Alain Barrière (born Alain Bellec, 18 November 1935 in La Trinité-sur-Mer, Morbihan) is a French singer, who has been active since the Fifties and is known for participating in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest. His song, 'Elle était si jolie', turned out to be by far the biggest seller of Barrière's career to that point.
He released his first album, 'Ma vie', a year later, and the title-track became a huge hit. In 1965 he was offered, and accepted, a leading role in a heist thriller, 'Pas de panique', alongside Pierre Brasseur. This would be his only venture into acting, but his singing career reached its peak in the latter part of the decade with a string of hits making him one of France's biggest stars and a sell-out live attraction. He remained popular until a decade later, when he got married and moved to the USA. Upon returning four years later, his popularity had waned and he had difficulty getting successful again. However, he continues to release albums to this day.
My collection: 7" single no. 5775
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, April 16, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Elle était si jolie', 'Le temps d'une valse' / 'Plus je t'entends', 'La route'
Listen to the song