Desireless

[dih-zahy^uhr]

For the Eagle-Eye Cherry album, see Desireless (album).

Desireless ((born Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop, 25 December 1952, Paris, France) is a French singer. Between 1986 and 1988, her hit record, "Voyage Voyage" made it to number one in many European and Asian single charts and sold over five million copies.

Biography

Born in Paris, she grew up in Le Tréport, Seine-Maritime, and in the early 1970s, she became a fashion designer. Drawn into the musical orbit by her friends, she began singing with various jazz, new wave, and R&B bands starting in the early 1980s. In 1983, she met Jean-Michel Rivat, a composer and record producer who had already made his name working with Joe Dassin, Michel Delpech, France Gall, and Patrick Juvet, amongst others. In 1986, Rivat composed "Voyage Voyage", a synthpop song that topped the charts in many European countries, and even reached number five in the UK Singles Chart — a feat for a French-language song, although this was a remix of the original entry, which made number 53 in the UK.

The singer's androgynous look — complete with a porcupine-style hairdo — made her one of the most colorful personalities to grace the European pop scene, while her moniker, Desireless, was reportedly inspired by her voyage to India and her subsequent interest in its philosophy of acceptance and inner serenity. She released her first album, François in 1990, with the opening track "Qui Sommes-Nous?" becoming her third and last hit (the second one was "John" in 1988). Then she decided to take a break and gave birth to a daughter, Lili. Desireless' second album, I Love You, came out in 1994. This time, she co-wrote all of the compositions, which rendered the album more quiet and personal. Though the release was generally well-received, the lack of promotion made it short-lived. In 1995, the artist decided to abandon city life and move to a picturesque rural area with her boyfriend and daughter. Both of her albums were reissued on CD in the late 1990s with bonus tracks added. Desireless started the new millennium with a series of acoustic concerts across France and began work on a third album, which included songs from that tour.

Discography

Albums

Singles

From François :

1986/87 : "Voyage Voyage" (#2 France, #1 Germany, #1 Austria, #1 Belgium, #1 Denmark, #1 Spain, #1 Greece, #1 Israel, #26 Italy, #1 Lebanon, #1 Norway, #11 Netherlands, #53 United Kingdom 1987 release and #5 1988 release, #11 Sweden, #4 Switzerland, #1 Thailand, #1 Yugoslavia)
1988 : "John" (#1 Russia, #5 France, #37 Germany, #92 United Kingdom)
1989 : "Qui sommes-nous ?" (#88 Germany)
1990 : "Elle est comme les étoiles"