Isabelle Aubret (; born Thérèse Coquerelle; 27 July 1938) is a French singer best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962 with the song "

Un premier amour "Un premier amour" (; "A First Love") was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1962, sung in French by Isabelle Aubret representing . The song was performed ninth on the night, following the ' De Spelbrekers with " Katinka" and prec ...

Early life

Thérèse Coquerelle was born in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

, France, on 27 July 1938. She was the fifth of eleven children; her father was a foreman in a spinning mill, while her mother, of Ukrainian origin, was a housewife.Isabelle Aubret Biography
, RFI Musique. Retrieved 17 August 2014 Coquerelle trained in gymnastics as a child, and in 1952 she won the national French Gymnastics Championship. That same year, she left school and was hired as a winder in the Lemaire-Destombes factory in Saint-André, where her father worked. A few years later, she returned to this spinning mill to sing in the theatre of her family house, as part of a radio program. She continued to take drama and classical dance classes. At the same time, she participated in local singing competitions. Her drama teacher introduced her to the director of a Lille radio station, and Coquerelle took the stage for the first time. She sang in ensembles, and in 1956, at the age of eighteen, she joined an orchestra in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

. In 1960 she won a singing competition at the Olympia, where she was noticed by the director of the room, Bruno Coquatrix. After Coquerelle secured a cabaret spot in

Pigalle Pigalle may refer to: Places ;Paris, France *Quartier Pigalle, an area in Paris around the Place Pigalle, on the border between the 9th and the 18th arrondissements *Place Pigalle, public square in the Quartier Pigalle at the foot of the Montmartre ...

, she released her debut single "Nous les Amoureux" in 1961 under the name Isabelle Aubret.

Career

Aubret won the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

in 1962, representing France and singing "

" ("A first love")Thompson, Dave
Isabelle Aubret Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

; retrieved 17 August 2014. with music composed by Claude-Henri Vic and lyrics by Roland Stéphane Valade. In 1963, she was approached by director

Jacques Demy Jacques Demy (; 5 June 1931 – 27 October 1990) was a French director, lyricist, and screenwriter. He appeared at the height of the French New Wave alongside contemporaries like Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. Demy's films are celebra ...

and musician Michel Legrand for the main role of the film ''

Les parapluies de Cherbourg ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' (french: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music and lyrics by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young ...

'', but Aubret was subsequently injured in a car accident when her car skidded on a bend. One person died and three were seriously injured, including pianist Serge Sentis. Aubret was hospitalized in

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...

, going through multiple operations and a long rehabilitation. In 1968, she returned to Eurovision and again represented France, this time singing " La source" ("The Spring/Fountain") with music by Daniel Faure and lyrics by Henri Dijan and Guy Bonnet. Aubret was a participant in the French national heats for Eurovision in other years. Her first attempt was in 1961 with the song "Le gars de n'importe où". She was awarded second place. Another runner-up spot came Aubret's way in 1970 when she teamed up with

Daniel Beretta Daniel Beretta (born 24 December 1946 in Audincourt, Doubs) is a French actor. He has dubbed over Arnold Schwarzenegger in the French versions of all his films since 1987. Biography Daniel Beretta started learning how to play piano at the age of ...

for the song "Olivier, Olivia". She was not as successful with her 1976 effort, "Je te connais déjà", which finished sixth out of seven songs in the second semi-final. Her final challenge for Eurovision came in 1983 with the patriotic "France, France", which took her to third place. Working with French composer

Michel Colombier Michel Colombier (23 May 1939 – 14 November 2004) was a French composer, arranger, and conductor. Career Colombier wrote the scores of several motion pictures and TV productions. He also wrote chamber music and ballets. With composer Pierre H ...

, Aubret co-produced the song "C'est Ainsi Que Les Choses Arrivent" for Jean-Pierre Melville's 1972 film '' Un Flic''. In 1981, Aubret had another accident. She was rehearsing a flying trapeze number for the with her partner, boxer

Jean-Claude Bouttier Jean-Claude Bouttier (13 October 1944 – 3 August 2019) was a French actor and professional boxer. During his boxing career, which spanned from 1965 to 1974, he won 64 out of 72 bouts, 43 of them by knockout. In June 1971 he won the European B ...

, when she fell and broke both legs. It took two years of rehabilitation for her to walk again. In 2001, she celebrated her forty-year career by giving a series of concerts at Bobino.

Personal life

Aubret is married to Gérard Meys.

Partial discography

*''Isabelle Aubret'' (1969) *''Liberté'' (1981) *''Le monde chante'' (1984) *''Vague à l'homme'' (1987) *''1989'' (1989) *''Vivre en flèche'' (1990) *''In love'' (1991) *''Coups de cœur'' (1992) *''Isabelle Aubret chante Aragon'' (1992) *''Isabelle Aubret chante Ferrat'' (1993) *''C'est le bonheur'' (1993) *''Isabelle Aubret chante Brel'' (1995) *''Isabelle Aubret chante pour les petits et les grands'' (1997) *''Changer le monde'' (1997) *''Parisabelle'' (1999) *''Le paradis des musiciens'' (2001) *''Cosette et Jean Valjean'' (2002) *''Les Indispensables'' (2005) *''2006'' (2006)

References

External links

Official site
(in French)
Biography
from

Radio France International Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

(in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aubret, Isabelle 1938 births Living people Musicians from Lille Eurovision Song Contest winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for France Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1962 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1968 French women singers Philips Records artists