Françoise Madeleine Hardy is a French singer and actress. Her early musical influences were the French chanson stars Charles Trenet and Cora Vaucaire as well as Anglophone singers Paul Anka, the Everly Brothers, Cliff Richard, Connie Francis and Marty Wilde whom she heard on the English-language radio station Radio Luxembourg.
She signed her first contract with the record label Vogue in November 1961. In April 1962, shortly after she left university, her first record "Oh Oh Chéri" appeared, selling over a million copies. The following year after her Eurovision appearance, she was awarded she was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque from the Académie Charles Cros.
In 1994, she collaborated with the British pop group Blur for their "La Comedie" version of "To The End" and the following year she sang on Malcolm McLaren's single "Revenge of the Flowers". In May 2000, she made a comeback with the album "Clair Obscur" which contained offerings from her husband and son as well as collaborations with Iggy Pop and Étienne Daho. For this album, she won "Female Artist of the Year" at the Victoires de la musique ceremony in 2005.
In 2012, she marked her fiftieth year in showbusiness by releasing her 27th studio album. She was also diagnosed with cancer which eventually went into remission.
She passed away on June 12, 2024 at the age of 80 from a long battle of cancer.
Eurovision Song Contest 1963 | |||
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Participants | |||
Ronnie Carroll • Annie Palmen • Heidi Brühl • Carmela Corren • Anita Thallug • Emilio Pericoli • Laila Halme • Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann • Vice Vukov • Esther Ofarim • Alain Barrière • José Guardiola • Monica Zetterlund • Jacques Raymond • Françoise Hardy • Nana Mouskouri | |||
Songs | |||
Say Wonderful Things • Een speeldoos • Marcel • Vielleicht geschieht ein Wunder • Solherv • Uno per tutte • Muistojeni laulu • Dansevise • Brodovi • T'en vas pas • Elle était si jolie • Algo prodigoso • En gång i Stockholm • Waarom? • L'amour s'en va • À force de prier |