Françoise Hardy was born in Paris 17 January 1944.
She began her career at 18 in 1962 and became one of the most successful singers of the time in France. On the release of her first recording, she was immediately successful and became an icon of the “yéyé” music period in France. She had many admirers around the world including Bob Dylan who dedicated a poem to her, Mick Jagger who called her his “ideal woman” and the Beatles who invited her to dinner.
Called yéyé after the yeah yeah’s in American and British music (Think the Beatles – “She loves you yeah yeah yeah”) it was basically a style of music that imitated the bubble gum pop style of the ‘60s in the US – but with a French slant. The music of Françoise Hardy was not as cute or sweet as some of the American music, tending more towards romanticism and often a subtle irony.
Still writing, composing and singing she is an iconic figure in French fashion music and style as well as a noted astrologer.
Her first record release was written by Johnny Hallyday’s writing team but her own record on the B side “Tous les garcons et les filles” is the one that was the big success and typified the yéyé style. The sultry tones, the romantic story of a teenage girl wandering the streets of Paris alone and seeing other couples holding hands… ‘Oui mais moi, je vais seule par les rues, l’âme en peine/Oui mais moi, je vais seule, car personne ne m’aime…’ ( ‘Yes but me, I go alone down the streets, my soul in sorrow/Yes, me, I go alone because nobody loves me…’
Francoise Hardy has been an icon since the sixties and remains an inspiration for a lot of contemporary French singers…
