I
Jakie Quartz

About:

31 July 1955

Jakie was born as Jacqueline Cuchet in Breton. Being a fan of the alternative music scene in Rennes she dropped out of school after being expelled for obnoxious behaviour in the seventies and left for Paris where she took up dancing and singing lessons. At the turn of decade the Parisian music scene is vibrant with elements like fashion, disco, punk and new wave are mixed: Jakie is approached by Georges Augier de Moussac and with his help she records a first single called ‘History ephemeral / Astroliner’ (1981), which goes completely unnoticed. It does however give her a chance to enter in the cast of the musicalrevue ‘Revue et corrigée’ in 1982 together with Catherine Lara, Annie Girardot and Guesch Patti. Although a minor part Girardot takes a liking to  Jakie and gets her to sing live during the broadcast television spectrum of Le Grand Jacques Chancel. Here she meets composer Gérard Anfosso and soon enough the duo starts to work together. With the help of talent agent Bertrand Lepage the single ‘Mise au point’ is released in 1983. The result, a mix of disco-rock with a touch of hip hop and electro sounds, easily wins the heart of the public. During the same year, the first eponymous album Jakie Quartz is released and allows the singer to enter the international arena. In 1984, she released a second album entitled " Alerte à la blonde". What follows is a string of hits including " Histoire sans parole " and " Jeu dangereux " published in 1985, and " Vivre ailleurs " released in 1986,f rom the album ‘Jour et nuit’.

After releasing this album relationships between Quartz and Lepage cool rapidly and the singer decides to leave his company. In 1987, Jakie Quartz records her fourth album with Gerard Anfosso and call it " Émotions au pluriel’. A new single in 1989 turns out to be the turning point in her career. The text of single release " Non mais qu'est-ce que tu crois’  is judged being too daring and radio and TV stations refuse to broadcast it. After this failure, Jakie Quartz gradually retreats from public life. One more single ‘Comme un reve’ and more album followed a year later but then everything went very quiet. In 1995, she released a compilation of biggest hits and six new song. But this did not lead her back into the limelight. In 2003 record producer Yvon Chateigner was the first to lure her out of seclusion. For his label she recorded an album with new songs and new version of her hits. In 2004 she made a reappearance on TV in the show ‘Retour gagnant’ and she participated in several events including the grand tour "RFM Party 80. Her hitsong 'Mise au point' was covered by Starmaker contestants Leslie in 2007 and Quentin Mosimann in 2008.

On the web:

- Jakie fanforum: http://jakiequartz.xooit.com/

If you like this, you probably like... / european counterparts:

Cosa Rosa (Germany)

What do we think:

DB: With Guesh Patti and Jeanne Mas Jakie is as Eighties as you can get in France. Spiked blonde hair, synthipop and an cool image that screams 'hit-potential'. Well at least if you're French and a teenager in 1983. For people who are younger the typical French synthipop sound of Jakie might me misunterpreted. I found discussions on the internet on Jakie asking "did people really like this kind of music?". Yes, they did, on a large scale. But her music was never meant for eternity. It was light Eighties bubblegum pop. And should be listened to with that in mind. Quartz obviously benefits from the eighties synthipop revival at the end of the years '00 with a range of young artists paying hommage by covering her great hit 'Mise au point'.

Albums:

♪♪♪ - Mise au point - 1982

♪♪ - Alerte à la blonde - 1984

♪♪♪ - Jour et nuit - 1986

♪♪♪♪ - Emotion au pluriel - 1987

- Jakie Quartz – 1990

- Jakie Quartz – 2003

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided