France Gall (70) passes away

Incredibly sad news coming from France today. The winner of the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, France Gall, has died. She was aged just 70 and died from lung related issues.

France Gall’s career

Gall’s career started back in 1963. Her first single, Ne Sois Pas Si Bête, immediately became a hit, even though she was just sixteen years of age. Two years later, RTL Luxembourg convinced her to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest. Serge Gainsbourg penned her entry, Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son.
The then eighteen year old France Gall convincingly won the contest and achieved a break through for more uptempo winners in the contest. After the contest, Gall released the song in German, Italian and Japanese.
Her private life wasn’t easy. Having dated several men, her boyfriend at the time of winning Eurovision, Claude François, pushed her aside out of jealousy.
After a short career in different music, Gall focused on the German market, where was rather successful with songs such as Der Computer Nr. 3. She then turned away from Serge Gainsbourg’s music and released new material. Later, she went on to star in musicals, such as Starmania.
In the nineties, Gall released some more material. However, in 1997 she decided it was enough. After a career of almost 35 years, she announced her retirement.

Later years

In her later years, Gall lived a private life in France. Having retired from music, she released a few compilation album, but that was it.
Her health declined recently, with the sad outcome of her death. She was hospitalised at the end of December with a severe infection. Her management announced the sad news that France Gall had passed away earlier today. French president Emmanuel Macron responded on Twitter, praising her music and generosity:

France Gall a traversé le temps grâce à sa sincérité et sa générosité. Elle laisse des chansons connues de tous les Français et l'exemple d'une vie tournée vers les autres, ceux qu'elle aimait et ceux qu'elle aidait.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 7, 2018

The thoughts of the entire ESCXTRA.com Team are with France Gall’s friends and family in these difficult times.