Born on December 19: Jean-Patrick Capdevielle, from guitar to canvas

Jean-Patrick Capdevielle was born in Hauts-de-Seine in 1945. As a teenager, he was captivated by Elvis Presley' carreer, and dreamed of becoming one. But what if it were possible?

In order to fulfill his dream of stardom, the young man bought himself a guitar and a few jackets. But that wasn't enough, and the aspiring singer took other paths, urged on by his parents to start studying. 

It was as a journalist that he began his professional life, abandoning his artistic ambitions for a time. He squatted in the editorial offices of “Actuel” or “Salut les Copains” and flourished there for a while, even if rock music still held him at heart. The young journalist made frequent trips back and forth to London to immerse himself in the Swinging London atmosphere and rub shoulders with artists such as Eric Clapton, with whom he was close. 

However, he took a different route when he left Paris and London to settle in Ibiza, where he tried his hand at painting. But only for a short time, since in 1978, back in France, he finally released his first single, “Solitude”, in a reggae style that didn't really suit him. 

He was then noticed by a record company and offered the public his first album, rock of course. “Les enfants des ténèbres et les anges de la rue” contains the now-cult ‘Quand t'es dans le désert’, which secured him the fame he had so long dreamed of. Composed in an hour, the hit proved to be a biting critique of the political leaders of the day. 

Concert after concert, the singer worked hard on his future songs, and album after album followed, notably with “L'ennemi public” and “Deux”. However, the rocker, as usual, doesn't stand still, and can also be found at the helm of the TV show “Les Totems du Bataclan” or on film sets. He also founded a production company with his friend Paco Rabanne. In 1988, the album “Nouvel âge” took up all his time, followed by “Vue sur cour” and “Politiquement correct”. 

In 1997, once again, Jean-Patrick Capdevielle took us by surprise. He composed the album “Carmine meo” for Emma Shapplin. Sung in medieval Italian (which he doesn't speak), the opera was a huge international success.

In 2015, following a crowdfunding campaign, the artist released his album “Bienvenue au paradis”, before announcing that he was ending his musical career to devote himself to painting. 

(Céline Massart - Tr.: MH - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Jean-Patrick Capdevielle in Brussels (Belgium) on January 27, 1984