Françoise Hardy
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Françoise Madeleine Hardy ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in French yé-yé music and became a cultural icon in France and internationally. In addition to her native French, she also sang in English, Italian, and German. Her musical career spanned more than 50 years, with over 30 studio albums released. She also represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963.
Born and raised in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Hardy made her musical debut in 1962 on French label Disques Vogue and found immediate success through the song "Tous les garçons et les filles". Drifting away from her early rock and roll influences, she began to record in London in 1964, which allowed her to broaden her sound with albums such as Mon amie la rose, L'amitié, La maison où j'ai grandi, and Ma jeunesse fout le camp.... In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she released Comment te dire adieu, La question, and Message personnel. During this period, she worked with songwriters such as Serge Gainsbourg, Patrick Modiano, Michel Berger, and Catherine Lara. Between 1977 and 1988, she worked with producer Gabriel Yared on the albums Star, Musique saoûle, Gin Tonic, and À suivre. Her 1988 record Décalages was publicized as her final album, although she returned eight years later with Le danger, which reinvented her sound as harsher alternative rock. Her following albums of the 2000s — Clair-obscur, Tant de belles choses, and (Parenthèses...) — saw a return to her mellow style. In the 2010s, Hardy released her final three albums: La pluie sans parapluie, L'amour fou, and Personne d'autre.
In addition to music, Hardy landed film roles as a supporting actress in Château en Suède, Une balle au cœur, and the American production Grand Prix. She became a muse for fashion designers such as André Courrèges, Yves Saint Laurent, and Paco Rabanne, and collaborated with photographer Jean-Marie Périer. Hardy developed a career as an astrologer, having written extensively on the subject from the 1970s onwards. She was also an author of fiction and non-fiction books from the 2000s. Her autobiography, Le désespoir des singes...et autres bagatelles, was a best-seller in France.
As a public figure, Hardy was known for her shyness, disenchantment with celebrity life, and self-deprecatory attitude, which were attributed to her lifelong struggles with anxiety and insecurity. She married French singer-songwriter Jacques Dutronc in 1981. Their son, Thomas, also became a musician. Hardy remains one of the best-selling singers in French history and continues to be regarded as an important and influential figure in both French pop music and fashion. In 2006 she was awarded the Grande médaille de la chanson française, an honorary award given by the Académie française, in recognition of her career in music. Hardy died of cancer in Paris in June 2024, aged 80.
Early life and educationEdit
Françoise Madeleine Hardy was born on 17 January 1944 at the Marie-Louise Clinic in the 9th arrondissement of Paris in German-occupied France during World War II.<ref name="HardyOne">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "One"</ref> She was born during an air raid and the windows of the clinic exploded.<ref name="radio">Template:Cite news</ref> She related being born in this violent context to her "abnormally anxious temperament" as an adult.<ref name="radio"/> Her younger sister, Michèle, was born eighteen months later<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance" /> and their mother, Madeleine Hardy (Template:Circa1921–1991<ref name="HardyOne" />), who came from an ordinary background, raised Françoise and Michèle as a single parent.<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance">Quinonero, 2017, "«C'est ton enfance / Qui se promène à cloche-pied / Dans ta mémoire..."</ref> Her father, Étienne Dillard, was a married man who came from a wealthy family. He did little to help them financially and was an absent figure in their upbringing,<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance"/><ref name="linternaute"/> only visiting the children a couple of times a year.<ref name="rfi"/> Hardy's mother raised her daughters strictly in a modest apartment on the 9th arrondissement's Rue d'Aumale.<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance"/> Hardy had an unhappy and troubled childhood<ref name="rfi"/> and mostly engaged in solitary activities like reading, playing with dolls, or listening to the radio.<ref name="QuinoneroMonLit">Quinonero, 2017, "«Dans mon lit / Je dors, je rêve ou je lis»"</ref>
At the insistence of their father, the girls went to a Catholic school called Institution La Bruyère, under the tutelage of Trinitarian nuns.<ref name="HardyOne" /> The socio-economic gap between Hardy and her classmates was a source of lifelong insecurity.<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance" /> Her mental health was worsened by her maternal grandmother,<ref name="HardyOne" /><ref name="QuinoneroEnfance" /> who "told [her] repeatedly that [she] was unattractive and a very bad person".<ref name="mortality" /> Between 1952 and 1960, Hardy and her sister were sent every summer to Austria to learn German, encouraged by her mother's new lover, an Austrian baron.<ref name="QuinoneroAustria">Quinonero, 2017, "Les étés autrichiens"</ref> Her father played piano and Hardy was introduced to piano lessons as a very young child, which she dropped after experiencing stage fright when she was required to perform on stage at the Salle Gaveau.<ref name="Hardy Two" />
At age 16, Hardy finished her secondary education and passed her baccalauréat.<ref name="Hardy Two">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Two"</ref> To mark the occasion her father asked her what gift she would like and she chose a guitar, with which she began to sing her own songs.<ref name="Hardy Two" /> Following her mother's orders, she enrolled in the Paris Institute of Political Studies while still a teenager,<ref name="Hardy Two" /> but finding it too challenging she left the Institute and enrolled at the Sorbonne to study German.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hardy used the time left from her courses to compose songs<ref name="Hardy Two" /> and began to perform in a small venue, where she played every Thursday "in front of an audience of retirees".<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare">Quinonero, 2017, "«Un air de guitare..."</ref> Around this time she auditioned for record label Pathé-Marconi after seeing an ad in France-Soir.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /> She was rejected, but was pleased that she had held the directors' attention for longer than she expected.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /> She also felt encouraged after hearing her recorded voice, which she found "less off-key and tremulous than [she] feared".<ref name="Hardy Two" />
Music careerEdit
1961–1962: Career beginningsEdit
Hardy went to Philips Records and was recommended to take singing lessons.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /> She auditioned for Le Petit Conservatoire de la chanson in 1961, a school for performers that aired on radio and television.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /><ref name="INAfille">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The head of the program, Mireille Hartuch, was known for being selective. However, she saw Hardy enter the classroom and immediately accepted her before she could play.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /> They developed a "mother-daughter relationship" and a friendship based on mutual esteem.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" />
On 14 May 1961, Hardy auditioned for the French label Disques Vogue.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue" /> Her looks caught the attention of their sound engineer André Bernot, who felt that she "would make a nice record cover", and offered to teach her music theory to improve her sense of rhythm.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue" /> Bernot later recorded a four-track demo with her which he submitted to the label's directior Jacques Wolfsohn.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue" /> Wolfsohn was looking for a female singer to record "Oh oh chéri", a French-language version of Bobby Lee Trammell's song "Uh Oh",<ref name="Hardy Two" /><ref name="QuinoneroVogue" /> and after auditioning Hardy Wolfsohn offered her a one-year contract,<ref name="Hardy Two" /> which she signed on 14 November 1961.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue">Quinonero, 2017, "En Vogue"</ref>
Upon hearing Hardy's new record deal, Hartuch presented her on the Petit Conservatoire TV show on 6 February 1962.<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="petitfille">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hardy performed her original song "La fille avec toi" on guitar, after which she was asked what the English-language "yeah! yeah!" in her lyrics meant.<ref name="petitfille" /><ref name="Hardy Two" /> The transliteration "yé-yé" was later popularized by sociologist Edgar Morin through an article published in Le Monde on 7 July 1963, in which he analyzed the burgeoning youth-led pop music scene.<ref name="Briggs1425">Briggs, 2015, pp. 14–25</ref><ref name="QuinoneroTournee" /> The yé-yé phenomenon was coined by the radio program Salut les copains, created by Daniel Filipacchi,and its magazine of the same name.<ref name="Briggs1425" /><ref name="QuinoneroGarcon" />
1962–1963: Yé-yé sensationEdit
Template:Multiple imageVogue released Hardy's first extended play (EP) in May 1962, which included "Oh oh chéri" together with her compositions "Il est parti un jour", "J'suis d'accord" and the sentimental ballad "Tous les garçons et les filles".<ref name="QuinoneroProjets">Quinonero, 2017, "«Des projets d'avenir»"</ref> In early October, Hardy filmed a black-and-white music video for "Tous les garçons et les filles", directed by Pierre Badel, which appeared on the TV show Toute la chanson.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue"/> The song was Hardy's choice, and also that of the show's producer André Salvet, despite Wolfsohn's reluctance to promote it.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue"/> Hardy was introduced to a wider audience on 28 October when the clip was rebroadcast during a commercial break in the televised results of the presidential election referendum.<ref name="linternaute">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="abc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="QuinoneroElectre"/> The song instantly became popular among the youth in France, particularly teenage girls, and was widely played on radio stations, starting with Europe n° 1.<ref name="QuinoneroProjets"/> "Tous les garçons et les filles" was further popularized by a Scopitone music video directed by Claude Lelouch.<ref name="QuinoneroElectre">Quinonero, 2017, "«Électre en ciré noir»"</ref>
