Michel Polnareff

Michel Polnareff (born July 3, 1944) is a French singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence in the 1960s and remained popular in France until the 1990s.^[1] His popular songs include "La Poupée qui fait non" and "Love Me, Please Love Me", which are noted to combine elements of pop and rock.^[2] He is known for his eccentric persona and theatrical stage performances, and is often referenced in discussions of French popular music.^[3][4]

Michel Polnareff was born in Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, on 3 July 1944. His mother, Simonne Lane, worked as a Breton dancer, and his father, Leib Polnareff (also known as Léo Poll), was a Ukrainian Jewish composer and pianist who performed with artists such as Édith Piaf.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} Polnareff attended the private Cours Hattemer school and studied piano from a young age, later learning guitar.^[10] After completing his mandatory military service in France, Polnareff held brief positions in banking and insurance. He later took up street performing, busking on the steps of Sacré-Cœur in Paris.^[11]

In 1966, producer Lucien Morisse signed Polnareff to Disc AZ. His first track, "La Poupée qui fait non", featured session guitarist Jimmy Page and achieved commercial success in France.^[12][13] He released two recordings in 1966, "La Poupée qui fait non" and "Love Me, Please Love Me", both of which achieved commercial success in France.

In the early 1970s, Polnareff experienced several personal and professional setbacks. In May 1970, he was violently attacked on stage at Périgueux in the Dordogne region, cutting short his planned summer tour,^[14] and in September, his close friend and mentor, Lucien Morisse, died by suicide.^[13] By 1973, Polnareff was experiencing severe financial difficulties. It was revealed that his business manager, Bernard Seneau, had been stealing from him, and as a result, he was unable to pay his taxes.^[13]

He moved to California, where he lived largely outside public attention. He was later joined there by his manager and romantic partner, Annie Fargé.^[15] His only English-language album, Fame à la Mode (also titled Michel Polnareff), was released in 1975. It included contributions from several American session musicians. The single "Jesus for Tonight" later appeared on the Billboard charts.^[16]

He composed the soundtrack for the film Lipstick (1976), which was released as an album in July 1976 on Atlantic Records. It reached number one on the U.S. disco charts and sold around 75,000 copies in France. At the time, he could not return to France and performed in Brussels. In 1977, he released "Lettre à France", co‑written with Jean‑Loup Dabadie, which sold roughly 476,000 copies that year. He had two albums which marked his return to the French charts, Coucou me Revoilou (1978) and Bulles (1981). Four years later, he released Incognito (1985) to much less attention.

In 1989, the single "Goodbye Marylou" was released to radio stations. During the following 18 months, Polnareff resided at the Royal Monceau hotel in Paris while working on the album Kāma‑Sūtra, with Mike Oldfield featured as a guest musician on two tracks.^[17] The album was released in February 1990 to commercial success.

Polnareff returned to live performance in 1995 with a concert at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles,^[18] followed by a series of television appearances in France documenting his return to public performance. These events preceded the release of the live album Live at the Roxy, which achieved commercial success in France.^[19] In 1999, Polnareff released "Je rêve d’un monde" (When I'm in Love), his first original single in ten years; it received limited promotion and radio airplay and reached only moderate chart positions. Plans for a subsequent album and tour were announced, but did not come to fruition in the following years.

In 2003, the compilation Passé Présent was released and sold approximately 400,000 copies.^[20] In 2004, Polnareff published his autobiography, Polnareff par Polnareff, and mentioned that he was working on a new album. On 12 May 2006, Polnareff announced on national television that he would perform a series of concerts from 2 to 14 March 2007, followed by a tour in France. He later released the single "Ophélie Flagrant des Lits", which received mixed critical reception. On 14 July 2007, Michel Polnareff performed a free concert at the Champ-de-Mars near the Eiffel Tower, which was reportedly attended by over 600,000 people.^[21]

