Philippe Lafontaine

Born on May 24, 1955 in Gosselies, Charleroi, Belgium, Philippe Lafontaine initially set his sights on studying fine arts. Bored, he finally decided to stop his studies and take off with his guitar, setting up on the street to play his first songs. Alongside odd jobs that stabilized his finances, Philippe Lafontaine managed to record his first album in 1978, Où...? His music, in the tradition of popular French chanson, established him on the French music scene, with collaborations with Popeck, for whom he opened at the Olympia, and Maurane. It was only a few years later, however, that Philippe Lafontaine's fame took off, when his song "Cœur De Loup" led to a fourth album, Affaire (À Suivre), released in 1988. Winning awards at the Victoires de la Musique and the Prix Félix in 1989, Lafontaine went on to represent Belgium at the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest. After coming third, the Belgian singer continued composing in the 1990s, before moving into musical comedy with the hit show Célia Fée, presented in 2000. While his personal songwriting dwindled over time, culminating in 2003 with a final album entitled De L'Autre Rive, Philippe Lafontaine continued to write, notably for Maurane, and organized a new tour, Tout Seul..., in 2007.

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