Pierre Perret, who turns 88 on July 9, surprises us, moves us, and makes us laugh... still so much! Childhood, Woman of his life, Schools in his name, Censorship, Grandchildren, Cinema… Highlights of the life of the singer.

Pierre-Perret celebrates its 88th birthday on July 8, but does not intend to move away from the stage! Earlier this year he released his album My Provisional Farewell . He also finished writing a book and performs on stage at the Champs festival in Chanteix on July 10. An astonishing energy, a talent that is no longer to be proven, a feather recognizable among a thousand, the singer continues to surprise his audience. Secrets of an artist who is not ordinary...

- Pierre-Perret was born on July 9, 1934 in Castelsarrasin, Tarn-et-Garonne.

- He grows up in the Café des Ponts , run by his parents, Maurice and Claudia, in his hometown. It is there that he learns to master slang , without knowing that this particularity would become his trademark as a singer...

- Pierre Perret saw a happy childhood . ' I had some wonderful parents ! Loves. When I left school, I guessed in the distance what mom had prepared to eat. Everything simmering on his stove was a delight... As soon as I arrived, I kissed her and dipped a crouton in her sauce. Guys, I didn't care , I was much sadder than them. Me, I was happy among customers “, he confided to the World .

- At school, it was common at the time to get tapped on the fingers .... literally. ' A sadistic young normalien, who always sent me to the blackboard, clapped my hands and made me jump scabs full of pus with its aluminum ruler. Even though I hid it from her, my mother noticed it. She went to return the favor hitting him on the head with the same rule. She almost killed him “, he remembered in The world .

- As a teenager, while studying at the Toulouse Music Conservatory, he won a first prize as saxophone player.

- Unfortunately, he cannot pass his last test at the Conservatory , because at that time he was in a military prison , while doing his military service.

- This is Georges Brassens in person who encourages him to write his own songs.

- In the 1950s, Pierre Perret accompanied the singer on guitar Francoise Marin , at the cabaret La Colombe, the oldest bistro in Paris. One evening, when he finds himself alone with the boss, Michel Valette, he tells him listen to his songs . Convinced, the owner of the place offers him to sing in his cabaret on a regular basis. But he is too shy to accept.

Fortunately, Michel Valette had the idea to push it to its limits by unexpectedly announcing it to the public the next day. After some panic minutes , Pierre Perret manages to conquer the crowds . A star is born!

- In 1957, he was finally presented to Eddie Barclay with whom he signs a contract. His first 45 rpm, Me, I'm waiting for Adèle , helps to make it known to the public.

- It is definitely the year of all happiness for Pierre Perret, since in addition to the beginning of his professional success , the meet love . It was at Barclay's premises that he met Simone Mazaltarim , who was secretary at the time. Both married in 1962 ... and never leave each other again.

- Shortly after their marriage, Pierre Perret becomes dad of twins , Alan and Anne . Then, his wife gives birth to their daughter Julie . Unfortunately, she died in 1995, at only 32 years old.

- It was after parting ways with Barclay and signing with Vogue that the singer found his real success. In the 1960s, he opened for Nana Mouskouri , of the  Rolling Stones or of Johnny Hallyday .

- In 1966, Yvonne de Gaulle , wife of General de Gaulle, tries to ban the distribution of his tube Pretty summer camps . Shocked by the phrase ' peeing in the sink ' and the image that the piece gives of summer camps, she personally asks the director of France Inter to censor the song.

- Pierre Perret has more than one string to his bow. In 1968, he appeared on the big screen as the main personnage of the film Potatoes , by Claude Autant-Lara. It is also seen in A Wild Summer , by Marcel Camus, in 1970, as well as in a few other feature films. More recently, in 2017, he starred in an episode of the series Captain Marleau .

- In 1977, he released his song, a true ode to the fight against racism, Lily . The following year, he won the LICRA (International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism) prize, thanks to his title, which also became analyzed and studied in schools , even, in baccalaureate subject.

- That song The Little Kurd , written in 1992, provokes emotion in Kurdistan . In 2015, a school is created in his name in the territory.

- Pierre Perret, decidedly gifted with his pen, also devotes himself to writing books , including an autobiography published in 2005, The Cafe du Pont , and adapted into a film a few years later by Manuel Poirier.

- If Pierre Perret is grandfather of several grandchildren , he has no contact with them. ' They are no longer very young, they are already in their thirties. They are scattered all over the place, on the other side of the world, I do not see them . They don't give news. I don't even know if I have great-grandchildren. It doesn't come from me. But you can't force them. It's not happy “, he confided to Gala .

- In France, no less than one thirty schools bears his name, which is more than rare for a living personality.

- During confinement, Pierre Perret did not ' not seen the time pass “, he entrusted to the microphone d'Europe 1. ' I spent my time writing and rehearsing the songs for my recital ', he added. In 2020, he had assured that if the executive extended the confinement for the elderly, he would would dance naked on the Champs-Elysées roundabout , the 14th of July. But the government never made that decision...

- Pierre Perret admits that he think ' every day ' to death, and this, from a very young age. ' The greatest plague of a life is lucidity “, he confided to Jordan De Luxe in Non Stop People . Of which act.

Source journaldesfemmes.fr