Francoise Hardy in 1969. Photo: Reg Lancaster/Getty Images FRANCOISE HARDY Musician Arguably France’s greatest musical export, Francoise Hardy was a pop-culture icon from her late teens until her later years. "I was passionately in love with her.
Every male in the world, and a number of females, also were," David Bowie once said of a woman who was the only French artist named in Rolling Stone magazine’s 2023 list of the 200 greatest singers of all time. Born on January 17, 1944, during an air raid in Nazi-occupied Paris, Hardy was raised there by her single mother. She received her first guitar at age 16 as a present from her largely absent father and immediately began scribbling down songs.
Hardy’s career began in 1962 when she recorded her first single, Tous Les Garcons et Les Filles , at the age of 18. The song, which she wrote and composed, quickly became a hit, marking her rise as a key figure in the ye-ye movement, a French response to rock’n’roll. Her lyrics often captured the angst and longing of adolescence, resonating deeply with young audiences.
Her melancholic and introspective tone set her apart from the more exuberant pop music of her peers. Hardy had a unique approach to songwriting, emphasising the importance of melody in her creative process. Speaking to Associated Press in 1996 about writing songs, she explained: "I always put the words on the music.
It’s always like that. I don’t write before, and then, I’m looking for music. First, I get th.