By November 2013, Polnareff had sold approximately 3.9 million albums and 4.9 million singles in France.^[22]

In 2014, an authorized documentary titled Quand l’écran s’allume (named after the opening line of "Goodbye Marylou") was released in selected cinemas and later broadcast on television. The film documented Polnareff’s studio work and included previews of material from an upcoming album.^[23]

On 8 December 2015, Polnareff announced plans to release a new album and undertake a major concert tour across France, Belgium, and Switzerland during 2016.^[24] On 18 December 2015, Polnareff released "L'Homme en rouge", his first single since 2006, as a digital download and on streaming platforms. This Christmas song is performed from the perspective of a child who is poor and does not believe in Santa Claus.

In 2016, Polnareff indicated that work on his forthcoming album was ongoing and referenced several new compositions, including songs inspired by personal experiences and family life.^[25] At the same time, he released another autobiographical book entitled Spèrme. In December 2016, before the tour's penultimate concert, Polnareff was hospitalized with a double pulmonary embolism. He subsequently cancelled the final two shows.^[26]

On 3 October 2018, Michel Polnareff announced that his album Enfin! would be released on 30 November, marking his first studio album in 28 years. The album received mixed critical reception. On 24 July 2022, four years after the release of Enfin!, Polnareff announced Polnareff chante Polnareff, a piano-and-vocal album featuring new versions of his earlier songs. The album received a generally positive response and was supported by a French concert tour in 2023.^[27]

In November 2024, Michel Polnareff announced a new album and a tour scheduled for the following year, which included his first concert in London. He released the single "Sexcetera" later that month, followed by a second single, "Tu n’m’entends pas", in February 2025. On 10 March 2025, Polnareff revealed that the album would be titled Un temps pour elles.^[28]

In September 1970, Polnareff's friend, Lucien Morisse, died by suicide. After resting near Paris and undergoing months of isolation and therapy for depression, he gradually returned to touring.

A 1972 promotional poster for his "Polnarévolution" tour, featuring an image of his bare buttocks, caused controversy and led to legal issues.^[29]

Polnareff has had relationships with American actress Lynda Carter and Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel. His first major relationship was with his manager, Annie Fargé, lasting over 20 years.

In 2004, he met Danyellah, a French journalist and model. On 28 December 2010, Danyellah gave birth to a boy, Louka, in Los Angeles. On 21 February 2011, Polnareff announced via Facebook that a DNA test revealed he was not the biological father and that Danyellah had used a sperm donor. A later post indicated his girlfriend had disappeared with the baby.^[30]

After some months of separation, Polnareff was reunited with his son Louka in 2014.^[31] They now live in Palm Springs, where Polnareff has his own recording studio.

• 1974: Polnaréflexions in collaboration with Jean-Michel Desjeunes, Editions Dire/Stock2
• 2004: Polnareff par Polnareff in collaboration with Philippe Manœuvre, Editions Grasset et Fasquelle
• 2013: Le Polnabook, by Michel Polnareff, Editions Ipanéma
• 2016: Spèrme, by Michel Polnareff, Editions Plon

• Christian Eudeline, Derrière les lunettes, ed. fayard, 2013 (ISBN 978-2-213-66680-8)
• Benoît Cachi, Polnaculte: Michel Polnareff vu par ses auteurs et par lui-même, ed. Tournon, 2007 (ISBN 978-2351440360)
• Christophe Lauga, Polnareff mania, ed. Scali, 2007 (ISBN 2350120848)
• Fabien Lecœuvre, Polnareff, la véritable histoire d'une légende, ed. City, 2007 (ISBN 2352880459)
• Philippe Margotin, Polnareff, ed. de la Lagune, 2007 (ISBN 284969049X)
• Fabien Lecœuvre, Michel Polnareff, ed. Vaderetro, 2004 (ISBN 2847630104)

• Biography of Michel Polnareff, from Radio France Internationale
• Official Web Site : Michel Polnareff (news, discography, photos...)