Singer and composer, born in Nérac, SW France, the son of the Russian composer Léo Poll, who wrote for Edith Piaf and composed Les Compagnons de la Chanson. He won the piano prize at the Conservatoire at the age of 12. He discovered rock-and-roll in England, then accompanied Claude François in 1966 to the USA, where he remained and was launched in the French version of Hair. Co-star at l'Olympia with Dalida, he undertook foreign tours (Morocco, Lebanon) and recorded the singles Dans la Maison vide and La Michetonneuse. He composed for stage and cinema, for Jean-Louis Barrault (Rabelais), Reichenbach (L'Indiscret ), and Oury (La Folie des Grandeurs). Condemned for exhibitionism for the poster La Polnarévolution in 1971, he also created a scandal with the words of L'Amour avec toi. His greatest success La Poupée qui fait non was first written in English.
Michel Polnareff, born in Nérac, France on July 3, 1944 is a modern ballad singer.
Michel was born into an artistic family: his mother, Simone Lane, was a dancer and his father, Leib Polnareff or Léo Poll worked with Édith Piaf.
Early Successes
In 1965, Polnareff won the Disco Revue prize in Paris. Polnareff made it onto the charts in Europe and Germany.
An Atypical Character
Polnareff also played with his image: black glasses, trousers, and ambiguous provocations. It was too much for Polnareff, weakened by his success, the media and his work.
Depression and Distance
After a rest period in the Paris area, and long months in isolation, Polnareff gradually rejoined the public. Not one penny was left to Polnareff's name, as the manager had run off with millions.
Polnareff in the USA
Then, in 1975, his song Jesus for Tonight made it onto the American Billboard. Plus, Polnareff had left behind his fellow musicians and the musical community.
Return to France
Polnareff made a surprise return to France in 1989. For a year and a half, Polnareff was locked up at Royal Monceau in Paris and, surrounded by friends and alcohol, recorded Kama Sutra in collaboration with Mike Oldfield, which debuted in February 1990 and marked Polnareff's true return. To mark this occasion, the channel Canal + devoted a special to him entitled "À la Recherche de Polnareff" ("In the Search of Polnareff"), in which he appeared in military uniform (from whence his recent nickname "The Admiral" may come) and was interviewed in the desert by Michel Denisot.
From his success in 1995/96, Polareff could have recreated his career as though nothing happened.
Polnareff Today
He has a namesake in Jean Pierre Polnareff, a character in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series.
On November 22, 2004, and again on December 18, 2005, France 3 broadcast a one and a half hour documentary entitled "Michel Polnareff Dévoilé" ("Michel Polnareff Revealed"). It includes images from rare files mixed with interviws with media personalities like Marc-Olivier Fogiel, Jacques Séguéla, Jean-Luc Lahaye and Frederic Beigbeder explaining to the televiewers what Michel Polnareff represented for them and for France. Polnareff also revealed that he was working on a new album. On may 12, 2006, Michel Polnareff announced that he would be giving a series of concerts March 2 to 14, 2007. Ticket sales have exploded, showing that Polnareff has not lost his gleam.
User Comments Add a comment…