Desireless
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- For the Eagle-Eye Cherry album, see Desireless (album).
Desireless (born 25 December 1952, as Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop) is a French singer. Between 1986 and 1988, her hit song "Voyage Voyage" made it to number one in many European and Asian single charts and sold over five million copies.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Paris, she grew up in Tréport and in the early '70s she became a fashion designer. Drawn into the musical orbit by her friends, she began singing with various jazz, new wave and RB bands since the early '80s. In 1983 she met Jean Michel Rivat, a composer and producer who had already made his name working with Joe Dassin, Michel Delpech, France Gall and Patrick Juvet among many others. In 1986 Rivat composed for her "Voyage Voyage," an extremely catchy synth-pop number that topped the charts in many European countries and even hit number five in Britain, a remarkable feat for a French-language song.
The singer's deliberately androgynous look -- complete with a porcupine-style hairdo -- made her one of the most colorful personalities to grace the European pop scene, while her moniker Desireless was reportedly inspired by her voyage to India and her subsequent interest in its philosophy of acceptance and inner serenity. She released her first album, Francois in 1990, with the opening track "Qui Sommes Nous" becoming her third and last hit (the second one was "John" in 1987). Then she decided to take a break and gave birth to a daughter, Lili. Desireless' second album, I Love You came out in 1994. This time she co-wrote all the compositions, which rendered the album more quiet and personal. Though that release was generally well-received, the lack of promotion made it short-lived. In 1995, the artist decided to abandon city life and move to a picturesque rural area with her boyfriend and daughter. Both of her albums were reissued on CD in the late '90s with bonus tracks added. Desireless started the new millennium with a series of acoustic concerts across France and began work on a third album, which included songs from that tour.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- François (1989) #29 France
- I love you (1994)
- Ses plus grands succès (2003)
- Un brin de paille (2004)
- More love and good vibrations (2007)
[edit] Singles
From François :
- 1986/87 : Voyage, voyage (#2 France, #1 Germany, #1 Austria, #1 Belgium, #1 Denmark, #1 Spain, #1 Greece, #1 Israel, #26 Italy, #1 Norway, #11 Netherlands, #53 United Kingdom in the 1987 release and #5 om the 1988 release, #4 Switzerland, #1 Thailand)
- 1988 : John (#1 Russia, #5 France, #37 Germany, #92 United Kingdom)
- 1989 : Qui sommes-nous ? (#88 Germany)
- 1990 : Elle est comme les étoiles
From I love you :
- 1994 : Il dort
- 1994 : I love you
From Un brin de paille :
- 2004 : La vie est belle
[edit] Audio sample
- Desireless - Voyage Voyage excerpt (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- An excerpt from Voyage Voyage
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