Vogue quickly released two more EPs of Hardy's songs. These were later compiled, with the first EP for her debut studio album, which became known as Tous les garçons et les filles.<ref name="QuinoneroRois"/> In France the LP format was initially viewed with skepticism<ref name="rsde">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Hardy's first series of albums were compilations of previously released four-track 7-inch records,<ref name="p4kreviews"/> a format known as "super 45 [rpm]".<ref name="Hardy Two"/><ref name="QuinoneroRois"/> Most of her full-length records were released without a title, with only her name on the cover, and they came to be known by the title of the most popular song of the collection.<ref name="exclaim"/><ref name="QuinoneroQuestion">Quinonero, 2017, "«Question» mythique"</ref> Hardy's debut studio album was awarded the Trophée de la Télévision and the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque award given by the Académie Charles Cros.<ref name="QuinoneroRois">Quinonero, 2017, "«À vingt ans / On est les rois du monde»"</ref> By early 1963, 500,000 copies of "Tous les garçons et les filles" had been sold in France,<ref name="QuinoneroFenetre"/> and the total rose to 2.5 million in the following months.<ref name="QuinoneroElectre"/>
Hardy's singles "J'suis d'accord", "Le temps de l'amour", and "Tous les garçons et les filles" topped the French singles chart in late 1962 and early 1963.<ref name="infodisc60s">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She signed a new five-year contract with Vogue and an agreement with Editions Musicales Alpha, created by Wolfsohn.<ref name="QuinoneroElectre"/> She met Michel Bourdais, a young designer recently discovered by Charles Aznavour,<ref>Template:Cite book.</ref> who created the first portrait of Françoise Hardy. (Which Hardy, artistically seduced, acquired.)Template:Clarification needed<ref>Template:Cite book.</ref>
In March 1963, she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963, recorded in London. She performed the song "L'amour s'en va", which came fifth in the contest. When the song was released as a single, it reached No. 5 on the French charts in June 1963.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In October, Hardy released her second studio album, Le premier bonheur du jour.<ref name="QuinoneroTournee">Quinonero, 2017, "La vie de tournée"</ref> That month she received the "Youth" Edison Award at the Grand Gala du Disque in Scheveningen, Netherlands.<ref name="QuinoneroRois" /> She was presented with the trophy by the author Godfried Bomans, who praised her as a "creative artist" who knew how to impose "a personal style without trying to imitate the Americans".<ref name="QuinoneroRois" />
As a leading figure of the yé-yé craze, Hardy found herself at the forefront of the French music scene and became the country's most exportable female singer.<ref name="rfi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Beginning in 1963, translated re-recordings of "Tous les garçons et les filles" were exported to Italian, German, and English-speaking markets.<ref name="QuinoneroFenetre">Quinonero, 2017, "«LA FENÊTRE OUVERTE SUR LE MONDE... ne vaut pas celle fermée sur mon amour...»"</ref> The first non-French-speaking country in which the singer found success was Italy, where the song became "Quelli della mia età" and sold 255,000 copies. It topped the singles chart between April and October, dropping to second place between July and August behind Rita Pavone's "Cuore".<ref name="QuinoneroCachez">Quinonero, 2017, "«Dans quel pays vous cachez-vous?»"</ref> At the end of the summer in Milan, she recorded new songs<ref name="QuinoneroCachez"/> which were included in the Italian release Françoise Hardy canta per voi in italiano.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> The single "L'età dell'amore" / "E all'amore che penso" also topped the Italian charts.<ref name="QuinoneroCachez"/>
1964–1968: International stardomEdit
In 1963, Hardy went to London record new music.<ref name="mortality" /> At the height of the British Invasion, Hardy sought to modernize her music,<ref name="QuinoneroLondres">Quinonero, 2017, "«Des façons Londres de me promettre Corfou»"</ref> opting to leave the poor quality of French studios and sound engineers and record her songs at Pye Records studios.<ref name="Deluxe60">Deluxe, 2013. p. 60</ref> Working with producer Tony Hatch in February 1964, she recorded an EP that included a cover of "Catch a Falling Star" and three adaptations of her hits "Find Me a Boy" ("Tous les garçons et les filles"), "Only Friends" ("Ton meilleur ami") and "I Wish It Were Me" ("J'aurais voulu").<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> English audiences initially preferred her recordings in French,<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> with "Tous les garçons et les filles" entering the UK Singles Chart on 1 July 1964 at number thirty-six.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Her 1965 English-language single "All Over the World" was a hit in the UK, reaching the Top 20 and staying on the charts for fifteen weeks.<ref name="allovertheworld">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was also successful in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand,<ref name="QuinoneroLondres" /> making it possibly her most popular recording among English-speaking audiences.<ref name="allovertheworld" />
In 1965 Hardy flew to New York to sign a record deal with Kapp to distribute her records in the United States.<ref name="QuinoneroMonde">Quinonero, 2017, "«Dans le monde entier»"</ref> The label released her debut studio album under the title The "Yeh-Yeh" Girl From Paris! and the single "However Much", an English version of the previously released track "Et même..."<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" /> A German language album In Deutschland was released which contained five original compositions and translated versions of her previous songs.<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" /> The most popular track in Germany was "Frag' den Abendwind", which remained on the national singles chart for twenty-four weeks.<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" />
On 12 April 1966, Hardy was among forty-six performers who took part in a group photograph shot by Jean-Marie Périer for Salut Les Copains. The image became a symbol of the yé-yé era and came to be known in France as the "photo of the century" (French: "photo du siècle").<ref name="linternaute" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Beginning in late 1967, Hardy took Wolfsohn's suggestion to release her records through her own production company, Asparagus, although Vogue continued to distribute them.<ref name="QuinoneroSeptieme">Quinonero, 2017, "Septième album"</ref> She later regretted this decision, recalling in 1999: "The CEO of Vogue, Léon Cabat, was also in this production company and between them, they owned the majority of the shares. This has given rise to a lot of harassment lawsuits."<ref name="QuinoneroSeptieme" /> Her seventh French album Ma jeunesse fout le camp, the first one produced under Asparagus, was released in November 1967.<ref name="QuinoneroSeptieme" />
On the advice of English producer Noel Rodgers, Hardy recorded her second English album in the spring of 1968, known variously as En anglais, The Second English Album, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, and Loving, depending on the country.<ref name="QuinoneroAnglais">Quinonero, 2017, "«En anglais»"</ref>
In 1968, Hardy released a French cover of Vera Lynn's "It Hurts to Say Goodbye", titled "Comment te dire adieu", on the album of the same name. Its French lyrics were written by Serge Gainsbourg and it became one of her most successful releases.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1969–1976: Transition to artistic maturityEdit
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In 1970 she broke with the label and signed a three-year contract with Sonopresse, a subsidiary of Hachette.<ref name="QuinoneroDomicile">Quinonero, 2017, "Double changement de domicile"</ref> She also created a new production company called Hypopotam, and founded her own music publishing company, Kundalini.<ref name="QuinoneroDomicile" /> Hardy received large advances from Sonopresse, which allowed her to finance her own projects.<ref name="HardySeven" /> She described this period as "the happiest time", as she was now able to work independently on her music.<ref name="QuinoneroDomicile" /> This transitional period in her career began with the 1970 releases of several compilation albums, including the French Françoise, as well as the studio albums One-Nine-Seven-Zero, recorded in English, and Träume, her last German-language release.<ref name="QuinoneroDomicile" />
Her first French studio album produced under Hypopotam was Template:Ill, was released in the spring of 1970.<ref name="QuinoneroSoleil" /> It featured numerous arrangers, including Bernard Estardy, Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Pierre Sabar, Mick Jones, Saint-Preux, Simon Napier-Bell, and Tommy Brown from Nero and the Gladiators.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> In the summer of 1970, Hardy released her penultimate Italian-language single, "Lungo il mare", written by Giuseppe Torrebruno, Luigi Albertelli and Donato Renzetti.<ref name="QuinoneroSoleil" /> Both this and the next Italian single, which included translated versions of "Soleil" ("Sole ti amo") and "Le crabe" ("Il granchio"), were unsuccessful.<ref name="QuinoneroSoleil" /> She also recorded in Spanish for the first time, for a single that contained translated versions of "Soleil" ("Sol") and "J'ai coupé le téléphone" ("Corté el teléfono").<ref name="QuinoneroSoleil" /><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> In the spring of 1971, Hardy released singer-songwriter Patrick Dewaere's single "T'es pas poli", having been impressed by his performances at the Café de la Gare in Paris. <ref name="HardySeven" /><ref name="QuinoneroSoleil">Quinonero, 2017, "Soleil ou lune"</ref> Dewaere and Hardy performed the song on several television shows to promote it, but it was not a success.<ref name="HardySeven" />
In 1970 Hardy met Tuca (Valeniza Zagni da Silva), a Brazilian singer and guitarist based in Paris, and they became close friends.<ref name="HardySeven" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Hardy made an album with Tuca after attending the Festival Internacional da Canção in Rio de Janeiro and discovering the music of Brazil<ref name="QuinoneroQuestion" /><ref name="HardySeven" /><ref name="telerama16" /> This was the first time in her career that she had worked on material with another songwriter before going into the studio. She was also able to participate in the choice of string arrangements.<ref name="HardySeven" /> The resulting album, La question, was released on 16 October 1971<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was promoted with the singles "Le martien",<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> "Même sous la pluie"<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> and "Rêve".<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> Although acclaimed by the French press,<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="vie">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the album was not a success.<ref name="telerama16" /><ref name="Lesueur1938">Lesueur, 2015. p. 1938</ref>
Following the poor commercial performance of La question, Hardy moved towards a different sound and enlisted British arranger Tony Cox to produce her next album.<ref name="HardySeven" /> Known as Et si je m'en vais avant toi, L'éclairage, or in reference to its cover, "The Orange Album", the record was released in November 1972 and promoted through the single "La berlue" (released earlier in June).<ref name="QuinoneroRouge" /> After finishing Et si je m'en vais avant toi, Hardy and Cox recorded the English-language album If You Listen, which included cover versions of little-known American and British songs.<ref name="HardySeven" /> When Hardy's contract with Sonopresse expired it was not renewed.<ref name="QuinoneroVI" />
