CLAUDE FRANCOIS. This Wednesday, July 27, W9 broadcasts the documentary called “Claude François, the last secrets”, from 9:10 p.m., with which we return to the death of the singer.
[Mis à jour le 27 juillet 2022 à 20h49] Claude François, the last secrets : this is the promise of the documentary broadcast this Wednesday, July 27, on W9, from 9:10 p.m. For nearly two hours, viewers will be able to (re)discover the life and career of the artist with 60 million albums sold, who died accidentally at the age of 39, in Paris, on March 11, 1978. The film, directed by Olivier Beguin and presented by Jérôme Anthony, traces the rise of a hit machine, but also of a “singular man, haunted by death, obsessed with perfection.” We also come back to the tragedy of the death of the singer, of an electrocution in his bathroom.
Because Claude François, the last secrets, begins on March 10, 1978, during the very last appearance of the artist before his disappearance. We are in Switzerland and Claude François is performing on the balcony of a chalet, wearing a red sweater and singing a Franco-English version of the song The unloved. During this sequence, a detail had caused many concerns: Claude François seems worried, uncomfortable, turned off and does not smile. “I think the fear of death, maybe he felt it”, comments the former claudette, Prisca Ligeron in the documentary.
According to journalist Jean-Luc Geneste, who participates in this documentary, because of his oriental origins, Claude François “was very sensitive to the signs” of death, which would have haunted him at the end of his life, especially in dreams. Especially in Switzerland, where, according to his parents, the devil lived. The singer therefore leaves the country to join France in a hurry. The next day, Claude François is found dead in his bathtub in his Parisian apartment.
Claude Francois on W9
This documentary, made up of archive images, also includes several testimonies from people who met Claude François, such as the biographer François Diwo, the journalist Jean-Luc Geneste, the singer’s former dresser, Sylvie Mathurin, the conductor Slim Pezin, the press officer Fabien Lecoeuvre or the claudette Prisca Ligeron. We also find Sheila, Jean-Marie Périer, Stone, Gérard Louvin, or Eric Jean-Jean.
The documentary retraces the career of Claude François, from his beginnings in the 1960s until his death in 1978. From his greatest hits to his dark side, passing through his most significant concerts, his children (hidden or not) , his relationships and his controversial penchant for (young) women, Claude François, the last secretsoffers viewers a comprehensive overview of a complex artist.
Short biography of Claude François
Who would have thought that the young Claude François, born on February 1, 1939 in Egypt, would become a legend of French song? During World War II, the François family was expelled from Egypt. Claude François then joined France and began his career as a singer. Nicknamed Cloclo, the singer found success with Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful!. He is known for his titles This year, Sunny Monday, Magnolias for Ever, Alexandria Alexandra or As per usual. He was electrocuted on March 11, 1978.
Origins and childhood
The popular French singer Claude François, nicknamed Cloclo, was born on February 1, 1939 in Egypt, in Ismaïla. His father, Aimé François, married an Italian, Lucia. The couple have two children: Claude and Marie-Josée. Coming from a well-to-do family, he experienced a few carefree years in his childhood, during which he spent his time listening to the previews of records on Radio le Caire.
Very quickly, the Second World War rumbled and changed the destiny of the François family. In 1956, they were expelled from Egypt, like many other families, and it was under beatings, spitting and stone throwing that they left this country which no longer wanted them. Arrived in France, they try to find accommodation in Monaco, then in Nice. There, they experience a period of poverty that will mark Claude François throughout his life.
His singing debut
After working in a bank to the delight of his father, Claude François naturally turned to music by taking lessons in various instruments and singing. His career as a singer began in the sixties in Paris. He is a hit with the cover of Bob Azzam, Mustafa in Arabic. In 1961, he went to Paris on the advice of Brigitte Bardot and Sacha Distel. After many difficulties, he manages to impose himself in this world in full boiling. He finally signed his first contract in 1962, and found success with Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful!. The spiral of glory is launched and with it, a questioning of Claude François on his image and on the control he must have over his career.
The hits follow one another, the tours also. Nothing can resist this young man from a good family who capsizes the hearts of girls in need of an idol. In 1966, he appeared with his famous dancers: the Claudettes. The disco period is in full swing, and the sexy outfits of her new “companions” seduce an increasingly large audience. It’s definitely the title As per usualrenamed My Way by Frank Sinatra and repeated more than 500 times, which establishes the notoriety of Claude François.
