Headlining the Fêtes d’Agen 2024, Pascal Obispo will perform on August 31 at 10:30 p.m. His career is punctuated with sometimes unusual details.
With his thirty-year career and his smoked blue glasses, his favorite radio hits (“Fan”, “Lucie”, “Tombé pour elle” …), Pascal Obispo is one of the most famous figures on the French scene. Expected at the turning point for the Fêtes d’Agen, he will pass at 10:30 p.m. at the town hall square, just after the Olivia Ruiz concert. Here is the opportunity to learn more about his career, with sometimes surprising details.
Bergeracois, son of a former Girondins player
The singer’s origins are mixed. It was not far from home that he spent the first years of his life, in Bergerac (Périgord), before moving to Rennes at the age of thirteen, after his parents’ divorce. His father, Max Obispo, of Basque origin, left his mark on FC Girondins de Bordeaux with his cleats between 1955 and 1960. He sat alongside Marius Trésor on the club’s former players’ association. The man, who died in 2012, was also a writer and painter.
Bassist and fan of The Cure
On stage, he is sometimes seen with a bass. As a teenager, he developed a passion for The Cure, whom he saw rehearsing near the basketball court where he played. It was as a bassist that he joined the band Evening Legions in 1986, specializing in the new wave that he loved at the time. Two years later, still as a bassist, he joined the band Senso, which notably included Frank Darcel, ex-Marquis de Sade, another band adored by Obispo. It was only after that he became the singer.
When Michel Polnareff trashed his “Fan”
The title “Fan” appeared in 2004 on the album “Studio Fan- Live Fan”, and was intended as a tribute to Michel Polnareff – among others -, whom Pascal Obispo considers a source of inspiration. Problem: Michel Polnareff hates it! The singer with dark glasses and blond curls is known for his caustic frankness. For a few years, the two artists clashed one after the other, to the great delight of the media. The situation calmed down after 2016, and Pascal Obispo still performs “Lettre à France” on stage.
An app under his name
In 2021, he developed “Obispo All Access”, an application with clips, animations, “sharing around a piano and a guitar”, interviews, karaoke, etc. At the same time, he removed his records from traditional streaming platforms (Deezer, Spotify, etc.). A choice that did not necessarily win the support of his audience. Two years later, the artist changed his mind and put his tracks back on the platforms. The cause: fans who were uncomfortable with his application, and many disgruntled messages.
Pascal Obispo has had a string of successes that have left their mark on their era. Photo – Fabrice Aygalenq
Successes, but not only under his name
Pascal Obispo has lent his pen to many artists. Johnny Hallyday for the album “Ce que je sais” in 1998, but also Zazie, with whom he co-wrote “Zen” in 1995, and his great friend Florent Pagny, for whom he composed the music for “Ma liberté de penser”. Also in the 90s, he almost offered an album to France Gall. If the association did not ultimately happen, this did not prevent him from releasing a tribute album to the singer in 2021, simply entitled “France”. On the album, he delivers the songs he had previously written for the singer of “Poupée de cire, poupée de son”.
A career punctuated by timeless hits
An outstanding musician and first-rate melodist, Pascal Obispo has had a string of hits that have left their mark on their era. An overview of the essentials.
That is to say, the young artist had a hell of a mane of hair when he first arrived on the airwaves in 1992 with “Plus que tout au monde”, a pop gem and the first hit signed by the Bergerac native. The Obispo touch is already there: symphonic flights, Anglo-Saxon influences, suave voices and crooner lyrics. Success was immediate and the artist was soon to join the big league.
Two years later, with the album “Un jour comme aujourd’hui”, Pascal Obispo established himself a little more on the French scene by stringing together successes on his latest release. The perfect example? “Tombé pour elle (L’île aux oiseaux)”, a title with a catchy chorus where the young singer recalls childhood memories in the Arcachon basin.
Having left the outfit of a promising player to take on the role of a boss, he drove the point home with “Superflu” in 1996. An opus that had as its backbone two hits that would mark their era: “Les meilleurs ennemis”, a haunting duet with Zazi, and especially “Lucie”, a flagship of Pascal Obispo’s repertoire, co-written with Lionel Florence, creator of serial hits.
Lots of texts for others
Following on from his success, “Soledad”, released in 1999, further solidified the now bald man. It must be said that Pascal Obispo brought out the big guns with “L’important c’est d’aimer”, a song that would quickly become a huge karaoke standard.
Subsequently, he wrote a lot for others (read above), trying other adventures with varying degrees of success. This jack-of-all-trades has always gotten back up, despite a few slaps. Hits are much rarer in recent years, but the artist has such a catalogue that putting together his concerts is easy.
Gauthier Hénon