Around 1972, Hardy recruited songwriter and producer Michel Berger after being impressed by his work with Véronique Sanson<ref name="HardyEight" /><ref name="QuinoneroVI">Quinonero, 2017, "«TOUS CES MOTS QUI FONT PEUR QUAND ILS NE FONT PAS RIRE... [...] Je voudrais vous les dire / Et je voudrais les vivre...»"</ref> He wrote two of the record's twelve songs, "Message personnel" and "Première rencontre", and found the other ten, although Hardy felt they were weak.<ref name="HardyEight" /> After a period of artistic independence, she again found herself working under the hectic schedule of a demanding producer.<ref name="QuinoneroBerger" /> She later described Berger as "a man in a hurry, with a thousand things to do, a thousand things to think about, a thousand people to see".<ref name="QuinoneroBerger" /> Recording sessions for the album took place in July 1973, soon after Hardy had given birth to her son Thomas Dutronc.<ref name="HardyEight" /> Message personnel was released that year on Warner Bros. Records,<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> with whom Hardy signed a three-year contract,<ref name="QuinoneroVI" /> and was a commercial and critical success.<ref name="rfi" /> Its title track reignited the singer's career in France.<ref name="QuinoneroBerger">Quinonero, 2017, "Michel Berger, l'homme pressé"</ref> She promoted the album with appearances on French TV shows, including Dimanche Salvador, Sports en fête, Top à, La Une est à vous, Midi trente, Minuit chez vous, Tempo, Averty's Follies, and Domino.<ref name="QuinoneroBerger" />
Hardy wrote ten songs with a common theme for the next album,<ref name="HardyNine" /><ref name="QuinoneroFaim" /> and her friend Catherine Lara put the words to music. She also worked with Jean-Pierre Castelain and Gérard Kawczynski (with whom she had worked on Message personnel), André Georget, and Michel Sivy.<ref name="QuinoneroFaim" /> Produced by Hughes de Courson, the concept album Entr'acte was released in November 1974 and promoted through the songs "Ce soir", "Je te cherche", and "Il y a eu des nuits".<ref name="QuinoneroFaim">Quinonero, 2017, "«Il y a eu des nuits / Où je mourais de toi / Comme on meurt de faim...»"</ref> It was a commercial failure<ref name="HardyTen" /> and Hardy took a break from music to devote more time to raising her child. She released two singles in 1975-76.<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="QuinoneroFaim" /> The first was Jean-Michel Jarre's "Que vas-tu faire?", backed by "Le compte a rebours"<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> which sold poorly.<ref name="HardyTen" /><ref name="QuinoneroFaim" /> The second was "Femme parmi les femmes", the theme song of Claude Lelouch's film Si c'était à refaire, featuring lyrics by Pierre Barouh and music by Francis Lai.<ref name="QuinoneroFaim" />
Around 1976, Berger contacted Hardy again, wanting to sign her to his new record label, Apache, and she sent him the songs "Ton enfance", "Star", and "L'impasse".<ref name="HardyTen">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Ten"</ref> Berger proposed to release an album of her songs with compositions structured around a unifying concept, but Hardy declined and signed a three-year deal with Pathé-Marconi.<ref name="QuinoneroYared">Quinonero, 2017, "Gabriel Yared, le gentil tyran"</ref>
1977–1995: Work with Gabriel Yared and hiatusEdit
For 1977's Star, her first album released under Pathé-Marconi, Hardy enlisted Gabriel Yared as producer and arranger.<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> The "patchwork album" contained six tracks written by Hardy and songs written by Serge Gainsbourg, William Sheller, Catherine Lara, Luc Plamondon, Roland Vincent, and Michel Jonasz.<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> At first Hardy's relationship with Yared was tense<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> and Star was recorded under a "strained atmosphere", earning her the nickname "ice queen".<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="independent05" /> According to Frédéric Quinonero, "the singer deemed it necessary to immediately dispel any misunderstanding, physical or sentimental, before being integrated into a faithful friendship."<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> Star was a commercial success that put Hardy back in the media spotlight and introduced her work to a new generation of young people.<ref name="rfi" /> Despite their stiff relationship in the recording studio, Hardy and Yared continued to work together for nearly six years and recorded five albums.<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> In 1991 the singer recalled her experience of working with the producer:
[Yared] is demanding… in work as in friendship. He had great influence over me. The five albums we made together were not easy… but I consider that it was one of the great chances of my life to find myself again under the guidance of a musician of this dimension.<ref name="QuinoneroYared" />
Hardy's 1978 follow-up, Musique saoûle, included compositions by Yared, Alain Goldstein and Michel Jonasz.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> The album changed Hardy's musical direction to a more danceable sound and it was a commercial success, aided by the popularity of the lead single "J'écoute de la musique saoûle", especially in its extended remixed version.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> Musique saoûle was promoted through televised appearances which showed the singer "awkwardly" performing the track amid a dancing crowd.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> In 1980, Yared and collaborator Bernard Ilous gave her next album, Gin Tonic, an even more commercial style.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> The album cover, photographed by a collaborator from Façade, a French magazine modelled after Andy Warhol's journal Influence, projected a "furiously modern" image of the singer<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> and Gin Tonic was promoted with the singles "Jazzy rétro Satanas" and "Juke-box".<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> Hardy's next album, À suivre, was released in April 1981 on the Flarenasch label, in breach of her contract with Pathé-Marconi,<ref name="QuinoneroMariage" /> and featured a new array of collaborators, with Yared enlisting composers Louis Chedid, Pierre Groscolas, Jean-Claude Vannier, Michel Bernholc, Daniel Perreau, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, and Étienne Roda-Gil.<ref name="QuinoneroMariage" /> À suivre was promoted through the singles "Tamalou" and "Villégiature".<ref name="QuinoneroMariage" /> The next album, Quelqu'un qui s'en va, was released in the spring of 1981 and featured a cover photographed by Serge Gainsbourg.<ref name="QuinoneroSortie">Quinonero, 2017, "Fausse sortie"</ref> Décalages, released on 2 May 1988,<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages" /> was promoted as Hardy's final album. It was a commercial success and certified gold for selling 100,000 copies.<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages">Hardy, 2017, "Décalages et dérapages"</ref>
In 1990 Hardy wrote "Fais-moi une place" for Julien Clerc and the song was included on his album of the same name.<ref name="linternaute" /> Hardy resumed her music career in the 1990s, signing a contract with Virgin Records in December 1994.<ref name="linternaute" /> In 1995 Hardy collaborated with English band Blur for the French version of "To the End", recorded at Abbey Road Studios.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was included as a B-side to band's single "Country House".<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
1996–2021: Final albums and retirementEdit
In 1997 Hardy collaborated with French duo Air on the track "Jeanne", a B-side on their maxi-single "Sexy Boy".<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
In 2005 Hardy received the 'Female Artist of the Year' award for her album Tant de belles choses at the Victoires de la Musique. In 2006 she received the Grande médaille de la chanson française award, given by the Académie Française in recognition of her music career.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2012 Hardy celebrated her 50th anniversary in music with the release of her first novel and an album, both titled L'Amour fou.<ref name=lefou/> Recently diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, the singer declared L'Amour fou to be her last album, but returned nearly five years later with the 2018 release Personne d'autre.<ref name=faroutmag>Far Out Staff Françoise Hardy to release new studio album "Personne d'autre" Template:Webarchive, Far Out Magazine, Retrieved on 7 May 2018.</ref>
In March 2021, Hardy announced that she could no longer sing as a result of her cancer treatments.<ref name="parismatch21">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Acting careerEdit
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Hardy had film roles, but did not embark on a serious career as an actress and did not wish to do so.<ref name="HardyThree" /><ref name="montanes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She reluctantly accepted acting work offered to her in the 1960s on the advice of Jean-Marie Périer.<ref name="HardyThree" /> While she liked the idea of working with well-known film directors, she still preferred music over cinema.<ref name="nytimes" />
In 1963 Hardy made her film debut as Ophelia in Roger Vadim's Château en Suède.<ref name="HardyThree">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Three"</ref><ref name="Deluxe58">Deluxe, 2013. p. 58</ref> Before casting her, Vadim tested Hardy's acting abilities by directing her in a reading of Cécile de Roggendorf's love letters to Giacomo Casanova.<ref name="QuinoneroActress">Quinonero, 2017, "Actrice malgré elle"</ref> During the making of Château en Suède, Vadim mocked Hardy for her "infinite apathy", which marked the "beginning of her dread for filming sessions and the movie business in general".<ref name="Deluxe60" /> As promotion for the film Hardy attended the Cannes Film Festival, where she wore a black coat by Pierre Cardin.<ref name="QuinoneroActress" />
After a cameo in What's New Pussycat?,<ref name="Deluxe60" /> Hardy landed a role in Jean-Daniel Pollet's 1966 film Une balle au cœur, which was shot on location on a remote Greek island.<ref name="HardyThree" /> She disliked the experience, saying, "after a day or two, I realized that the director was hopelessly bad and his film was a disaster."<ref name="HardyThree" /> Building on her music career success in Italy, Hardy made appearances as a performer in musicarelli films, including I ragazzi dell'Hully Gully (1964),<ref name="ragazzi">Template:Cite book</ref> Questo pazzo, pazzo mondo della canzone (1965),<ref name="questo">Template:Cite journal</ref> Altissima pressione (1965), and Europa canta (1965).<ref name="larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> She appeared in the 1968 television special Monte Carlo: C'est La Rose, hosted by Grace Kelly.<ref name="larkin" />
The American director John Frankenheimer spotted Hardy as she was leaving a London club and thought she would be perfect in his Formula One film Grand Prix (1966).<ref name="HardyFour">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Four"</ref> Despite remaining uninterested in an acting career, Hardy accepted the role because it was well-paid.<ref name="QuioneroCineaste">Quinonero, 2017, "Pour la «beauté renversante» d'un cinéaste"</ref> She made a cameo in Jean-Luc Godard's 1966 film Masculin féminin wearing a head-to-toe look by André Courrèges.<ref name="godard">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1969 she starred in the television film L'homme qui venait du Cher alongside Eddy Mitchell.<ref name="cher">Template:Cite book</ref> In the 1970s, she made brief appearances in Jean-Claude Lord's The Doves (Les Colombes) (1972)<ref name="colombes" /> and Claude Lelouch's If I Had to Do It All Over Again (Si c'était à refaire) (1976).<ref name="QuinoneroFilmography" />
