Gabriel Lewis Laughlin, better known by his stage name Jean Gabilou, is a French Polynesian singer.
Born to a family of ten children, he lived in Papeete, Tahiti until the age of 13, before moving to Faa'a with his family.
He first got into singing in 1963, when a friend, Raoul Robert, asked him to sing a melody at the Matavai Hotel. He then interpreted two waltzes and a religious song entitled "When The Saints Go Marching In" in rock version. The same evening he received his first contract for 60 francs an hour. He first worked with the Vernaudon brothers for two years, then started performing at the Pitate Club with the Hars Brothers for another two years.
Laughlin was then approached by Petiot, a guitarist for a group called The Barefoot Boys, which he joined at the age of 23. However, in 1968, Laughlin left the group, and founded a new group called the Banjo Boys with his friends. Together, they released the song "Little Sacred Island", which sold 54,000 copies.
Two years later, while performing at Tahara'a Hotel, Paulette Vienot discovered him and got him signed on a contract. The following song "Moi girls", did not attain the success they expected; in 1979, he moved to the United States.
Another two years later, he was contacted as potential candidate to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 in Dublin; his song, Humanahum, ended up in the competition after a national final, beating out such candidates such as 1969 winner Frida Boccara. During rehearsals, his wife died in Tahiti; nevertheless, he persisted, placing third in the competition.
In 1983, he celebrated his twenty-year career in Papeete. In 1985, he married Moeata Sasson, an accomplished dancer for the Tahitian dance troupe "Tamari'i Fautaua. A few years later, Moeata staged her own dance troupe "Tamari'i Poerava", whose dancers then began performing alongside Gabilou.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1981 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | |||
 Marty Brem •  Modern Folk Trio & Aysegül •  Lena Valaitis •  Jean-Claude Pascal •  Hakol Over Habibi •  Tommy Seebach & Debbie Cameron •  Seid Memic •  Riki Sorsa •  Jean Gabilou •  Bachelli •  Linda Williams •  Sheeba •  Finn Kalvik •  Bucks Fizz •  Carlos Paião •  Emily Starr •  Yiannis Dimitras •  Island •  Peter, Sue & Marc •  Björn Skifs
| |||
| Songs | |||
| Wenn du da bist • Dönme Dolap • Johnny Blue • C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique • Halayla • Krøller eller ej • Lejla • Reggae OK • Humanahum • Y sólo tú • Het is een wonder • Horoscopes • Aldri i livet • Making Your Mind Up • Playback • Samson • Feggari Kalokerino • Monika • Io senza te • Fångad i en dröm
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Trivia[]
- Jean shares the same birthday as Emmelie de Forest (28 February), but he was born forty-nine years before her.