Françoise Hardy, the Monaco representative at the 1963 Eurovision
Having inspired several generations of French people, Françoise Hardy, singer, actress, style icon of the 1960s, passed away in Paris at the age of 80. Condolences on the occasion were expressed by President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, film director François Ozon, actress Brigitte Bardot, musicians Carla Bruni, Patrick Bruel, Etienne Daho and Mireille Mathieu. Françoise Hardy passing away was also a sad event for Monaco, having started her brilliant career at the Eurovision under the flag of the Principality.
The Eurovision experience
On March 23, 1963, the 8th Eurovision held at the BBC studios in London, brought together competitors from 16 different countries. It was eventually won by a duo from Denmark. 19-year-old Françoise Hardy came fifth, representing Monaco with her own composition “L’Amour S’en Va”. This was one of the best results in the 24 years of the Principality’s Eurovision history.
That same year “L’amour S’en Va” entered two major Belgium charts, eventually making it to the Top-100 Eurovision songs in French. Françoise also recorded it in Italian and German.
Having taken part in the Eurovision from 1959 to 1979, Monaco went back to the Eurovision again from 2004 to 2006 after a 25-year break. For three consecutive years, the Principality tried to revive the competition in a format significantly different from that of the 1960s and 1970s. Monaco’s three participants, however, failed to even make it to the finals. As a result, in 2007, it was finally decided not to send any more performers to the Eurovision. This decision may be reversed in the future, who knows. Maybe one day a new star of Françoise Hardy’s stature will be born and represent the Principality.
The start of a musical career
Françoise Hardy was born on January 17, 1944 in Paris. An introverted teenager from a strict family, music was a salvation for her. At the age of 16, having successfully passed exams, she was rewarded with her very first guitar. The young girl got straight down to playing and composing new songs. Success came to Françoise in September 1962, after her television performance of “Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles”. The melodic and sentimental song instantly became a hit. By the end of the year, 500,000 of her records had been sold.
“Yé-yé ” music star
The year 1963 was an incredibly successful one for Françoise Hardy. On January 5, “Paris Match” published her cover portrait, declaring the young performer a new French music idol. Film Director, Claude Lelouch, is shooting the first video for the “Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles”. In February, Françoise goes on her first big tour, and in March she is performing at the Eurovision. Following this, Roger Vadim invites her to star in “The Castle in Sweden”. Her debut album is also awarded the Académie Charles-Cros prize. In November 1963, that is just a year after her first television appearance, she is performing for eight weeks at the legendary Olympia Hall. By the end of the year, her “forty-fives” (45 rpm records) are selling by millions. Her songs translated into a number of languages are a huge success worldwide.
Her exquisite and natural beauty is revealed to the general public by her “Pygmalion”, the photographer Jean-Marie Périer. Francoise is then an icon for the fashion houses of André Courrèges, Paco Rabanne and Yves Saint Laurent. She is performing with all the pop stars of the day, starring in a number of films. The press nicknames her icon of the new musical “yé-yé” movement.
A meeting with composer Gabriel Yared in 1977 marks a new stage in Françoise’s career. The singer is releasing a number of popular albums. In 1988, however, she officially stops performing. Six years later, her “Le Danger” is released, followed by six more albums in the early 2000s (the last one is released in 2018, 56 years after the very first).
“Love of my life”
In 1967, Françoise falls in love with the young singer Jacques Dutronc. The modest, thick-glassed young man at first does not catch the famous performer’s attention. But eventually Françoise completely succumbs to his charm. The lovers alternately live together in Corsica. In 1973 their only son, Thomas, is born. In 1981 they finally get married. Living together, however, is a serious challenge for the two creative individuals. In addition, Françoise is hurt by Jacques’s love affairs… primarily the one with a fellow actress, Romy Schneider, on the set of “The Main Thing Is to Love.”
In 1987, the couple is officially separated. Françoise is now living in Paris, and Jacques, in their house in Corsica. In spite of that, they remained officially married until the last day, maintaining very hearty relations. Françoise called Jacques the love of her life. Not a day passed by without them keeping in touch: “It’s so wonderful to care about each other and be able to say so more than fifty years after… Jacques and Thomas are the people I love more than anything in the world.”
Literature and astrology
In October 2008, Françoise Hardy released a bestseller, “The Despair of Monkeys… and Other Little Things” autobiography. Her new novel “Mad Love”, and the same named album, were being sold from the end of October 2012.
The famous performer’s other hobby was astrology. For the first time, Françoise turned to an astrologer for advice in 1963. In 1980, Michel Bassi, then director of Radio Monte-Carlo, invited her to host a weekly astrology program. Françoise had an eight year career on the radio, also publishing several books on astrology and graphology.
Illness
In 2004, Françoise Hardy was diagnosed with lymphoma. Having spent two weeks in a coma in 2015, she recovered and returned home after a long treatment. Since 2021, her health had deteriorated significantly. She was an ardent advocate of legalizing euthanasia in France. A person who would evoke that much respect and sympathy from her fellow countrymen, having courageously fought her disease for twenty long years, is hard to find.