Astrological careerEdit
Template:Quote box Hardy also developed a career as an astrologer, having written extensively on the subject. She aligned herself with the so-called "conditionalist" school of thought, outlined by Jean-Pierre Nicola in his 1964 book, La condition solaire, which proposed a non-divinatory character for the discipline and said that it should be used while taking into account other factors such as hereditary, educational, and socio-cultural determinants.<ref name="HardyAtrologia">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Hardy first became interested in the subject after consulting astrologer André Barbault in the mid-1960s.<ref name="HardySix">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Six"</ref> She took public courses, learned to draw up a birth chart and read many specialized books before meeting Catherine Aubier, who recommended her teacher to Hardy.<ref name="HardySix" /> Hardy was taught traditional astrology for two years by Madame Godefroy in Paris.<ref name="HardySix" /> She became more dedicated to astrology after meeting Nicola in 1974, who asked her to be part of a new magazine he was developing.<ref name="HardySix" /> The singer described Nicola as "the best astrologer in the world"<ref name="clash">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and wrote: "[he] initiated me into an intelligent understanding of astrology and trained me to use it, by his side, to the best of my ability."<ref name="HardySix" /> Besides astrology, Hardy was initiated into the reading of the Tarot of Marseilles by Alejandro Jodorowsky.<ref name="HardyTwelve">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Twelve"</ref> As a complement to her astrological knowledge, she also took courses with graphologist Germaine Tripier, the dean of the French Society of Graphology.<ref name="HardyTwelve" />
Between recording sessions for her album Gin Tonic in 1979, Hardy collaborated on a book series on the zodiac signs by Tchou Editions, and worked on the book dedicated to Virgo<ref name="HardyEleven">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Eleven"</ref> with fellow astrologer Béatrice Guénin.<ref name="HardyEleven" /> She also collaborated with the magazine Quinze Ans.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> In late 1980, Hardy was asked by Pierre Lescure of the RMC radio station to provide the daily horoscope and a weekly show.<ref name="HardyEleven" /> In 1982 Hardy began a new weekly broadcast, titled Entre les lignes, entre les signes, in which she interviewed a film or music figure using their birth chart, and graphologist Anne-Marie Simmond, whose courses Hardy had taken, drew up a psychological portrait using their handwriting.<ref name="HardyTwelve" /> A compilation of the interviews and profiles was published by RMC in 1986.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="independent05" />
In 1990, Hardy continued her astrological work by writing articles in Swiss newspaper Le Matin and by hosting a weekly section in Thierry Ardisson's program Télé Zèbre on Antenne 2.<ref name="QuinoneroPour">Quinonero, 2017, "Là pour personne ?"</ref> On 7 May 2003, Hardy published Les rythmes du zodiaque, which had taken over two years to write and which she intended to be "a book that would allow me to make my little contribution to modern astrology".<ref name="HardyEighteen">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Eighteen"</ref>
Writing careerEdit
In her later years Hardy became an author of fiction and non-fiction. She also wrote an autobiography, Le désespoir des singes... et autres bagatelles (The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles), which was published on 9 October 2008. It sold 250,000 copies and became a bestseller in France.<ref name="ledevoir12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The book was translated and published in Spanish by the San Sebastián-based independent publisher Expediciones Polares in 2017.<ref name="simios">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> An English-language edition, translated by Jon E. Graham, was published by Feral House in 2018.<ref name="monkeyreview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2012 Hardy published her first novel, L'amour fou, on Éditions Albin Michel. It was released in conjunction with a music album of the same name.<ref name="lapresse">Template:Cite news</ref> She had begun working on the story, which dealt with an obsessive romantic relationship, thirty years before<ref name="lapresse" /> but had shelved the manuscript and had not intended to release it. She was urged to do so by her editor and agreed after being encouraged by her friend, Jean-Marie Périer.<ref name="avisfigaro">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hardy felt it was appropriate to publish the book to mark the fiftieth year of her musical career, as it told "the story that has been the matrix of almost all of my lyrics from the start".<ref name="avisfigaro" /> In 2013 an Italian-language edition of the novel was released by Florence's Edizioni Clichy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Following poor sales of the albums La pluie sans parapluie and L'Amour fou, Hardy decided to distance herself from music and dedicate herself to writing.<ref name="avisnon">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This resulted in the essay Avis non autorisés (Unauthorised Opinions), released in 2015 on Éditions des Équateurs, in which she described the difficulties of reaching old age.<ref name="avisnon" /><ref name="avispoint">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In this book she also shared views on current affairs which were deemed "politically incorrect".<ref name="avisnon" /> Avis non autorisés was a commercial success.<ref name="figaroavis" /> A year later, she published Un cadeau du ciel (A Present from Heaven), in which she reflected on her hospitalization in March 2015 for cancer during which she nearly died.<ref name="figaroavis">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the early 2020s, after being unable to continue singing, and claiming that she had "nothing else to do", Hardy dedicated herself assembling a song book, Chansons sur toi et nous, a compilation of all of her lyrics with commentaries. Chansons sur toi et nous was published in 2021 on Éditions des Équateurs.<ref name="ledevoir21" />
ArtistryEdit
Musical styleEdit
Template:Quote box Although Hardy's music covered a wide range of genres, she maintained a signature sound from the beginning of her career<ref name="glide">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which was defined by breathy alto vocals<ref name="allmusic">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a predilection for melancholic songs.<ref name="popmatters">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="QuinoneroTete">Quinonero, 2017, "« es chansons plein la tête»"</ref> Rock & FolkTemplate:'s Basile Farkas described her as the "queen of melancholy",<ref name="rocknfolk">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Hardy herself stated in 2012: "In music, I like above all the slow, sad melodies… Not in a way that plunges, but in a way that uplifts… I still aspire to find the heartbreaking melody that will bring tears to my eyes. A melody whose quality gives it a sacred dimension."<ref name="QuinoneroTete" /> Cosette Schulz of Exclaim! described her as a "master of crafting simple but stellar tracks".<ref name="exclaim" /> Writers have likened Hardy's music to that of English singer Marianne Faithfull.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Comparing both singers, The GuardianTemplate:'s Keith Altham wrote in 2014: "They both sing sad songs with a simple folksy style. They both have the same shy, wistful, almost waif-like appeal about them. They both have a dramatic, 'all-alone' quality about their voices which commands sympathy and attention."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Aside from original compositions, much of her 1960s repertoire consisted of versions of foreign artists that spanned a wide range of styles, including American girl-groups, early rockabilly, pre-Beatles British rock and roll, country music, folk, folk-rock and, to a lesser extent, doo-wop and soul.<ref name="originales" /> The recurring themes of her lyrics are sadness, personal pain, heartache, one-sided love, sleeplessness, boredom, loneliness, and confinement.<ref name="QuinoneroRouge" /><ref name="popmatters" /> Her deadpan delivery, characterized by its "cool, aloof air", has also been compared to that of German singer Nico.<ref name="blurt">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
Hardy was known for being meticulous about her music, such as her decision to leave low-quality French studios for higher-quality studios in London.<ref name="Deluxe60" /> As she matured, Hardy honed her own despairing songwriting, but she also chose from the works of leading professionals.<ref name="sixties" /> Producer Erick Benzi recalled: "From when she was 18, she knew she was different. She was capable of going in front of big artists like Charles Aznavour and saying, 'Your song is crap, I don't want to sing it.' She never made compromises."<ref name="uncut" /> Tony Cox recalled his experience working with Hardy: "Françoise was good in that she liked things to be slightly more adventurous than the norm. There was a bit of the Left BankTemplate:Refn about her – she's not your average pop singer, that's for sure."<ref name="uncut" /><ref name="ledevoir21">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Although she is regarded as one of the greatest exponents of yé-yé, she was apart from her peers in writing much of her own material.<ref name="originales" /><ref name="npr" /> She was also known for downplaying her skills as a singer and musician.<ref name="internautes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her compositions became less frequent, as she told Rock & Folk in 2018: "I understood that even if I did learn things, I would never be able to do as well as real melodists. That's why I thought it was best to bring in musicians whose work touched me."<ref name="rocknfolk" />
InfluencesEdit
Her earliest musical tastes were French chanson singers, including Cora Vaucaire, Georges Guétary, Charles Trenet, and Jacques Brel, since in the 1950s this was the only music played on the radio.<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="melodides">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="radio" /> She said that Trenet touched her more than the others because his music was "sad and light".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hardy was also a big fan of singer and songwriter Barbara, who had inspired her to write her own compositions.<ref name="uncut" /> In the early 1960s, she was introduced to English-language rock and roll and Brill Building pop through Radio Luxembourg and took inspiration from artists such as Brenda Lee,<ref name="vie" /> the Everly Brothers, the Shadows, Cliff Richard, Neil Sedaka, Connie Francis, and especially Elvis Presley and Paul Anka.<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="Deluxe57">Deluxe, 2013. p. 57</ref><ref name="melodides" /><ref name="life">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hardy said she was "completely spellbound" by these young foreign artists and began to sing and play the guitar to try to imitate them.<ref name="radio" /> She recalled in 2008: "I immediately identified with them, because they expressed teenage loneliness and awkwardness, over melodies that were much more inspiring than their lyrics".<ref name="Hardy Two" />
