French TV producer and lyricist Pascal Sevran died yesterday, from lung cancer, at the age of 62. The man was a strong supporter of French-speaking chanson and he was closely involved in the 2006 French selection for Eurovision.

Pascal Sevran had his own daily afternoon TV show, entitled “La Chance aux chansons”, from 1984 to 2000, and when the channel decided to “get rid” of the program, a lot of complaints were made.Then he went on to launch another show, with the same formula, this time every Sunday noon (“Chanter la vie” & “Entrée d’artistes”).Sevran invited singers who were “not that famous any longer” or those who were still “on the road” but not trendy enough to be invited elsewhere ! That’s why he frequently had past Eurovision entrants singing for TV viewers. He dedicated two or three of his programs to Eurovision, and even had Lenny Kuhr back for him, performing, live and in French, her 1969 winning song. He also regurlarly paid tribute to late Frida Boccara.

Back in 2006, Pascal Sevran was asked to take part in “France Télévisions” process to select the right artist for Eurovision. The most promising singers of his own talent show got their tickets to the French final. And his personal favorite, Virginie Pouchain, eventually won the whole selection.We can mention herethat Sevran was not at all satisfied with the song penned by Corneille to represent the country !Apart from TV, Pascal Sevran tried his luck as singer and wrote a lot of songs for others, the most famous one being “Il venait d’avoir 18 ans”, performed by Dalida, who also recorded it in German and Japanese.