Michel Polnareff is one of the French music scene’s more unconventional figures. This talented singer/songwriter, who has spent his entire life swimming against the tide, has experienced a rollercoaster of ups and downs in the course of his long career. He has earnt a famous reputation for his wildly non-conformist lifestyle, but also made a name for himself with his legendary melodies.

Michel Polnareff was born in the Lot et Garonne region on 3 July 1944. His parents had fled to the French countryside during the war but returned to the capital shortly after Michel’s birth. Young Michel grew up in Paris in a very artistic environment. His father, Leib Polnareff, was a musician who worked with some of the top stars on the French music scene (including Edith Piaf and the Compagnons de la chanson) under his stage name Léo Poll. Michel’s Breton mother, Simone Lane, was a former dancer. Michel was surrounded by music from an early age, his father introducing him to the classical composers while his mother, Simone, would play her collection of Gershwin and Cole Porter songs. Michel soon turned into something of a child prodigy, learning to play the piano at the tender age of 5 and going on to become an extremely talented young musician. Indeed, at 11 and a half years old, he won one of the top awards at the Paris Conservatoire. Young Michel also proved to be an extremely creative composer and one of his greatest passions during his teenage years was to write his own jazz orchestrations for famous classical pieces. After passing his ‘baccalauréat’ at the age of 19, Michel went off to Montluçon for seven months to do his national service. Michel’s time in the French army proved most interesting - his national service consisted of playing the bass drum in his regiment’s band. On leaving the army he went on to work in an insurance agency then a bank. But the world of finance did not interest Michel in the slightest and in 1964 he renounced his financial career, preferring to earn his living busking with his guitar in Montmartre. His busking career actually proved quite successful, and it certainly gave him useful live experience performing his songs in front of an audience. In 1965 Michel entered a rock contest at the fashionable Locomotive club in Paris, and, much to his surprise, carried off the first prize - which consisted of the "Disco Revue" award and a recording contract with the renowned Paris record label Barclay. But Michel Polnareff, a spirited non-conformist even at this early stage of his career, refused to accept his prize.