Bernard Lavilliers turns 76. A former worker, keen on boxing and adventures, the singer was imprisoned in France and Brazil, married a bodybuilding champion, then a sculptress and begged for several years. Crazy secrets of the intrepid artist...

Bernard Lavilliers celebrates his 76th birthday October 7, 2022. Rebellious poet, intrepid adventurer, the singer lived a thousand and one lives and traveled the globe, endowed with his desire for elsewhere and his desire for justice. The artist leaves no one indifferent. And for good reason, he ignores conventions and never hesitates to embark on an incredible adventure. His worker's past , of boxer , are imprisonment in France and Brazil, its legacy , are epitaph , his (former) couple with a bodybuilding champion , are wedding with a sculptress... Secrets and highlights (and crazy) of the singer's life constantly ' on the road '...

Bernard Lavilliers, a weak teenager... but very feisty

Bernard Lavilliers , the son of an armament worker and a schoolteacher, has always been endowed with a lot of strength of character. Already a child, the boy who grew up in an HLM in Saint-Etienne was ' fighter 'even' quite turbulent '. And yet, he was not very strong.' I was everything skinny and asthmatic because Saint-Étienne was very polluted. My parents, in their great tenderness, took me to the countryside, ten kilometers away, and I recovered. When we got back to town, my father, who had done Greco-Roman wrestling, made me take boxing class to appease my anger “, he told The team .

Boxing is his passion

It was at twelve years old that Bernard Lavilliers took his first boxing lessons . Much more than just a hobby, this sport has taught him ' the discipline ' and even allowed him to make competitions . But he never thought of making it his career. ' Once in a while, in South America, I have boxed for sorrel . Nothing official, stuff a little gangster to get rid of me '', had however specified the singer in The team.

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Bernard Lavilliers was a worker...

Before making a career in song, Bernard Lavilliers worked as that worker . ' Metal turner at the Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Etienne (MAS) where my father worked in the administrative services and was a great trade union leader. It was he who said to the rambunctious teenager that I was: 'You, go to work'. And he was right. I have started working at age 16 . It was a time when there was little unemployment. We barely talked about it “, he entrusted to the World.

...And he got fired!

But determined not to stand idly by if he noticed an injustice, Bernard Lavilliers got into trouble twice with his boss... to the point of get fired from his job after his second rant.

Bernard Lavilliers was in prison in France...

Decidedly rebellious and rebellious, Bernard Lavilliers finds himself in the hole. ' A year off because I had tried to escape military service. I have refused to wear the uniform , I was judged as a deserter and I spent my time in a fortress in Metz. I was in isolation “, he recalled in Time.

...and incarcerated in Brazil

As well as being held in a French cell, the fearless adventurer also found himself behind bars , to Brazil , where he made an initiatory journey when he was not yet 20 years old. ' I was imprisoned by the military dictatorship . I was a friend of former communist deputy who had gone underground. As I was driving trucks in the Amazon, I was sending messages for dissent . I was a bit in jail in Belém and then I managed to escape to Guyana “, he told the Time.

Bernard Lavilliers was begging on his debut

After many adventures, this music lover decided to make it his job. He started with sing in restaurants , where waiters passed between the tables in order to collect money for him and help him To beg . He also performed in cinemas, cabarets, and at the Marais pizzeria in Paris, where he sang with Jacques Higelin and Renaud .

Bernard Lavilliers does not like to talk about his life

This adventurous poet, son of a resistant during the Second World War, often evokes the injustices of this world through powerful texts and soft music, in his songs, and willingly gives voice to defend the poor, in the media. But when it comes to talk about your own life , the singer is on restraint. ' I don't talk much about my life , even at my wife , she can tell you. One day she asked me, 'Why don't you ever ask me questions?' I said, 'Cause I don't like you asking '', he confided to the Women's Journal .

He was in a relationship with a world champion bodybuilder

The singer lived a romance with bodybuilder Lisa Lyon , with whom he was married from 1982 to 1983 and whom he had met in a boxing gym.

Wedding photo of Bernard Lavilliers and Lisa Lyon by Robert Mapplethorpe in 1982 #bodybuilding #photo #aesthetics #youngandbroadshouldered pic.twitter.com/G6YCyUbdfQ

— Pascal Glo (@PascalGlo) October 22, 2017

why he got married

Since 2003, the artist shares the life of Sophie , graphic designer and sculptor, with whom he united for better and for worse. ' It was married a few years ago, with very few witnesses. It was a kind of pirate speech, a way to protect her . I'm older, if I slip before, I wouldn't want any trouble happening to him. I support her, offer her a shoulder “, he told the Women's Journal .

He won't leave a big inheritance to his children

Bernard Lavilliers may be a successful singer, he is not one of those who save all their money. His four children ' will not have not much to share 'When it comes to inheritance,' he told Paris Match . And to add: ' Everything I earned, I reinvested in my travels. Of course, I put Sophie under cover for when I'm gone. '. Despite everything, he found a way to put them ' sheltered 'financially .
' And oldest daughter is almost 50 years old. Virginia and William live in Rennes and work in music. And Salome, the youngest , wants to be a DJ. She returned from New York, where she was to perfect her English “, he clarified.

Bernard Lavilliers already knows his epitaph

At 76, Bernard Lavilliers sometimes thinks of to finish , although he would like to continue to be in good shape at least until he is 80 years old. His epitaph is even already all found! ' Better fast with the eagles than peck with the chickens “, he had declared to the JDD .

Source journaldesfemmes.fr