Julien

The reason for the visit to Lille a couple of weekends back was to see Julien Clerc in concert.  The Zenith in Lille is a huge concrete convention and entertainment centre, so with about 6500 French people, Pete and I took our seats.  At one point, about a hundred went to stand at the front, so near the end I went up and took this photo.
  
The concert was unlike the other times I have seen him play live (twice in France and also once in London where it was him and 2 guys on stage) - he had an orchestra with him this time, so the sound was very impressive!
  
I first heard Julien on a trip to Holland in the late 1980's.  He is a songwriter that has been popular in Europe since the early 1970's and has a reputation for being a singer "for the ladies".  That's a bit unfair and although he can write some twee songs, he has certainly written some high quality music and is still making albums that top the French charts every few years.  It's difficult to think of a comparison from the UK - the closest is someone like Elton John; he writes his own material and remains popular after decades.
  
I could pick a dozen or more songs, but here's a nice ballad for you... and the video features Carla Bruni, a friend of his who has provided a few lyrics in the past.