Jacques Romain Georges Brel was born on 8 April 1929 in Schaerbeek, Brussels, to Élisabeth "Lisette" (née Lambertine) and Romain Brel. [2], In 1965 Reprise Records licensed tracks from Barclay for a United States album titled Jacques Brel. On 15 November, he gave his farewell performance at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. [1], In 1976, Brel returned to Brussels twice for medical examinations. On the 12 of October, his body was flown back to the Marquesas Islands, where he was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Atuona on the southern side of Hiva Oa island in the Marquesas, French Polynesia—a few yards away from the grave of artist Paul Gauguin. Further afield his influence has been somewhat tempered by differences in language, though he has influenced many artists globally. [44][45], In the 1970s, David Bowie began singing Brel's "Amsterdam" at a BBC session with John Peel and Evilan Tom. [27][36], In 1973 Brel appeared in his tenth and final feature film, L'emmerdeur (The troublemaker), directed by Édouard Molinaro and co-starred Lino Ventura, Caroline Cellier, and Jean-Pierre Darras. Brel also recorded two obscure singles in Dutch, "De apen" ("Les Singes") and "Men vergeet niets" ("On n'oublie rien"), which were included in the 16-CD box set Boîte à Bonbons by Barclay. Brel himself occasionally included parts of his songs in Dutch, one of the three official languages of Belgium, as in "Marieke". Ralph waits for his prey in his hotel room, but is interrupted by his comical neighbour, François Pignon (Brel). Brel was a successful actor, appearing in 10 films. Jacques Romain Georges Brel was a Belgian singer, songwriter, actor and director who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, later throughout the world. [11] He wrote short stories, poems, and essays. Paris-based Colombian salsa singer Yuri Buenaventura performed the Spanish version, "No me dejes mas". Russian rock group Mumiy Troll recorded the Russian version, "Когда ты уйдёшь". [44][45] Slovenian actor and songwriter Jure Ivanušič released the CD "Srce v kovčku" with his 16 authorial translations of Brel's songs into Slovenian in 2011. "[48], In 1989, Marc Almond, who had performed Brel songs on his early albums with Marc and the Mambas, released his successful Jacques, an album composed solely of Jacques Brel songs. [1] He spent the next six months fulfilling his concert commitments. He continued his ambitious touring schedule. [10] He helped set up the school's drama club, taking on his first stage roles with great enthusiasm. When Vincent arrives at the Bar de la Fourche, managed by Maria, he finds her looking older. [1], In 1977, Brel decided to record one final album. The film co-starred Barbara, Danièle Evenou, Fernand Fabre, Serge Sauvions, Louis Navarre, Jacques Provins, and François Cadet. Join Facebook to connect with France Brel and others you may know. In the second half he told the tale of Jean de Brunhoff's 'Babar the Elephant'. The year's concert tours brought him international recognition and popularity. To me the strength of Brel is that he doesn't come from the American tradition of songwriting, it's a strongly European thing. [3] Having sold over 25 million records worldwide, Brel is the third best-selling Belgian recording artist of all time. [18][Note 2] Throughout his military service, Brel was still able to attend FC meetings. [1] In November he recorded "Les Bigotes", "Quand Maman reviendra" (When mother returns), "Les Filles et les chiens" (Girls and dogs), and "La Parlote" (The gossip) as singles. In June he toured France again with Canetti's show Les Filles de Papa, which included Françoise Dorin, Perrette Souplex, and Suzanne Gabriello. After completing his last film L'emmerdeur, he took his daughters on a cruise. The songs on the first of these, and Walker's single release of "Jackie", were the earliest releases of the Blau-Shuman translations. Hij geeft nog even een sneer naar Antoine, met wie zijn vrouw vreemdging ("Car vu que tu étais son amant"). [27][29], In 1969 Brel appeared in his third film, Mon oncle Benjamin (My uncle Benjamin), directed by Édouard Molinaro and co-starring Claude Jade and Bernard Blier. The song reached number three on the French music charts. In July, after his health began to fail, Brel was flown back to France and rushed to a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where doctors discovered a cancerous tumour. The story is about a contract killer, Ralph Milan, who works for the Mafia. On the way to Canada, he meets a young boy who dreams about fighting in the European war. The film was released 4 May 1972, and became a huge box office smash. [citation needed], Gabriello died of cancer August 9, 1992 at 1'hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris at the age of 60.[1]. His family and friends were not supportive of his stark lyrics and violent, emotional performances. [1][9], In 1952 Brel began writing songs and performing them at family gatherings and on Brussels' cabaret circuit.