Lucien Voulzy (, born 18 December 1948), better known as Laurent Voulzy (), is a French musician, singer, songwriter and composer.
Life and career Laurent Voulzy was born in Paris, France. Early in his musical career, he led the English-pop-influenced group Le Temple de Vénus before joining singer Pascal Danel as a guitarist from 1969 to 1974. Voulzy is best known for his long-standing songwriting collaboration with Alain Souchon, as well as for his own successful solo career as a singer.
He achieved international recognition with the 1977 hit single "Rockollection", which combined original French lyrics with excerpts from classic rock songs in English. Among his other major hits are "Paradoxal Système", which reached the Top 10 in France, and "Le Soleil Donne", a multilingual song featuring lyrics in French, English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Another notable success was the double single "Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie-Galante"/"Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde", the latter inspired by English pop singer Kim Wilde.
Other popular titles in his discography include "Bopper en larmes", "Le Cœur Grenadine", and "Désir, désir". Voulzy's music also found success in Belgium, Switzerland, and Québec, often incorporating multiple languages in his lyrics, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and German.
In 2005, Voulzy co-produced and co-composed Nolwenn Leroy's second album, Histoires Naturelles.
His 2006 album La Septième Vague topped the French charts. It included a cover of "All I Have to Do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers, recorded as a duet with Irish singer Andrea Corr. The track was released as a single and featured on The Corrs' compilation album Dreams: The Ultimate Corrs Collection.
In 2007, Voulzy recorded a duet with French guitarist Jean-Pierre Danel for Danel's album Guitar Connection 2. The song reached No. 7 on the French charts in 2008. That same year, he also toured throughout France.
In 2011, Voulzy released the album Lys and Love, which featured the song "Ma seule amour", a duet with Roger Daltrey, lead singer of The Who.
Discography
Studio albums YearAlbumRecordlabelPeak positions FR BEL(Fl) BEL(Wa) SWI1979 Le Cœur grenadine RCA1983 Bopper en larmes1992 Caché derrièreAriola92001 AvrilRCA3—4502006 La Septième Vague1—172008 Recollection2—1202011 Lys & LoveColumbia2—1302014 Alain Souchon & Laurent Voulzy (joint album with Alain Souchon) Parlophone111718 2017 Belem Columbia 5 — 4 31 2020 Florilège 43 — 20 95
Live albums YearAlbumRecordlabelPeak positions FR BEL (Wa) SWI1994 Voulzy TourAriola52004 Le Gothique flamboyant pop dancing tourRCA10122013 Lys & Love Tour (live)Columbia1828 2019 Mont Saint-Michel (live) 24 24 89
Compilations YearAlbumRecordlabelPeak positions FR BEL (Wa) SWI2002 Les Essentiels 1977–1988 RCA62003 Saisons, Le double best of 1977–2003 28462012 Belle île en mer 1977–1988Columbia167
Singles 1977: "Rockollection" 1978: "Bubble Star" 1979: "Le Cœur grenadine" 1979: "Karin Redinger" 1979: "Cocktail chez Mademoiselle" 1980: "Surfing Jack" 1981: "Idéal simplifié" 1983: "Bopper en larmes" 1983: "Liebe"
YearTitlePeak positionsSales FR BEL (Wa) SWI1984 "Désir désir" (duo with Véronique Jannot) 29 FRA: 600,0001985 "Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie Galante" / "Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde" (featuring Kim Wilde)201987 "My Song of You" 311989 "Le soleil donne" 211992 "Paradoxal Système" 101993 "Le pouvoir des fleurs" "Caché derrière" "Le rêve du pêcheur" 371995 "Rockollection (Live 95)" 37392001 "Une héroïne" 2002 "La fille d'Avril" 268(Ultratip) "Amélie Colbert" 362003 "Là où je vais" 2006 "Derniers baisers" 817962008 "My Song of You" (instrumental duo with Jean-Pierre Danel) "Jelly Bean" 3(Ultratip)2009 "Le vent qui va" 2011 "Jeanne" 1442012 "C'était déjà toi" 6(Ultratip) "En regardant vers le pays de France"(featuring Nolwenn Leroy, backing vocals) 15(Ultratip)2014 "Derrière les mots" (duet with Alain Souchon)3522 "La baie des fourmis" (duet with Alain Souchon)1972017 "Spirit of Samba" (featuring Chyler Leigh, Nina Miranda and Luisa Maita)99
References
External links
Laurent Voulzy (official site) Biography of Laurent Voulzy, from Radio France Internationale