Jean Leclerc (; born May 14, 1961) is a Québécois singer-songwriter and author from Sainte-Foy,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. He is popularly known as Jean Leloup (which he likes to translate to John the Wolf), a

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

he kept using until 2006, when he temporarily changed his name to Jean Leclerc, only to resurrect his wolf character in August 2008. He is known for his colourful personality and unique musical style in the

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

community.

Biography

Born in Sainte-Foy in 1961 to Québécois parents, Jean Leclerc grew up in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, more precisely in

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. The culture and way of life of his host country had an important influence on him and influenced many of his songs. He learned to play guitar by listening to the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. He was also influenced by colorful French music icons such as

Jacques Dutronc Jacques Dutronc (; born 28 April 1943) is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. Some of Dutronc's best-known hits include " Il est cinq heures, Paris s'éveille" (which AllMusic has called "his finest hour"), "Le Responsa ...

Jacques Higelin Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin (; 18 October 1940 – 6 April 2018) was a French pop singer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Early life Higelin was born on 18 October 1940. His father, Paul, a railway worker and musician of Alsatian de ...

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

and

Michel Polnareff Michel Polnareff (born 3 July 1944) is a French singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 1960s. He is noted for integrating rock and pop elements into his early work. He wrote pop hits such as "La Poupée qui fait non" and "Love Me, Ple ...

. He returned to

in 1976, and appeared on the music scene in the 1980s. In 1983, he was noticed at the Festival international de la chanson de Granby and participated in the rock opera Starmania in 1986. However, he quickly distanced himself from the latter because of its "clean" character. Opting for the stage name of Jean Leloup (nicknamed John the Wolf by fans and by himself), he appeared on stage in Montreal in the late 1980s. From the beginning of his career, he made waves with his provocative lyrics--in his song "1990", he compares the high-tech actions of

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

to his sexual activities with his girlfriend. His 1990 album ''L'amour est sans pitié'' was a hit outside of Quebec, and was released in the rest of Canada, USA,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

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Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He was the recipient of a Félix Award in 1997, following the success of his 1996 album ''Le Dôme''. At the end of 2003, Leclerc retired the name ''Jean Leloup'' and went on hiatus from his recording career. In August 2005, he announced his temporary return to the music scene with a collaboration with a band called the Porn Flakes. A first single called "Les Corneilles" has been heard on

's radio stations. In the months preceding his return, Leclerc wrote the philosophical novel ' (originally entitled ') under the pen name Massoud Al-Rachid; it was published on October 5, 2005 at Leméac editions. Leclerc released the album ''Mexico'' in September 2006, his first under the name Jean Leclerc. Jean Leclerc returned to the stage on August 29, 2008 for the 400th year of Quebec City's founding. He revived the name Jean Leloup for the occasion. The show was held at the

Colisée Pepsi Colisée may refer to: Canada * Colisée de Québec, also known as Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City * Colisée Cardin, Sorel-Tracy * Colisée Desjardins, Victoriaville * Colisée Financière Sun Life, Rimouski * Colisée Jean Béliveau, Longueuil * ...

. Although controversial, Jean Leclerc mentioned that the "last hour of the show was the best of his life". Under the name ''Jean Leloup'', Leclerc released the album ''Mille Excuses Milady'' (translated to "a thousand apologies, Milady") on April 28, 2009, the first since he publicly declared that he wouldn't produce another album. In 2016, his album ''À Paradis City'' was nominated for the

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Album of the Year, and won the Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year. He received another Juno Award nomination for Francophone Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2020 The Juno Awards of 2020, the 49th Juno Awards, was an awards presentation that was to be held at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on 15 March 2020. The awards and associated events were cancelled due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pa ...

, for his 2019 album ''L'Étrange pays''.Melody Lau
"Alessia Cara and Tory Lanez lead the 2020 Juno nominations"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, January 28, 2019.

Discography

*1989: ''Menteur'' *1990: ''L'amour est sans pitié'' *1996: ''Le Dôme'' *1998: ''Les Fourmis'' *2002: ''La Vallée des réputations'' *2004: ''Exit'' (live album) *2005: ''Je joue de la guitare 1985–2003'' (compilation) *2006: ''Mexico'' (as Jean Leclerc) *2009: ''Mille excuses Milady'' *2015: ''À Paradis City'' *2019: ''L'Étrange Pays''

Collaborations

*1997: ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' (with

Bran Van 3000 Bran Van 3000 (also known as BV3) is a Canadian alternative rock and hip hop collective from Montreal, Quebec. Founded by James Di Salvio and E.P. Bergen, they collaborated on a number of songs with Stéphane Moraille, Sara Johnston, Steve "Liqu ...

) *2001: ''

Discosis ''Discosis'' is the second album by Canadian group Bran Van 3000, released in 2001. The album features several collaborators, including Curtis Mayfield, Youssou N'Dour, Jean Leloup and reggae artist Eek-a-Mouse. The album cover was derived from an ...

'' (with Bran Van 3000) *2002: ''Jouisseland'' by Martin VilleneuveJean Leloup – Jouisseland
Vimeo, April 15, 2019 *2011: ''The Last Assassins'' (with The Last Assassins)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leloup, Jean 1961 births Living people Musicians from Quebec City Canadian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters People from Sainte-Foy, Quebec City French-language singers of Canada Audiogram (label) artists Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year winners Félix Award winners 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters

Biography

Discography

Collaborations

See also

References

External links