Hardy's music during the second half of the decade incorporated influences from the British Invasion pop phenomenon and "a strong comeback of the traditional values of French chanson, neither yé-yé nor 'Left Bank',Template:Refn but rather romantic".<ref name="QuinoneroFleur">Quinonero, 2017, "«La plus belle des fleurs de ton jardin»"</ref> Her 1964 album Mon amie la rose incorporated influences of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound technique,<ref name="dois" /> as well as Italian composer Ennio Morricone.<ref name="p4kreviews" /> Brazilian guitarist and arranger Tuca, introduced Hardy to bossa nova, which culminated to the 1971 album La Question.<ref name="telerama16" /><ref name="franceinter">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Hardy was an admirer of English folk singer-songwriter Nick Drake.<ref name="nickdrake">Template:Cite book</ref> She recalled: "For me, he didn't belong to a particularly British tradition… It is the soul which comes out of his songs that touched me deeply – romantic, poetic… but also the refined melodies. As well as the very individual timbre of his voice, which adds to the melancholy of the whole thing."<ref name="nickdrake" /> Their personalities, voices, and tastes in chords and harmony were perceived to be similar.<ref name="uncut" />
In 1972, Véronique Sanson's debut album made an impression on Hardy, who began to feel that her own music was outdated.<ref name="life" /> She described her impression of Sanson in her autobiography: "It was as if the English and American influences that yé-yé had been happy to simply copy… had been thoroughly digested and allowed for the emergence of something much more musically mature, as well as more personal."<ref name="HardyEight" /> Hardy's 1996 output Le danger incorporated influences from English band Portishead<ref name="allmusic" /> and the grunge, Britpop, and roots rock genres.<ref name="LeDanger" /><ref name="telerama16" />
DevelopmentEdit
1962–1967Edit
{{#invoke:Listen|main}}
Hardy's rockabilly-tinged, full-length debut album Tous les garçons et les filles was the closest she came to the yé-yé genre. The album was noted for its simple, minimalist accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitar, bass, and jazz-influenced percussion.<ref name="p4kreviews"/><ref name="yehyeh">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="dois"/> Her next album, Le premier bonheur du jour, incorporated more complex instrumentation and lyricism,<ref name="exclaim">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with electric organs and "weeping" string arrangements<ref name="dois"/> and included compositions inspired by jazz music and American girl groups such as the Crystals and the Ronettes.<ref name="p4kreviews"/>
In the mid-1960s, her music became lusher and richer<ref name="uncut"/> after she moved to London to record with arranger Charles Blackwell, who allowed her to "reach new levels of sophistication."<ref name="Deluxe60"/> The album Mon amie la rose, released in 1964, revealed a growing complexity in her music, with stronger vocals and increased experimentation in song structure.<ref name="exclaim"/><ref name="blurt"/> Hardy's 1965-66 output showed her style maturing, with productions that "moved from the tinny sound of yeh-yeh pop into a fuller brand of rock arrangements."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The overall sound of her follow-up album, L'amitié, was considerably more expansive.<ref name="bestfit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Pitchfork's Hazel Cills: "It wasn't until her fifth record, La maison où j'ai grandi, that Hardy grew into a more grown-up, baroque sound, one that matched the depth of her sorrow and its complexities."<ref name="p4kreviews"/> Warfield considered that this was the album in which she had "really settled into her sound, giving us a glimpse of the performer we can still recognise as a 70-year-old".<ref name="dois"/> With Ma jeunesse fout le camp, her last 1960s album recorded in London, she "moved toward a more adult, sedate form of orchestrated pop balladry"<ref name="mjflc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which has been described as "her farewell to the yé-yé years".<ref name="trodaec">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1968–1974Edit
{{#invoke:Listen|main}} With Hardy's return to French recording studios 1968's Comment te dire adieu was more MOR-oriented than her previous releases.<ref name="ctda">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Richie Unterberger considered its music to be "perhaps even sadder and more sentimental" than usual.<ref name="ctda"/> As the yé-yé era faded away following the May 68 protests in France, Hardy "reinvented herself as an elusive folk-rock/jazz chanteuse" with her early 1970s releases.<ref name="mattjames">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She developed a more mature, less-pop oriented style to reflect more of her inner.<ref name="rfi"/> Described as "the first truly personal Françoise Hardy record",<ref name="monroe"/> the 1971 album La question, moving toward a less commercial sound with no apparent hooks, was regarded as an important turning point in her career.<ref name="telerama16">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was one of her sparsest efforts, with subdued and acoustic-flavored arrangements featuring guitar, touches of bass and subtle orchestration.<ref name="originales"/><ref name="allmusicquestion">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hardy's vocals have been described as "sultry" and "breathy", at times "[substituting] melodic humming in the place of singing, wordlessly articulating the emotional essence of the song."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> La question was also first time that Hardy had a part in choosing the string arrangements for her work.<ref name="HardySeven">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Seven"</ref>
Following La question, Hardy progressed to a more folk and rock-influenced sound.<ref name="QuinoneroRouge">Quinonero, 2017, "Le rouge et l'orange"</ref> This led producer Joe Boyd to suggest that Nick Drake write an album of songs for Hardy, to be produced by Tony Cox.<ref name="uncut">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The two singers met several times, including a visit by Drake to Hardy's recording sessions in London, but the project was never carried out.<ref name="uncut"/><ref name="nickdrake"/> Cox was keen to work with Hardy, and in late 1971 recorded If You Listen, which featured a "crack team" of British folk-rock musicians.<ref name="uncut"/> Influenced by Drake,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the album featured "cinematic" arrangements that emphasized acoustic guitar and light strings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the same year, Hardy released Et si je m'en vais avant toi, which incorporated influences from American blues, folk, and rock music<ref name="QuinoneroRouge"/><ref name="orangenightfall">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and featured, unusually, a slightly humorous tone and catchier rhythms.<ref name="QuinoneroRouge"/>
Hardy enlisted Michel Berger, the producer of Véronique Sanson's debut album, to oversee production of her 1973 album Message personnel.<ref name="HardyEight"/> The album featured arrangements by Michel Bernholc, who directed "a basic rock band backed by a lush set of strings, [underlining] Hardy's wispy yet compelling vocals."<ref name="mpr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album had a sad, introspective mood and "classy, adult tone".<ref name="mattjames"/> The 1974 release Entr'acte was Hardy's first attempt at a concept album, with lyrics that narrated "the successive phases of a one-night stand between a stranger and a young woman, who, abandoned by the man she loves, is looking to give him a taste of his own medicine."<ref name="HardyNine">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Nine"</ref> It featured orchestral arrangements by Del Newman, who had recently worked on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Cat Stevens' Tea for the Tillerman.<ref name="HardyNine"/>
1975–2018Edit
1977's Star, a jazz-oriented pop record, was Hardy's first album to be arranged by Gabriel Yared, who produced her output for the next ten years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1978, as disco dominated the music industry, Yared sought to adapt her sound to the era with the release of Musique saoûle, which incorporated rhythms influenced by funk music.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic">Quinonero, 2017, "Saoule au gin-tonic"</ref> The singer said later that she had felt uncomfortable and embarrassed when singing over dance rhythms.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic"/> The 1988 album Décalages, noted for its layered, atmospheric sound,<ref name="ledangerrocks">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> incorporated the use of a Synclavier synthesizer, despite the singer's wishes to avoid fashionable digital sounds in favor of an acoustic style.<ref name="HardyThirteen"/>
In 1996, inspired by the alternative rock scene, Hardy veered into an assertive, guitar-oriented, modern rock style with Le danger, her first album in seven years.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="LeDanger">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Pitchfork's Jazz Monroe described its music as "adult-contemporary space rock".<ref name="monroe"/> The album's harsh sound and lyrics reflect the "very dark" period the singer was in at the time.<ref name="internautes"/> The commercial failure of Le danger, among other reasons, caused Hardy to return to her earlier soft and light style for the next album, Clair-obscur, released in 2000,<ref name="internautes"/> and her final five albums were characterized by an elegant and melancholic sound.<ref name="trodaec"/> 2006's (Parenthèses...) was a collection of twelve duets with production that kept tricks and slick mixing to a minimum, drawing comparisons to previous uncluttered releases such as La question.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Compared to previous albums, 2010's La pluie sans parapluie featured a "sunnier" sound, with some of its songs driven by a rhythm track of drums and bass rather than piano or strings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her 2012 album L'amour fou featured half-sung, half-spoken vocals and had a "resigned, philosophical" mood,<ref name="lefou">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with "classy" pianos, minor chords and brushed drums as backing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The lyrics of her last album, Personne d'autre, released in 2018, dealt with her advancing years and her own mortality. She had survived a major health crisis since the release of her previous record,<ref name="monroe">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the vocal performances on the album were affected by her illness.<ref name="allmusicpersonne" /> The dark, lyrical subject matter of Personne d'autre contrasted with the singer's earlier delicate and intimate sound.<ref name="monroe" /><ref name="allmusicpersonne">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Live performancesEdit