In 1971, the singer recorded several titles in the United States. Five years later, he leaves This year. From 1969 until his death in 1978, his success only grew and he chained hits like The phone is crying, Magnolias for ever Where Alexandria, Alexandra.
The “Claudettes”
The “Claudettes” are the dancers of Claude François. In 1966, Michel Bourdais, a filmmaker, suggested that he put on a show with dancers. In December of the same year, the singer performed on the Olympia stage and, for the first time, four young women accompanied him. In total, between 1966 and 1978, around thirty “Claudettes” performed on stage alongside him.
His couple with France Gall
In 1964, Claude François, then married to dancer Janet Wollacott, saw a rather tumultuous love affair with the singer France Gall, who was only 17 years old. This relationship, hidden to maintain the singer’s reputation as a seducer, ended in 1967. This separation inspired the singer to write the words of As per usualwhich is a worldwide success, especially with its English version My Way.
Claude François and the women
Seducer, unfaithful and jealous, Claude François connects the conquests. On November 5, 1960, he married Janet Wollacott, the only woman he married. The couple separated in 1967. After his romance with France Gall, Claude François met on tour Annie Philippe, known for her title Platform ticket. After many conquests, he made Isabelle Forêt his companion and the mother of his children. They separated in 1972, before meeting Sofia Kiukkonen, a 19-year-old Finnish model.
The Moulin de Dannemois
The Moulin de Dannemois is an old mill located in the village of Dannemois in Essonne. Claude François lived there for 14 years, from 1964 to 1978. After a start to his career with dazzling success, the singer who lives in Paris in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, is looking for a country house to live there with his family. In 1972, his weekends in the sun inspired him with the title Sunny Monday. The Moulin de Dannemois is, today, a museum where his gold records, his stage costumes, photos and personal objects are exhibited…
His son, Claude François Junior
From his union with Isabelle Forêt, Claude François Junior was born on July 8, 1968. A second boy was born on November 15, 1969, Marc François. For six years, until 1975, the singer concealed the existence of his second son. He explains that the objective is to protect him from the media. Several testimonies tell that the singer would have hidden his son to protect his career, by not giving an image of a tidy man.
The hidden daughter of Claude François
In January 1998, the magazine Here is reveals the existence of a hidden daughter of Claude François, Julie Bocquet. On May 15, 1977, Julie Bocquet was born under X and was adopted at the age of two months. She is said to be the result of an affair between the singer and a teenager aged around 14, even if she made Claude François believe that she was of age. Thanks to a cigarette butt and a DNA test, doubts about his father are removed. She is indeed the daughter of Claude François.
The death of Claude Francois
Claude François died on March 11, 1978 at his home on Boulevard Exelmans, in Paris. A shock disappearance which had triggered an earthquake in France and given rise to many rumors about the circumstances of the death of the artist. But then what really happened in the 16th arrondissement of Paris on this famous March 11, 1978? In 2018, Inspector Michel Pleiber, called to the scene of the tragedy to investigate the death of Claude François, put an end to the many rumors circulating about this disappearance in the columns of the Parisian. Claude François died electrocuted in his bath, after trying to repair a wall lamp.
“We found an almost straight hematoma on the right shoulder, which very clearly indicated a fall. This fall made him violently hit the edge of the bathtub. For me, there is no possible doubt: he had stood up to straighten the wall lamp. There was plenty of water around the tub. And the sconce was peeling off the wall and hanging down. He slipped his hand behind the sconce and touched the electrical wires. He died by electrocution as confirmed by the medical examiner and the duty inspector of the neighborhood police station”, explains the former police officer, aged 27 at the time. year.
The death of the singer is announced the same day at 4 p.m. The fans are in shock and the “Claudettes”, orphans. Claude François is embalmed and dressed in a midnight blue velvet suit, before being buried in the Dannemois cemetery, near Paris.
Tributes to Claude Francois
On March 11, 2000, on the 22nd anniversary of his death, a place Claude François was inaugurated in Paris, at the foot of his former home and in 2015, a commemorative plaque was added there. In 2008, artists paid tribute to him by covering his songs in an album entitled In other words. In 2016, on the album My WayMr. Pokora takes over several successes of the singer Claude François.