Nicolas Peyrac
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Peyrac is a French musician, writer and photographer.
, $2, together with his brothers and parents, both of whom were physicians. As a youngster, not partial to the advance of rock 'n' roll
, he had a passion for Ferré
and Brel
. When his parents divorced in the early 1960s, he went to live with his mother in New York, allowing him to broaden his musical horizon and discover American music. While studying at the Lycée français
, he learned to play the guitar. After returning to France to live with his father, he entered a TV talent show but was unsuccessful. Refusing to let him live the life of a "vagabond", his parents pressured him into studying medicine.
s for artists like Alice Dona, Hervé Vilard and Gilbert Bécaud
. The latter introduced him to producer Patrick Legrand (brother of composer Michel Legrand
), to whom he showed some lyrics he had written. This started his career as a songwriter, writing for artists like Marie Laforêt
and Gérard Lenorman
. Soon after he signed a contract with Pathé-Marconi
.
In 1974 Jean-Jacques, now using the stage name Nicolas Peyrac, released his first two singles
, but to limited or no success.
', the prix de l’UNAC. Within a few months, he became part of the most talented musicians of his generation.
Continuing the 1975 success, Nicolas released several albums, and was supporting act
for stars like Serge Lama
, Marie-Paule Belle et Dalida
. He also regularly headlined, taking him all the way to Japan.
and Plácido Domingo
, his own career lost ground, and by the mid-eighties he focussed on different passions, writing novels and directing. At the end of the eighties, Nicolas faced a relational crisis and professional difficulties, and he fell into a severe depression, abandoning the music scene and failing to finish his novel and songs he was writing.
suddenly died of a heart attack, prompting him to take control of his life again. He started writing again, helped by former colleagues and friends, and released an album less than a year later. This marked his return to the spotlights, although it took some time for him to be fully back on track.
With his farther's help, Nicolas emigrated to Montreal
, Canada, giving him new energy and motivation. It is there he finished his novel, Qu'importe le boulevard où tu m'attends ("Whatever boulevard
you wait for me"), published in 1994. In 1995, he temporarily returned to his father's home in Brittany, writing large parts of his 1995 album J'avance ("I progress"). Following its release, Nicolas extensively toured Quebec
, and the following year he returned to France, starring at the Casino de Paris
and the Bobino
.
A conflict with his record company led to a two-year delay of his next album, Autrement ("Otherwise" or "Differently"), which was released in 1999 by an independent label. Although positively received by the critics, it failed to be noticed by the public.
Youth
Jean-Jacques spent his youth in the small town of Saint-Brice-en-CoglèsSaint-Brice-en-Coglès
Saint-Brice-en-Coglès is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.-Geography:Saint-Brice-en-Coglès is located at northeast of Rennes and south of Mont Saint-Michel....
, $2, together with his brothers and parents, both of whom were physicians. As a youngster, not partial to the advance of rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, he had a passion for Ferré
Léo Ferré
Léo Ferré was a Franco-Monegasque poet, composer, singer and musician.Born in Monaco, Ferré mixed love and melancholy with moral anarchy, lyricism with slang, rhyming verse with prose monologues...
and Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
. When his parents divorced in the early 1960s, he went to live with his mother in New York, allowing him to broaden his musical horizon and discover American music. While studying at the Lycée français
Agence pour l'Enseignement Français à l'Etranger
The Agency for French Teaching Abroad, , is a national public agency under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France that assures the quality of schools teaching the French national curriculum outside of France...
, he learned to play the guitar. After returning to France to live with his father, he entered a TV talent show but was unsuccessful. Refusing to let him live the life of a "vagabond", his parents pressured him into studying medicine.
Early career
During his studies he discovered a passion for photography, which brought him into contact with the music business: through a family friend he had a chance to make record sleeveRecord sleeve
A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl recording. The sleeve is technically the paper covering that is closest in contact to the surface of the recording, as in "dust sleeve", "liner" and "album liner". The term has come to be synonymous with "record jacket" and "album jacket", which is...
s for artists like Alice Dona, Hervé Vilard and Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud was a French singer, composer and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et Maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love"...
. The latter introduced him to producer Patrick Legrand (brother of composer Michel Legrand
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
), to whom he showed some lyrics he had written. This started his career as a songwriter, writing for artists like Marie Laforêt
Marie Laforêt
Marie Laforêt is a French singer and actress, .In 1978 she moved to Geneva, Switzerland and took out Swiss nationality.-The sources of her birth name:...
and Gérard Lenorman
Gérard Lenorman
Gérard Lenorman is a French singer.Lenorman was born at the Château de Bénouville, Calvados when it was a maternity hospital. He is the son of Madeleine Lenormand and an unknown German soldier. Lenorman has four children: Mathieu, Justine, Clémence and Victor...
. Soon after he signed a contract with Pathé-Marconi
Pathé Records
Pathé Records was a France-based international record label and producer of phonographs, active from the 1890s through the 1930s.- Early years :...