On 11 May 1962, Hardy made her debut as a live performer alongside other young singers at the Disco Revue gala in Nancy.<ref name="QuinoneroScenes">Quinonero, 2017, "Premières scènes"</ref> She performed on Christmas Eve in Brussels and undertook a successful tour in Southern France from late 1962 to early 1963.<ref name="QuinoneroScenes" /> In February 1963, she appeared on the TV show Cinq colonnes à la une alongside Sylvie Vartan and Sheila. They were later considered to be the three biggest idols of the yé-yé era, each one embodying a different modern girl archetype.<ref name="QuinoneroGraces">Quinonero, 2017, "Les Trois Grâces"</ref> She made her first appearance at the Olympia concert venue in Paris, where she opened for Richard Anthony.<ref name="HardyThree" /> Between 26 February and 10 April, Hardy took part in the Gala des Stars concert tour, sponsored by Europe n° 1 and Salut les copains.<ref name="QuinoneroEurovision">Quinonero, 2017, "«Gala des étoiles» et concours de l'Eurovision"</ref>
Between tour dates<ref name="QuinoneroEurovision" /> she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest in London, singing "{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}", and finished fifth with 25 points in a tie with France's Alain Barrière.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Between 7 November and 18 December 1963, Hardy appeared again as Anthony's opening act at the Olympia in Paris and was well received by the press, who had previously criticized her stiff live performances.<ref name="QuinoneroVoie">Quinonero, 2017, "Suivre sa voie"</ref> On 11 October, Hardy performed in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the fourth Great Gala of the Sedería Española.<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> In November, she embarked on her first Italian tour, which mostly visited small coastal towns.<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> The singer was also successful in Portugal and travelled to Lisbon in late 1963 to appear on TV shows.<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" />
On 21 February 1964, Hardy promoted "Catch a Falling Star" on the British TV show Ready Steady Go!<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> and on the same show performed "All Around the World". She also played on Ollie and Fred's Five O'Clock Club, Thank Your Lucky Stars, and Top of the Pops.<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" /> In the United States, Hardy made her first appearance on NBC's program Hullabaloo, where she performed "However Much", a bilingual version of Charles Trenet's "Que reste-t-il de nos amours ?", and a rendition of "The Girl from Ipanema".<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" />
Hardy became famous overnight in Germany after her 28 April 1965 television appearance in Portrait in Musik, a series of staged musical performances directed by Truck Branss.<ref name="HardyThree" /><ref name="QuinoneroMonde" /> Pressured by her French and Italian record companies,<ref name="HardyThree" /> Hardy took part in the Sanremo Music Festival 1966, where she reached the finals with the Edoardo Vianello-penned song "Parlami di te".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Hardy gave her last three live performances in Kinshasa, Congo, in June 1967.<ref name="QuinoneroAnglais" /> She suffered from stage fright,<ref name="HardySix" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which led to her quitting live performances altogether in 1968.<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="franceinfointerview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Public imageEdit
PersonalityEdit
As a public figure, Hardy was renowned for her shyness and reservedness,<ref name="uncut"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="dois">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and observers have emphasized her "anti-social nature as a celebrity".<ref name="p4kreviews">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She was open in her autobiography and in interviews about her struggles with anxiety, self-doubt, loneliness and inferiority complex.<ref name="HardyThree"/><ref name="HardyEight">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Eight"</ref> UncutTemplate:'s Tom Pinnock noted that "it was her refusal to play the showbusiness game that made her something of an icon."<ref name="uncut"/> The singer's sudden celebrity status was a source of great discomfort for her, as she claimed in 2011: "I didn't enjoy at all everything, the trappings, when all of a sudden you become very famous. (...) [Being taken up by fashion houses] was work, things I had to do, a chore—I didn't enjoy it at all... It is quite impossible to stand—to be admired too much—it is not a normal situation. I don't like that at all. I am not comfortable with my professional life really, so the word 'icon'—it's as though you were talking about someone else, it's not me really."<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> She was also disenchanted with the jet-set and high society lifestyle.<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="HardyThree" />
Fashion trend-setterEdit
As Hardy's almost exclusive photographer and agent during the decade,<ref name="Deluxe58"/> Jean-Marie Périer became a Pygmalion-like figure for her,<ref name="rfi"/><ref name="Deluxe29">Deluxe, 2013. p. 29</ref><ref name="tentaciones"/> and transformed the singer's public image from "a shy, gauche-looking schoolgirl" into a "modern young trend-setter."<ref name="rfi"/> She wrote: "…[Périer] tried to open my mind and help me in all domains with his characteristic generosity… under his tutelage I realized the importance of aesthetics, which became one of my major criteria. He taught me how to carry myself and to dress, and gave me advice on social skills".<ref name="HardyThree"/> He persuaded the singer to begin modelling and she soon became "a star of the international fashion world as well as the French music scene."<ref name="rfi"/> She was photographed by Gered Mankowitz,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> William Klein and Richard Avedon for Vogue and other publications.<ref name="nytimes"/> Her regular appearance on magazine covers gave her a reputation of being the quintessential French cover girl of the 1960s.<ref name="tentaciones"/><ref name="mortality"/><ref name="npr"/> In 1968, Hardy told a reporter that: "If it weren't for the way I dress, no one would notice me".<ref name="achieve" /> Likewise, she told Vanity Fair in 2018: "My songs had little interest compared to the Anglo-Saxon production. So I took it to heart to dress well every time I went to London or New York. I was above all a fashion ambassador."<ref name="vanityfair" />
As an "it girl"<ref name="independent05" /> and fashion leader,<ref name="id" /> Hardy was considered the epitome of "the 'Modern Woman'"<ref name="mattjames" /> and of 1960s French chic<ref name="sixties">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="independent05">Template:Cite news</ref> and cool,<ref name="Deluxe64">Deluxe, 2013. p. 64</ref><ref name="thetimes">Template:Cite news</ref> known for her avant-garde and futuristic fashion choices.<ref name="uncut" /><ref name="vanguardistes" /> Brett Marie of PopMatters noted that "her sense of style and '60s-era model figure made her as much an icon of fashion as a music-business star."<ref name="popmatters" /> She recalled in 2008 that at the start of the 1960s, her slender build which had made her self-conscious suddenly became fashionable.<ref name="ellefr" /> She began to be regarded as an "égérie" 'muse' by top French fashion designers of the time,<ref name="Deluxe63">Deluxe, 2013. p. 63</ref> including André Courrèges,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent.<ref name="rfi" /> Hardy championed the first incarnation of Saint-Laurent's rupturist 1966 design Le Smoking,<ref name="numero">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the designer recalled that when he took her to the Paris Opera dressed in one of his tuxedos, "People screamed and hollered. It was an outrage".<ref name="smoking">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Hardy was an early fan of Paco Rabanne, making the Spanish designer popular by wearing his creations for photoshoots and television performances.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1968, she modeled a plated mini-dress made of pure gold at the International Diamond Fair.<ref name="scotsmanobit" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Made out of 1,000 gold plaques, 300 carats of diamonds, and weighing 20 pounds, it was considered to be "the most expensive dress in the world in 1968".<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Rabanne's designs, including the gold dress, would become some of Hardy's most famous looks.<ref name="10lessons"/><ref name="scotsmanobit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Hardy modelled creations of the nascent prêt-à-porter industry,<ref name="CRF" /> a new wave of French female designers known as the "yé-yé school"<ref name="radicalrags">Template:Cite book</ref> or "the stylistes",<ref name="refashioned">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> who rebelled against the "strictures of haute couture".<ref name="richardmartin">Template:Cite book</ref> She helped to launch the career of Sonia Rykiel by wearing her influential "poor boy sweater" on the cover of Elle,<ref name="CRF" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was photographed by David Bailey wearing Emmanuelle Khanh's color-blocking coat for Vogue.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fashion Institute of Technology's Colleen Hill considered Hardy's style to be the most enduring of all the yé-yé girls, noting that "her nonchalance is an important part of her appeal. Hardy's fashion choices, such as her white Courrèges pantsuits and Yves Saint Laurent's first Le Smoking, were distinctly '60s and streamlined, yet they also have an edge."<ref name="CRF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Hardy was also known for a pared-down style with discreet hairdos and makeup, often wearing a simple sweater and pants combination.<ref name="CRF" /> Her signature look was defined by her bangs and use of white boots by Courrèges,<ref name="linternaute" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and she was one of the first people to wear miniskirts.<ref name="ellefr">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="vanityfair">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She also experimented with androgynous silhouettes.<ref name="vanguardistes" /> She was described as the "anti-Bardot", imposing a beauty ideal that "rendered the exaggerated femininity of the sex-kitten of the time old-fashioned".<ref name="achieve">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By the 1970s she had abandoned the image of a "fashionable young girl about town" that Périer had created for her.<ref name="rfi" />
1960s universal mythEdit
Her public image and style during the 1960s made an impact on international pop culture, something that overshadowed her skills as a singer outside of France.<ref name="monkey">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="QuinoneroTravesti">Quinonero, 2017, "«Son allure de page travesti»"</ref> In 1967, teen magazine Special Pop wrote: "[Hardy] manages to attract both kids and their parents, men and women alike. More than a singer, she's becoming a universal myth with whom thousands of young girls dream of identifying."<ref name="Deluxe57"/>
