Jo Lemaire
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Jo Lemaire (born 5 January 1956) is a Belgian singer born in Gembloux, Namur. Beyond her native country, she is also popular in France, Switzerland, Canada, and the Netherlands. She is best-known for "Je suis venue te dire que je m' en vais."
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Career
Jo Lemaire debuted musically in the late 1970s with her musical group, "Jo Lemaire + Flouze". The group saw true success with the release of their album Pigmy World in 1981. That album, containing a moody synthpop adaptation of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais", propelled the singer into stardom all over Europe and Canada. In 1982, the group separated, and Lemaire continued her career as a solo artist. She divorced Philippe Depireux, a fellow former bandmember, and moved to Bilzen with her new partner, Fa Vanham.
Her first solo album, Concorde, was released to great success in 1983. The vinyl was uniquely bilingual, in having one side in English and the other in French. A year later, a self-titled album was released, produced by Jean-Marie Aerts. It also enjoyed success. Her third solo album, Stand Up, was produced by PolyGram International rather than Phonogram Belgium. It was not a hit; her long career has experienced highs and lows.
Through her concerts abroad, as well as through her multilingualism and covers of hits by foreign artists, Lemaire has many fans outside of Belgium; in Germany, the Netherlands, and in French-speaking countries like Canada, France, and Switzerland. She has participated in the Transmusicales in Rennes, the Printemps de Bourges, the Rock en France, and many other tours and music festivals.
In 1990, she released Duelle, a collection of French songs. It reached Gold disc status in France. Later that year, a Dutch language album was also released, a tribute to fellow Belgian musician Will Tura. In 1994, she collaborated with British singer Carmel in Liverpool to produce an album of the same name.
In 2000, she began touring Flemish schools in an effort to interest youth in the French language education, through the fun of music. Two CDs based on the "Bob & Bobette" comic characters from this campaign were released, titled Eventail Junior. In 2001, she partnered with former Hooverphonic bandmember Frank Duchêne and lyricists Michael Bisceglia and Ronny Mosuse in the album Flagrants Délices, the harbinger of which was the single La saison des amours. In 2007 she recorded a song with Rocco Granata on the album " La Vie à Deux".
Discography
singles
- So static! (with Flouze)
- Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais
Albums
- Jo Lemaire + Flouze (1979)
- Precious Time (1980)
- Pigmy World (1981)
- Concorde (1983)
- Jo Lemaire (1984)
- Stand Up (1987)
- Duelle (1990)
- Aujourd'hui (1992)
- Liverpool (1994)
- Jour et Nuit (1997)
- Enkelvoud (1998)
- Une Vie (1999)
- Flagrants Délices (2001)
- Jo Prend La Mer (2003)
Compilations
