1. Daniel Balavoine was popular in the French-speaking world in the early 1980s; he inspired many singers of his generation such as Jean-Jacques Goldman, Michel Berger, who was his closest friend, as well as the Japanese pop-rock group Crystal King.
Daniel Balavoine took part in motorsports and French political life; he is known for a 1980 televised verbal confrontation with then-Socialist presidential candidate Francois Mitterrand.
Daniel Balavoine's songs dealt in themes of despair, pain and death, although hope was present as well.
Daniel Balavoine was born on 5 February 1952 in Alencon, France.
Daniel Balavoine was the youngest in a family of six children.
Daniel Balavoine's father, Emile, was an urban engineer and worked for the Reconstruction Ministry.
In 1959, his father relocated to Algeria, while Daniel Balavoine moved to southern city of Pau and attended a boarding school, an experience he clearly didn't appreciate.
In 1972, the band signed a contract with Warner Music Group but Daniel Balavoine quit the group.
Daniel Balavoine then became a background vocalist alongside his brother, Guy.
Daniel Balavoine wrote a song for him, "Couleurs d'Automne", which appeared on Juvet's following album.
Daniel Balavoine would go on to write most of her songs following her Eurovision success.
In 1977, Daniel Balavoine released a second record, "Les aventures de Simon et Gunther" but again it sold poorly and Eddie Barclay began getting impatient.
Daniel Balavoine immediately hired Balavoine and a strong brotherly relationship began between the two singers.
In 1980, Daniel Balavoine returned with his fifth studio album Un autre monde.
Daniel Balavoine decided to radically change his musical style, making it more rock-oriented and using electronic effects.
In 1984, Daniel Balavoine returned on the road for a yearlong tour across France.
Daniel Balavoine looked for the perfect sound and the perfect ambiance rather than the set, which was furnished sparsely.
Daniel Balavoine wrote a full album for his friend Catherine Ferry, using for the first time his Fairlight synthesizer.
French singers, including Daniel Balavoine, organised their own event, Singers Without Borders, which was not a big success mostly because of the expensive price of the tickets.
The Fairlight allows Daniel Balavoine to insert a lot of electronic effects and sound never heard before.
Daniel Balavoine received, as a posthumous title, the Victoire de la Musique Album of the Year Award in 1986 for Sauver l'amour.
In 1986, Daniel Balavoine was chosen to lead a fund-raising effort aimed at building water wells in Africa.
Daniel Balavoine was invited by Thierry Sabine, founder and director of the Paris-Dakar Rally, to take advantage of the logistics of the Rally.
Daniel Balavoine supported his friend Coluche in his presidential bid.
Daniel Balavoine performed during the first meetings, but finally left, feeling he was being used for political purposes.
Daniel Balavoine turned his mind toward humanitarian work, especially in Africa.
Daniel Balavoine was in charge of managing the building of water wells in the Sahel.
Daniel Balavoine's songs have been interpreted by many artists, for example Catherine Ferry for whom he wrote nearly 20 songs, Jeanne Mas, Liane Foly, Frida Lyngstad, Lena Ka, Johnny Hallyday, Pascal Obispo, Patrick Fiori, Florent Pagny, Gregory Lemarchal, as well as Marie Denise Pelletier who had an enormous success with her own rendition of the song "Tous les cris, les SOS" in 1987.