In the second half of the decade, Hardy became known as an inspiring cultural personality and was made a muse by numerous creative people.<ref name="sixties"/><ref name="Deluxe64"/> She was the subject of portraits by artists Template:Ill,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Bernard Buffet,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gabriel Pasqualini<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Jean-Paul Goude.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> In 1965, Jacques Prévert wrote a poem dedicated to the singer titled Une plante verte, which was read as part of Hardy's performance at the Olympia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She was also the subject of a poem by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and an open letter by Paul Guth.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Belgian illustrator Guy Peellaert used Hardy as a model for the title character of his 1968 pop art and psychedelic-inspired comic Pravda la Survireuse, made in collaboration with French screenwriter Pascal Thomas.<ref name="Deluxe64">Deluxe, 2013. p. 64</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The singer was admired by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí,<ref name="sixties" /> who invited her to spend a week with him in Cadaqués in 1968.<ref name="Deluxe67">Deluxe, 2013. p. 67</ref> Hardy was also admired in the Swinging London scene<ref name="bagatelas" /><ref name="abc" /> and she acknowledged having been a "source of fascination for the English pop musicians".<ref name="mortality" /> Malcolm McLaren described her as the "utmost of the pinup girl, pinned to the walls of every trendy pop apprentice's bedroom down in Chelsea. Many bands in their prime, like the Beatles or the Stones, dreamt of dating her."<ref name="Deluxe60">Deluxe, 2013. p. 60</ref> Her image fascinated the young David Bowie,<ref name="monkeyreview" /> Mick Jagger (who described her as his "ideal woman"),<ref name="mortality" /> Brian Jones,<ref name="HardyThree" /> Morrissey,<ref name="vanityfair" /> and Richard Thompson.<ref name="uncut" />
Bob Dylan was infatuated by Hardy and included a beat poem dedicated to her on the back cover of his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan.<ref name="uncut" /><ref name="mortality">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It began: "for françoise hardy/at the seine's edge/a giant shadow/of notre dame/seeks t' grab my foot/sorbonne students/whirl by on thin bicycles/swirlin' lifelike colors of leather spin..."<ref name="npr" /><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> In 2018, Hardy told Uncut that she had drafts of the poem that Dylan had left in a café. She said, "... I was very moved. This was a young man, a very romantic artist, who had a fixation on somebody only from a picture. You know how very young people are... I realised it had been very important for him."<ref name="uncut" /> Hardy and Dylan met in May 1966, behind the scenes of his performance at Olympia.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Noticing that Hardy was in the audience, Dylan had refused to go back on stage to perform the second half unless she went to his dressing room.<ref name="HardyFour" /><ref name="passion">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She and other singers later joined Dylan at his suite in the Four Seasons Hotel George V,<ref name="passion" /> where he gave her early pressings of "Just Like a Woman" and "I Want You".<ref name="HardyFour" />
Political viewsEdit
As a public figure, Hardy was known for her frankness regarding her political views,<ref name="sixties"/> which have been described as right-wing.<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/><ref name="gay"/> She was raised in a Gaullist family and she told Télérama in 2011: "I don't like everything that is said or done on the right, and I don't denigrate everything that is done or said on the left… basically I'm pretty centrist."<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance"/> In her 2008 autobiography, she wrote that she "only identif[ed] with ecology", which she considered "neither right nor left".<ref name="HardyThirteen"/>
While promoting her album Décalages, Hardy was interviewed by the magazine Rockland. The conversation strayed into politics, the 1988 French presidential election having taken place the day before,<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/> and believing that an off-the-record discussion would not be included in the final article, Hardy expressed contempt for people on the left.<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/> She was outraged when the political part of the interview was published, and defended herself in a televised interview on 13 May with Thierry Ardisson, in which she recounted an altercation with singer Renaud, claiming that he had insulted her for her support of Minister of Culture François Léotard.<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/> In the Rockland interview, she commented about racism in France, saying "We do not talk about anti-French racism, that there are places where you are more likely to enter if you are not French",<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/> as well as about antisemitism, suggesting that "those who see it everywhere could actually be sowing its seeds."<ref name="HardyThirteen">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Thirteen"</ref> The singer wrote in her autobiography that she distanced herself from these remarks.<ref name="HardyThirteen"/>
Hardy was an opponent of the solidarity tax on wealth (French: impôt de solidarité sur la fortune; ISF). She defended the tax shield put in place by the government of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010 and denounced François Hollande's tax program during the 2012 French presidential election, telling Paris Match: "I believe that most people do not realize the tragedy that the ISF causes to people in my category. I am forced, almost 70 years old and ill, to sell my apartment and move out."<ref name="QuinoneroISF"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This prompted her son Thomas Dutronc to write on Twitter: "But no mom, don't worry I'll invite you over to my place just in case..."<ref name="moches"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hardy later denied claims that she would be homeless and clarified that "the tragedy is the people who are losing their jobs because of offshoring and the [European debt] crisis".<ref name="QuinoneroISF"/>
Hardy expressed her support for legalising abortion, while distancing herself from feminism.<ref name="HardyFive">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Five"</ref> In 2015, the singer criticized feminist activists in her essay "Avis non autorisés ...", in which she wrote: "I find them surly, ugly, that is to say not feminine for two cents. I have never been able to identify in anything with feminists. There are, however, some that I could have idealized..."<ref name="moches">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
During the 2017–2018 protests in France, Hardy expressed her support for President Emmanuel Macron. She said "We must let him reform France. Part of the French people don't want to see the reality and are stuck in the Marxist ideology. What I like about President Macron is that he is an idealist but not an ideologue and is firmly grounded in reality."<ref name="nytimes">Template:Cite news</ref> During the 2023 French pension reform strikes, she told Le Journal du Dimanche that she was "ashamed of what was happening" in France, fearing that "repeated strikes" would deter tourists, and defended the pension reform bill.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Legacy and influenceEdit
Template:Quote box Hardy was celebrated as a "French national treasure"<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="uncut"/><ref name="npr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and one of the greatest figures in French music.<ref name="monkey" /> She was one of the best-selling music artists in French history, with over 7.6 million records sold by November 2017.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> American critic Richie Unterberger described her as "indisputably the finest pop-rock artist to emerge from that country in the 1960s"<ref name="originales">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and said he would like to see Hardy inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2011, Hardy was included in Le Petit Larousse Illustré.<ref name="QuinoneroISF">Quinonero, 2017, "La pluie..., Hollande et l'ISF"</ref>
Long after her heyday in the 1960s, Hardy continued to be regarded as an important and influential figure in fashion history.<ref name="id">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="vanguardistes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="achieve"/><ref name="10lessons">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During his time at Balenciaga, designer Nicolas Ghesquière described her in Vogue as "the very essence of French style".<ref name="achieve" /> The photographs of the singer wearing a Paco Rabanne metal-plated dress inspired Lizzy Gardiner's design of the costumes of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and her own Oscars dress.<ref name="gay"/> Hardy was a muse to Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, who named her label Comme des Garçons after a lyric in the song "Tous les garçons et les filles".<ref name="10lessons"/>
Over her career, Hardy amassed a large fanbase among gay men and was regarded as a gay icon by the community. She said on several occasions that her most devoted friends and fans were gay.<ref name="gay">Template:Cite book</ref>
Hardy's musical influence is found in the work of Francophone acts such as Coralie Clément,<ref name="monkey"/> La Femme,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Juliette Armanet,<ref name="vanityfair"/> Melody's Echo Chamber,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Keren Ann<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Carla Bruni, who imitated Hardy's style for her musical debut.<ref name="tentaciones">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Writers have pointed to her influence on the music of English avant-pop group Stereolab,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including similarities in Hardy's vocals and those of lead singer Lætitia Sadier.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Outside the French-speaking world, she has been mentioned as an inspiration to female singer-songwriters like Caroline Polachek,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Charli XCX,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Angel Olsen,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Candie Payne,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Erin Rae,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Heather Trost,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Violetta Zironi,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Zooey Deschanel and Cat Power.<ref name="monkey"/> Hardy has also influenced alternative music acts such as Broadcast,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Goldfrapp,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jeremy Jay,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Chap<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Xeno & Oaklander.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In an article for Into Creative, Filmmaker Grant McPhee described her as 'A poster-girl for shy people and a fantasy figure for believing they too can be cool' <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2021, Rivers Cuomo of American rock band Weezer cited Hardy as one of his "sonic ideals",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and side he was particularly influenced by her album Message personnel.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Greg Gonzalez of American dream pop band Cigarettes After Sex called Hardy one of his biggest musical influences,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> stating in 2016: "La question is just so perfect, I wanted that kind of beauty."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The 1971 cult album La question appeared in The GuardianTemplate:'s "1000 albums to hear before you die".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album would gain a cult following after its release<ref name="telerama16" /><ref name="franceinter" /><ref name="indiehoy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and it became regarded as Hardy's artistic peak.<ref name="efequestion">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="indiehoy" />
