
* Israel
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* United Kingdom

Represented entries|

| Advanced to the second round|

* Italy 1958
* Sweden 1974
* United Kingdom 1976
* Ireland 1987
* Greece 2005

|

Eliminated in the first round|

* Luxembourg 1965
* United Kingdom 1968
* Spain 1973
* Ireland 1980
* Germany 1982
* Switzerland 1988
* Israel 1998
* Denmark 2000
* Turkey 2003

Represented artists|

| Advanced to the second round|

* ABBA
* Brotherhood of Man
* Johnny Logan
* Domenico Modugno
* Helena Paparizou

|

Eliminated in the first round|

* Dana International
* Céline Dion
* Sertab Erener
* France Gall
* Mocedades
* Johnny Logan
* Olsen Brothers
* Nicole
* Cliff Richard

Represented song|

| Advanced to the second round|

* "Hold Me Now"
* "My Number One"
* "Nel blu, dipinto di blu"
* "Save Your Kisses for Me"
* "Waterloo"

|

Eliminated in the first round|

* "Ein bißchen Frieden"
* "Congratulations"
* "Diva"
* "Eres tú"
* "Everyway That I Can"
* "Fly on the Wings of Love"
* "Ne partez pas sans moi"
* "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"
* "What's Another Year"

* v
* t
* e

Eurovision Song Contest 1965

Countries|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Ireland
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Portugal
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* Yugoslavia

Artists|

* Conchita Bautista
* Birgit Brüel
* France Gall
* Udo Jürgens
* Kathy Kirby
* Viktor Klimenko
* Guy Mardel
* Lize Marke
* Butch Moore
* Marjorie Noël
* Simone de Oliveira
* Bobby Solo
* Kirsti Sparboe
* Conny Vandenbos
* Vice Vukov
* Ulla Wiesner
* Ingvar Wixell
* Yovanna

Songs|

* "Absent Friend"
* "Als het weer lente is"
* "Aurinko laskee länteen"
* "Čežnja"
* "For din skyld"
* "I Belong"
* "Karusell"
* "N'avoue jamais"
* "Non, à jamais sans toi"
* "Paradies, wo bist du?"
* "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"
* "¡Qué bueno, qué bueno!"
* "Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüßen"
* "Se piangi, se ridi"
* "Sol de inverno"
* "'t Is genoeg"
* "Va dire à l'amour"
* "Walking the Streets in the Rain"

* v
* t
* e

Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest

Participation|

* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 2024
* 2025

Artists|

* Michèle Arnaud
* Hugues Aufray
* Baccara
* Anne-Marie B
* Chris Baldo
* Solange Berry
* Sarah Bray
* Sophie Carle
* Céline Carzo
* Anne-Marie David
* Danièle Dupré
* Lara Fabian
* Camillo Felgen
* France Gall
* Sophie Garel
* Géraldine
* Corinne Hermès
* Kontinent
* Sherisse Laurence
* Vicky Leandros
* Margo
* Jeane Manson
* Jürgen Marcus
* Monique Melsen
* Modern Times
* Nana Mouskouri
* Franck Olivier
* Park Café
* Jean-Claude Pascal
* Plastic Bertrand
* Chris Roberts
* Malcolm Roberts
* Romuald
* Ireen Sheer
* Diane Solomon
* Sophie and Magaly
* Svetlana
* Tali
* Laura Thorn
* Michèle Torr
* Marion Welter
* David Alexandre Winter

Songs|

* "100% d'amour"
* "À force de prier"
* "Les Amants de minuit"
* "L'Amour de ma vie"
* "L'amour est bleu"
* "Amour, amour"
* "Amours mortes (tant de peine)"
* "Après toi"
* "Un baiser volé"
* "Bye Bye I Love You"
* "Catherine"
* "Ce soir je t'attendais"
* "C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique"
* "Chansons pour ceux qui s'aiment"
* "Children, Kinder, Enfants"
* "Cours après le temps"
* "Croire"
* "Dès que le printemps revient"
* "Donne-moi une chance"
* "Fighter"
* "Frère Jacques"
* "Un grand amour"
* "J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux"
* "Je suis tombé du ciel"
* "Monsieur"
* "Ne crois pas"
* "Nous les amoureux"
* "Nous vivrons d'amour"
* "Papa Pingouin"
* "Parlez-vous français ?"
* "Petit bonhomme"
* "Pomme, pomme, pomme"
* "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"
* "La poupée monte le son"
* "Quand je te rêve"
* "Si la vie est cadeau"
* "So laang we's du do bast"
* "Sou fräi"
* "Toi"
* "Tu te reconnaîtras"

Note: Italics indicate an entry in a future contest.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Israel
* Catalonia

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

People|

* DDB

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC

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