Coordinates: 48°52′56.20″N 2°20′14.50″E / 48.882278°N 2.337361°E / 48.882278; 2.337361

A building in the Boulevard de Clichy

Pigalle (French pronunciation: [piɡal]) is an area in Paris around the Place Pigalle, on the border between the 9th and the 18th arrondissements. It is named after the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785).

Pigalle is famous for being a tourist district, with many sex shops on Place Pigalle and the main boulevards and prostitutes operating in the side streets. The neighborhood's raunchy reputation led to its World War II nickname of "Pig Alley" by Allied soldiers. The Divan du Monde and the Moulin Rouge, a world-famous cabaret, are both located in Pigalle.

The area to the south of Place Pigalle is devoted to the retail of musical instruments and equipment, especially for popular music. A section of the rue de Douai consists solely of stores selling guitars, drums, and musical accessories.

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's studio was here. Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, and Maurice Neumont also once lived here. The works of artist Salvador Dalí can be seen at the nearby Espace Dalí.

It was also the home of the Grand Guignol theatre, which closed in 1962. However, the theatre itself still stands. The Musée de l'érotisme (Museum of Eroticism) can also be found here.

Pigalle is a well known spot for tourists who want to experience "Paris by night". It is home to some of Paris' most famous cabarets ("Moulin Rouge," for instance, was immortalized by artist Toulouse-Lautrec as well as Hollywood), as well as topless and nude shows.

Pigalle is one end-point of the Montmartrobus (a public bus serving the area), or you can get to the Place Pigalle by taking the Métro to the Pigalle stop.

A film was made in 1994 entitled Pigalle. It was set in this district of Paris and starred Véra Briole and Francis Renauld. The police comedy My New Partner is also set in Pigalle. An album was made by Édith Piaf, entitled La Rue Pigalle. Maurice Chevalier wrote a song entitled Place Pigalle. The recent album by the American jazz singer, Madeleine Peyroux, entitled "Bare Bones" (2009), contains a track entitled "Our Lady of Pigalle". The American pop band Sparks mentioned the district in the lyrics to "Sextown U.S.A.". The Amsterdam-based modern gypsy jazz band Pigalle44 was named after this district.^[1]

References[link]

Notes

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009)

External links[link]

Paris portal

• Review of Pigalle
• Information about Pigalle

Christian Louboutin (pronounced [kʁis.tjɑ̃ lu.bu.tɛ̃]; b. 7 January 1963) is a French footwear designer whose footwear has incorporated shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature.^[1]

Personal life[link]

Louboutin was born in Paris and grew up in Paris's 12th arrondissement. He was the only son of Roger, an ébéniste,^[2] and Irene, a homemaker, and he has three sisters. He was expelled from school three times and ran away from home at the age of 12,^[3] at which point his indulgent mother allowed him to move out to live at a friend's house.^[4] Although Louboutin faced much opposition following his decision to leave school early, he claims that his resolve was strengthened after watching an interview on TV with Sophia Loren in which she introduced her sister, saying she had to leave school when she was only 12, but, when she turned 50, she got her degree. He later remarked, "Everybody applauded! And I thought, 'Well, at least if I regret it I'm going to be like the sister of Sophia Loren!'"

Landscape architect Louis Benech has been his partner since 1997. Louboutin and his partner spend time between their homes in Paris’s 1st arrondissement,^[5] a fisherman's cottage in Lisbon,^[6] a palace in Aleppo,^[7] a houseboat on the Nile christened Dahabibi-my love boat, and a house in Luxor. The Luxor domicile is a former craftsman’s workshop, made of earthen bricks, to which he has added an additional floor and a rooftop belvedere.^[8] Additionally, he also shares a 13th-century castle in the Vendée with his business partner Bruno Chamberlain.^[4]

Louboutin claims that his unusual pastimes include trapeze flying, inspired by the film Wings of Desire, and that inspirations come from showgirls and music halls — not fashion (or la mode), which he asserts becomes quickly dated.

Career[link]

Christian Louboutin Ltd.

