Next week-end, Philippe Lafontaine will be the guest of honour of the 6th edition of the “Festival de Stavelot”, in Belgium, 150 km east of Brussels. The concert is due to be held in “La salle des gardes” at 20 PM (CET).
Now aged 52, Philippe Lafontaine leads a very peculiar career in the French-speaking world. His debut album dates back to 1978, but he only managed to reach fame outside Belgium in 1989, when his single Coeur de louptopped the French sales list.
The follow-up record, Alexis m'attend, was a small hit. No doubt about the fact that the RTBF chose him as their representative in Zagreb, in 1990, because of his sudden fame. Nevertheless, Philippe Lafontaine didn't want people to think he had accepted the invitation for money ! That's why he refused to have the single of Macédomienne (his Eurovision entry – a pun with "Macédonienne" and "mienne" – mine – his wife being of Yugoslav origins) commercially released.
The song wasmade available three yearslater on a 3-track CD single to raise funds for people suffering from the war in the Balkans. The latest and 12th album of the singer was published in 2003 but the man keeps on singing all over his country. He presently tours with a show entitled Tout seul (all alone). He'll be in Paris, at the Café de la danse, next November. He also writes for other performers, including the well-known Maurane.