.
In 1974 Jean-Jacques, now using the stage name Nicolas Peyrac, released his first two singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, but to limited or no success.
Success
Just when he was about to lose his record deal with Pathé due to failure of success, Nicolas released the critically acclaimed 1975 song So far away from L.A., which made him an overnight star. Dropping his medical studies almost near the end (in his sixth year), he concentrated on his musical career, releasing his next hit song Et mon père ("And my father") for which he received a 'French GrammyGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
', the prix de l’UNAC. Within a few months, he became part of the most talented musicians of his generation.
Continuing the 1975 success, Nicolas released several albums, and was supporting act
Opening act
An opening act or warm-up act is an entertainer or entertainment act that performs at a concert before the featured entertainer...
for stars like Serge Lama
Serge Lama
Serge Lama is a French singer. He was born in Bordeaux.His most famous song is Je suis malade. In 1971 he represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Un jardin sur la terre, which was placed tenth.-Discography:...
, Marie-Paule Belle et Dalida
Dalida
Dalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
. He also regularly headlined, taking him all the way to Japan.
Decline
After the death of his mother in 1978, to whom he dedicated his fifth album J't'aimais, j'ai pas changé ("I loved you, I haven't changed"), Nicolas continued touring and releasing albums, but the times of hit records seemed a thing of the past. Although writing songs for stars like Johnny HallydayJohnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to one of the most popular French female singers: Sylvie Vartan...
and Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
, his own career lost ground, and by the mid-eighties he focussed on different passions, writing novels and directing. At the end of the eighties, Nicolas faced a relational crisis and professional difficulties, and he fell into a severe depression, abandoning the music scene and failing to finish his novel and songs he was writing.
Come-back
In 1992, Nicolas' close friend and colleague Michel BergerMichel Berger
Michel Berger , born Michel Jean Hamburger, was a very successful French singer and songwriter. He was a central figure of France's pop music scene for two decades both as a singer and as a songwriter for well-known French artists like his wife France Gall, Françoise Hardy and Johnny Hallyday...
suddenly died of a heart attack, prompting him to take control of his life again. He started writing again, helped by former colleagues and friends, and released an album less than a year later. This marked his return to the spotlights, although it took some time for him to be fully back on track.
With his farther's help, Nicolas emigrated to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada, giving him new energy and motivation. It is there he finished his novel, Qu'importe le boulevard où tu m'attends ("Whatever boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
you wait for me"), published in 1994. In 1995, he temporarily returned to his father's home in Brittany, writing large parts of his 1995 album J'avance ("I progress"). Following its release, Nicolas extensively toured Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and the following year he returned to France, starring at the Casino de Paris
Casino de Paris
The Casino de Paris, located at 16, rue de Clichy, in the 9th arrondissement is one of the well known music halls of Paris, with a history dating back to the 18th century. Contrary to what the name might suggest, it is a performance venue, not a gambling house...
and the Bobino
Bobino
Bobino at 20 rue de la Gaîté, in the Montparnasse area of Paris , France, is a music hall theatre that has seen most of the biggest names of 20th century French music perform there....
.
A conflict with his record company led to a two-year delay of his next album, Autrement ("Otherwise" or "Differently"), which was released in 1999 by an independent label. Although positively received by the critics, it failed to be noticed by the public.
2000s
Following the release of Autrement, Nicolas kept writing and recording almost non-stop. Through a friend he met his new manager, Pierre Illias, who arranged a record deal with BMG. A year later he released a new album, Seulement l'amour ("Only love"), followed in 2006 by Vice versa, both albums accompanied by extensive touring. 2006 also saw the publishing of his second novel, J'ai su dès le premier jour que je la tuerais ("I knew from day one I'd kill her"). In 2009 he released his latest album, Case départ ("Square one"), again followed by a tour, and his third novel, Elsa.Discography
- 1975 : D'où venez-vous ?
- 1976 : Jumbo
- 1976 : Quand pleure la petite fille
- 1977 : Et la fête est finie
- 1978 : J't'aimais, j'ai pas changé
- 1980 : Disque d'or
- 1980 : Fait beau chez toi
- 1982 : Elle sortait d'un drôle de café
- 1983 : Flash-back
- 1984 : Neuvième
- 1986 : Laissez-moi rêver
- 1989 : J't'aimais trop, j't'aimerai tellement
- 1993 : Tempête sur Ouessant
- 1995 : J'avance
- 1999 : Autrement
- 2003 : Seulement l'amour
- 2005 : Toujours une route (compilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
) - 2006 : Vice-versa
- 2009 : Case départ
External links
- Biography of Nicolas Peyrac http://www.rfimusique.com/siteen/biographie/biographie_6199.asp
- Biographie de Nicolas Peyrac (French) http://www.music-story.com/nicolas-peyrac/biographie
- Filmography of Nicolas Peyrac at IMDBInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0678966/bio