Jo Lemaire
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (March 2020) |
Jo Lemaire | |
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Background information | |
Born | Gembloux, Belgium | 5 January 1956
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 1979–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | Jo Lemaire + Flouze |
Jo Lemaire (born 5 January 1956) is a Belgian singer and songwriter born in Gembloux, Namur. Beyond her native country, she is also popular in France, Switzerland, Canada, and the Netherlands.[1]
Career[]
Jo Lemaire debuted musically in the late 1970s with her musical group, "Jo Lemaire + Flouze". The group saw true success with the release of their album in 1981. That album, containing a moody synthpop adaptation of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais", propelled the singer into stardom all over Europe and Canada. In 1982, the group separated, and Lemaire continued her career as a solo artist. She divorced Philippe Depireux, a fellow former bandmember, and moved to Bilzen with her new partner, Fa Vanham.
Her first solo album, Concorde, was released to great success in 1983. The vinyl was uniquely bilingual, in having one side in English and the other in French. A year later, a self-titled album was released, produced by Jean-Marie Aerts. It also enjoyed success. Her third solo album, , was produced by PolyGram International rather than . It was not a hit; her long career has experienced highs and lows.
Through her concerts abroad, her multilingualism and covers of hits by foreign artists, Lemaire has many fans outside Belgium; in Germany, the Netherlands, and in French-speaking countries like Canada, France, and Switzerland. She has participated in the Transmusicales in Rennes, the Printemps de Bourges, the , and many other tours and music festivals.
In 1990, she released Duelle, a collection of French songs. It reached Gold disc status in France. Later that year, a Dutch language album was also released, a tribute to fellow Belgian musician Will Tura. In 1994, she collaborated with British singer Carmel in Liverpool to produce an .
In 2000, she began touring Flemish schools using music to encourage children to learn French language. Two CDs based on the "Bob & Bobette" comic characters from this campaign were released, titled Eventail Junior. In 2001, she partnered the former Hooverphonic band member Frank Duchêne and lyricists Michael Bisceglia and Ronny Mosuse on the album , and its associated single "La saison des amours". In 2007 she recorded a song with Rocco Granata on the album La Vie à Deux.
Discography[]
singles[]
- "So Static!" (with Flouze)
- "Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais" (with Flouze)
Albums[]
- (1979)
- (1980)
- (1981)
- (1983)
- (1984)
- (1987)
- Duelle (1990)
- Aujourd'hui (1992)
- (1994)
- (1997)
- (1998)
- Une Vie (1999)
- (2001)
- (2003)
Compilations[]
- Tranches de vie
References[]
- ^ "Biography". Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
External links[]
- Official website
- Jo Lemaire discography at Discogs
- 1956 births
- Living people
- Belgian female singers
- Dutch-language singers of Belgium
- English-language singers from Belgium
- French-language singers of Belgium
- Rocket Records artists
- People from Gembloux
- Walloon musicians