In 2017, Pitchfork ranked Tous les garçons et les filles ninetieth on its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s", with Marc Hogan describing it as "an enduring middle ground between rockabilly shimmy and Gallic introspection, delivered by the most glamorous wallflower in France."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Hardy at number 162 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Personal assessment on careerEdit
Hardy was critical of her first albums, Tous les garçons et les filles and Le premier bonheur du jour, despite their popularity.<ref name="uncut" /> She said in interviews in 2018 that she "felt very frustrated because I wanted to have beautiful electric guitars… Instead, I had very bad French musicians and a terribly bad musical production."<ref name="clash" /> After she went to London in 1963 to record new albums, she felt able "to make another kind of music, not this mechanical music I had been trapped in."<ref name="mortality" />
Despite the poor commercial performances of her early 1970s releases, La question, Et si je m'en vais avant toi, and If You Listen, Hardy felt artistically vindicated.<ref name="HardySeven" /> She felt especially proud of La question, stating in 2008: "while it did not enjoy great success with the public at large, at least I can claim that it did touch another audience… Often an ambitious record can be more or less ignored when it is released but ends up having a long life."<ref name="HardySeven" /> In 1996 interview with The Independent, Hardy said she believed that most people did not know her artistry, and that she always had to talk about the 1960s and the Beatles.<ref name="sixties" />
Personal lifeEdit
FamilyEdit
In 1962 Hardy formed a romantic and professional relationship with Salut Les Copains photographer Jean-Marie Périer.<ref name="QuinoneroGarcon">Quinonero, 2017, "«L'amour d'un garçon / Peut tout changer»"</ref><ref name="Deluxe58"/> They did not live together and were constantly apart because of their work obligations, which took a toll on the relationship.<ref name="HardyThree"/> They broke up in 1966<ref name="HardyFour"/> but remained close friends and collaborators.<ref name="parismatch21"/> Hardy began a highly publicized relationship with singer Jacques Dutronc in 1967.<ref name="NightfallJeneusse">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="QuinoneroVoudras">Quinonero, 2017, "«Le jour où tu voudras / Je serai là pour toi»"</ref> After the birth of their only child, a son Thomas, on 16 June 1973,<ref name="QuinoneroThomas">Quinonero, 2017, "Thomas, l'enfant de l'amour"</ref> Hardy and Dutronc moved into in a three-story house near Parc Montsouris in the autumn of 1974.<ref name="QuinoneroThomas"/> The family moved every summer to a house owned by Dutronc in Lumio on the island of Corsica.<ref name="QuinoneroThomas"/> As an adult, Hardy's son Thomas Dutronc also developed a career as a musician.<ref name="resurreccion">Template:Cite news</ref>
Hardy and Dutronc were married on 30 March 1981 in a private ceremony.<ref name="ina81">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Hardy, they formalized their relationship for "fiscal reasons",<ref name="independent05"/> and on the advice of Hardy's lawyer for health and safety reasons.<ref name="ina81"/> The couple separated in 1988 due to infidelities on both parts and Dutronc's alcoholism.<ref name="QuinoneroFaim"/><ref name="QuinoneroVII">Quinonero, 2017, "«ME PASSER DU MYSTÈRE DE MISTER» «Qu'y a-t-il sous votre carapace ? / Quels jardins secrets ? / L'un après l'autre / Tout est passé...»"</ref> They never divorced and their relationship became a "special friendship".<ref name="QuinoneroVII"/> In 2016, She told Le Parisien that although Dutronc had a new partner, he did not want a divorce from Hardy.<ref name="parisien16">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the early 1980s, she learned that her distant father had led a double life as a closeted gay man when one of his young lovers bragged about his financial support to one of Dutronc's friends.<ref name="HardyEleven"/> He died in a hospital on 6 February 1981 after being assaulted,<ref name="HardyEleven"/> probably by a young male prostitute,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which was not reported in the press at the time.<ref name="QuinoneroMariage">Quinonero, 2017, "Mariage et élections"</ref> Hardy's sister Michèle was raised without the affection of their parents, and developed suicidal and paranoid schizophrenic tendencies.<ref name="HardyFive"/> In May 2004 she was found dead at her home in L'Île-Rousse from a probable suicide.<ref name="HardyEighteen"/>
Health and deathEdit
Between late 2004 and early 2005 Hardy was diagnosed with MALT lymphoma,<ref name="avisnon"/><ref name="QuinoneroDefera">Quinonero, 2017 "«Rien ne défera jamais nos liens»"</ref> which inaugurated a "hellish period" that disrupted her life.<ref name="HardyEighteen"/> She underwent chemotherapy treatment that was initially successful.<ref name="HardyEighteen"/> In March 2015, her condition worsened and she had to be admitted to hospital, where she was put into an artificial coma and nearly died.<ref name="figaroavis"/> While in hospital, she broke her hip and elbow.<ref name="figaroavis"/> She told Le Figaro in 2015: "I also have a lot of difficulty walking… There are times when I absolutely cannot see anyone and I cannot go out. But I remain positive… I avoid thinking about it, it does not obsess me."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hardy underwent further chemotherapy and immunotherapy sessions.<ref name="diseasertl">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her health worsened, and in 2021 she made news as an advocate for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in France. She said in interviews that if her condition became unbearable to the point where she can no longer "do the things that [her] life requires", she would resort to euthanasia, but would not have the consultation to do so.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="diseasertl" /> In the same year, she disclosed that she could no longer sing as a result of the effects of the treatments.<ref name="parismatch21" /> Hardy died of laryngeal cancer in Paris, on 11 June 2024, at the age of 80.<ref name="lemonde">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Prior to her death she had also experienced several falls and bone fractures.<ref name="lemonde" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her son announced her death on Instagram, writing "Mom is gone…"<ref name="letempsobit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:As of a farewell ceremony took place at Père Lachaise Cemetery at the crematorium and columbarium building.<ref name="Figaro/AFP 2024-06-15">Template:Cite news</ref>
Selected discographyEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Columns-list
FilmographyEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes | Template:Abbr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Nutty, Naughty Chateau (Château en Suède) | Ophélie | Roger Vadim | — | <ref name="Deluxe60"/> | |
| 1964 | The Hully Gully Boys (Template:Ill) | Herself | Marcello Giannini and Carlo Infascelli | musical performer | <ref name="ragazzi"/> | |
| 1965 | This Crazy, Crazy World of Song (Questo Pazzo, Pazzo Mondo Della Canzone) | Bruno Corbucci and Giovanni Grimaldi | <ref name="questo"/> | |||
| What's New Pussycat? | Mayor's secretary | Clive Donner | cameo appearance | <ref name="Deluxe60"/> | ||
| Highest Pressure (Altissima Pressione) | Herself | Enzo Trapani | musical performer | <ref name="larkin"/> | ||
| 1966 | Devil at My Heels (Une balle au cœur) | Anna | Jean-Daniel Pollet | — | <ref name="HardyThree"/> | |
| Masculine Feminine | American officer's companion | Jean-Luc Godard | cameo appearance | <ref name="godard"/> | ||
| Europe Sing (Europa Canta) | Herself | José Luis Merino | musical performer | <ref name="larkin"/> | ||
| Grand Prix | Lisa | John Frankenheimer | — | <ref name="QuioneroCineaste"/> | ||
| 1968 | Monte Carlo: It's The Rose (Monte Carlo: C'est La Rose) | Herself | Michael Pfleghar | television special | <ref name="larkin"/> | |
| 1969 | The Man Who Came From Cher (L'Homme Qui Venait du Cher) | Suzanne | Pierre Desfons | television film | <ref name="cher"/> | |
| 1972 | The Doves (Template:Ill) | Young hippie | Jean-Claude Lord | cameo appearance | <ref name="colombes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1976 | If I Had to Do It All Over Again (Si C'Était à Refaire) | Herself | Claude Lelouch | musical performer | <ref name="QuinoneroFilmography">Quinonero, 2017, "Annexe: Filmographie"</ref> |
Published worksEdit
- Astrological
- Le grand livre de la Vierge (The Great Book Of The Virgin) (with Béatrice Guénin) (1979)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Entre les lignes, entre les signes (Between The Lines, Between The Signs) (with Anne-Marie Simond) (1986)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- L'astrologie universelle (Universal Astrology) (1987)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Les rythmes du zodiaque (The Rhythms Of The Zodiac) (2003)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Non-fiction
- Notes secrètes: entretiens avec Eric Dumont (Secret Notes: Interviews With Eric Dumont) (1991) (interview)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Le désespoir des singes... et autres bagatelles (The Despair Of The Monkeys... And Other Trifles) (2008) (autobiography)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Avis non autorisés... (Unauthorized Reviews...) (2015) (essay)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Un cadeau du ciel... (A Gift From Heaven...) (2016) (essay)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Chansons sur toi et nous (Songs About You And Us) (2021) (songbook)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Novels
- L'amour fou (Crazy Love) (2014)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- French fashion
- French rock music
- List of astrologers
- List of baroque pop artists
- List of folk rock artists
- List of French singers
- List of yé-yé singers
FootnotesEdit
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ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
External linksEdit
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- Françoise Hardy at Discogs
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Template:Françoise Hardy Template:Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest Template:Eurovision Song Contest 1963 Template:Authority control