Alain Kan (born Alain Michel Zisa; 14 September 1944), is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

singer who disappeared on 14 April 1990.

Early life

Born Alain Michel Zisa in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, on 14 September 1944. Kan was raised by his mother and stepfather, and grew up with his stepsister Véronique, seven years older than him. "Kan" is the surname of his stepfather, Kan never knew his biological father.

Music career

In the spring of 1963, at the age of 16, Kan released his first 45 rpm at Pathé-Marconi, "Si l'amore" (written by Bob du Pac and Jean-Louis Chauby) on the A-side, and "Quand tu reviendras" (written by Michel Jourdan and Danyel Gérard) on the B-side. The following year, in 1964, he released three 4-track EPs from Decca, mostly consisting of covers of American and Canadian singers, including

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

Glam rock period

In the 1970s, Kan travelled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, where he developed an interest in the music of

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

, T. Rex, and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, who would go on to be an enormous influence on him, and he met

Marie France , known professionally as (born 9 February 1946 in , French Algeria) is a French singer and actress. She is a transgender Parisian pop icon of the 1970s. Biography Marie-France was hired in 1969 by the cabaret bar in the Latin Quarter of ...

. Inspired by the

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

music of these musicians, Kan made a foray into glam rock with the album "Et Gary Cooper s'éloigna dans le désert..." (1975), followed by "Heureusement en France on ne se drogue pas" (1976). While recording the latter at the

Château d'Hérouville The Château d'Hérouville (commonly referred to as Honky Château) is a French 18th-century château located in the village of Hérouville, in the Val d'Oise département of France, near Paris. The château was built in 1740 by "Gaudot", an arc ...

, in

Hérouville-en-Vexin Hérouville-en-Vexin (, literally ''Hérouville in Vexin''; before 2017: ''Hérouville'') ...

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.< ...

, he met David Bowie. Kan said of this meeting: "In Hérouville, I met Bowie, who took me away for ten days in his black Mercedes. Since then I have not missed my discoloration ... There have been lots of photos in the press and since then there has been a kind of respect for me".

Disappearance

Alain Kan disappeared on 14 April 1990. He was last seen at the

Rue de la Pompe The Rue de la Pompe is a street in Paris, France, which was named after the pump which served water to the castle of Muette. With a length of 1,690 metres, the Rue de la Pompe is one of the longest streets in the 16th arrondissement. It runs fro ...

Parisian metro station.

Personal life

In 1971, Alain Kan became the brother-in-law of singer

Christophe Christophe may refer to: People * Christophe (name), list of people with this given name or surname * Christophe (singer) (1945–2020), French singer * Cristophe (hairstylist) (born 1958), Belgian hairstylist * Georges Colomb (1856–1945), Frenc ...

, when Christophe married Kan's sister, Véronique.

Discography

*''Et Gary Cooper S'Éloigna Dans Le Désert...'' (1975) *''Heureusement En France, On Ne Se Drogue Pas...'' (1976) *''What Ever Happened To Alain Z. Kan'' (1979) *''Parfums De Nuit...'' (1986)

Compilations

*Alain Kan13 Coffret 3 CD – 2007

EP

*Tu le sais14 EP – 1964 *Pour mon anniversaire15 EP – 1964 *Paris sous la pluie16 EP – 1964

Singles

*Si l'amour17 Single – 1963 *Tu peux pas savoir18 Single – 1964 *Tu ne m'aimes pas19 Single – 1964 *Pour mon Anniversaire20 Single – 1964 *Amédée21 Single sous le nom d'Amédée.jr – 1970 *Mon homme à moi... c'est toi Single sous le nom Les Pingouins22 – 1970 *Pauv’ pomme23 Single – 1971 *Je n'ai plus envie sans toi24 Single – 1972 *Au pays de Pierrot25 Single – 1973 *55–60 (dès que vient le samedi soir) 26 Single – 1973 *Star ou rien27 Single – 1973 *City palace28 Single – 1974 *Sally29 Single avec Gazoline – 1977 *Killer man30 Single avec Gazoline – 1977 *BB for Brigitte31 Single – 1986

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kan, Alain 1990s missing person cases 1944 births 20th-century French male singers French male singer-songwriters French singer-songwriters French rock singers Glam rock musicians Missing French people Missing person cases in France Musicians from Paris