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Frédéric François picture

Frédéric François

Acting
Known For

75 Years Old

Frédéric François (born Francesco Barracato; 3 June 1950 in Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy), is a French-speaking singer-composer living in Belgium. Born on 3 June 1950 in Lercara Friddi in Sicily, in a very modest Italian family, he is the second child of Antonina (Nina) Salemi and Giuseppe (Peppino) Barracato. His mother was a seamstress in Lercara and his father was initially a miner in a sulphur mine in Lercara. He emigrated to Belgium in the coal basin of Liège, where he signed a three-year contract as a miner. In 1951, Nina and her two sons joined Giuseppe in Tilleur in a Red Cross Convoy. Francesco Barracato grew up in a family of eight children. Peppino used to sing Neapolitan songs and opera arias for pleasure and accompanied himself on the guitar. Young Francesco was only 10 when he sang O Sole Mio for the first time in public in a café frequented mostly by Sicilians in Tilleur, "Le Passage à Niveau" [The Level Crossing]. In 1963, he turned semi-professional as a singer-guitarist in a group called "Les Eperviers" [The Sparrow hawks]. He left the technical college in 1965 for the Liège conservatoire to study violin, where he took courses particularly in diction, declamation and voice. In 1966, he joined a new group called "Les Tigres Sauvages" [Wild Tigers] and won the "Microsillon d'Argent" [Silver Microgroove Record] at the Festival of Châtelet in Belgium – a prize that included the recording of a single. He recorded two titles: “Petite fille” [Little Girl] and "”Ne pleure pas" [Don't cry], under the pseudonym of François Bara. His father bought the 500 records that were pressed and managed to sell them for jukeboxes. The winner also got to perform as a warm-up act for three confirmed artists: Johnny Hallyday, Pascal Danel and Michel Polnareff, his idol. In 1969, his meeting with the Belgian producer Constant Defourny led to his first contract with a record company: Barclay-Belgique. He recorded “Sylvie” in July 1969, and released his first single under the name of Frédéric François, in homage to the composer Chopin, whose real first name was Frédéric-François. He gave his first performances as a solo artist in venues in the Liège region during the tour of The Best Group orchestra: he performed five of his own compositions, including Sylvie, of course. He released a new single, “Les Orgues de Saint Michel” [The Organ of Saint Michael], which was not at all successful, then another one, "Marian," accompanied by a second title "Comme tous les amoureux," [Like all people in love], which was written especially to represent Belgium at the Eurovision contest in 1970, but was not selected. ... Source: Article "Frédéric François" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Born

Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy on 3rd June 1950

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Champs-Elysées
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Vivement dimanche
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Sacrée soirée
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Amanda
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Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
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Star Academy
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Stars 90
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Les Jeux de 20 heures
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Midi trente
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Midi Première
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Samedi soir
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Le monde est à vous Image
Le monde est à vous
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Fan School
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Il était une fois Champs-Élysées Image
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
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Les années bonheur Image
Les années bonheur
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La Chance aux chansons Image
La Chance aux chansons
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La Chance aux chansons
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Téléthon
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Système 2
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Cadet Rousselle
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Stars à domicile
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Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui
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Les Enfoirés 1999 - Dernière édition avant l'an 2000
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Ces chansons de nos vacances
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