Type	Private,S.A
Industry	Consumer goods
Founded	1991
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	Christian Louboutin, Founder Bruno Chamberland, CEO[9] Alexis Mourot, COO & GM[9] Priya Mohindra,U.S Communications Director[10]
Products	Shoes,Purses,Wallets
Revenue	$250 million (31 December 2010) on 600,000 pairs of shoes a year[11]
Employees	420 (2011) [4]
Website	christianlouboutin.com

He began sketching shoes in his early teens, ignoring his academic studies. Going through a punk phase, he was in a few films, including 1979 cult classic Race d'ep. Under the title The Homosexual Century, a film which attracted an English-language audience. His first job was at the Folies Bergères, the caberet where he assisted the entertainers backstage. He was also a fixture on the city's party scene, clubbing his nights away alongside Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol.^[4]

His little formal training included drawing and the decorative arts at the Académie d'Art Roederer. Louboutin claims his fascination with shoes began in 1976 when he visited the Musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie on the avenue Daumesnil. It was there that he saw a sign from Africa forbidding women wearing sharp stilettos from entering a building for fear of damage to the extensive wood flooring. This image stayed in his mind, and he later used this idea in his designs. "I wanted to defy that," Louboutin said. "I wanted to create something that broke rules and made women feel confident and empowered."^[12]

Fascinated by world cultures, he ran away in his teens to Egypt and spent a year in India. Louboutin returned to Paris in 1981, where he assembled a portfolio of drawings of elaborate high heels. He brought it to the top couture houses. The effort resulted in employment with Charles Jourdan. Subsequently, Louboutin met Roger Vivier, who claims to have invented the stiletto, or spiked-heel shoe. Louboutin became an apprentice in Vivier's atelier.

Going on to serve as a freelance designer, Louboutin designed women's shoes for Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Maud Frizon. In the late 1980s, he gave turned away from fashion to become a landscape gardener and to contribute to Vogue but missed working with shoes and set up his company in 1991.

With funds from two backers, he opened a Paris shoe salon in 1991 with Princess Caroline of Monaco as his first customer. She complimented the store one day when a fashion journalist was present, and the journalist's subsequent publication of Princess's comments helped greatly to increase Louboutin's renown. Clients such as Diane von Fürstenberg and Catherine Deneuve followed. Later, those interested in his stiletto heels have included Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian. Sarah Jessica Parker wore a pair of shoes by Louboutin for her wedding.

Louboutin has topped the Luxury Institute's annual Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) for three years; the brand's offerings were declared the Most Prestigious Women's Shoes in 2007, 2008, and 2009.^[13][14][15]

Shoes[link]

Louboutin helped bring stilettos back into fashion in the 1990s and 2000s, designing dozens of styles with heel heights of 120mm (4.72 inches) and higher. The designer's professed goal has been to "make a woman look sexy, beautiful, to make her legs look as long as [he] can." While he does offer some lower-heeled styles, Louboutin is generally associated with his dressier evening-wear designs incorporating jeweled straps, bows, feathers, patent leather, and other similar decorative touches.^[16] Despite being known for his celebrity clients, he rarely gives shoes away – offering discounts instead to his high-profile fans. This policy also extends to his personal family, because he feels that giving shoes away as gifts is unimaginative.^[17]

His single biggest client is Danielle Steel, who is reputed to own over 6,000 pairs and is known to have purchased up 80 pairs at a time when shopping at his stores.^[18]

Christian Louboutin vs. Yves Saint Laurent[link]

In 2011, Christian Louboutin company filed a trademark infringement of its red-soled shoes against designer Yves Saint Laurent.^[19] The firm is expecting that the YSL shoe design will be revoked and is seeking US $1 million in damages.^[20] However, in August 2011, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero denied the firm's request to stop the sale of women's shoes with red soles by Yves Saint Laurent. The judge questioned the validity of the trademark, writing, "Louboutin's claim would cast a red cloud over the whole industry, cramping what other designers do, while allowing Louboutin to paint with a full palette."^[21] Judge Marrero also wrote, "Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection, even if it has gained enough public recognition in the market to have acquired secondary meaning."^[22] Jewelry company Tiffany & Co., which has its blue box trademarked, filed a amicus curiae brief focusing on trademarking a color. Fashion periodical WWD reported that Tiffany's brief supports Louboutin's appeal to reverse the decision made by Judge Marrero.^[23]

Boutiques[link]

The list of distributors and location of the stores can be found on the Christian Louboutin Web site. A new ladies boutique has been scheduled to open in Turkey in 2012.^[24]

In the spring of 2012,the company also plans to open its first men's store in New York City, boasting over 1,000 square feet of space and conveniently located next to its existing Horatio Street store.^[25] From previous experience in his Paris Store, Louboutin claimed that women feel uncomfortable when men stare at them while they try on shoes, hence a separate stores.^[26]

The first Louboutin Men's Boutique, Christian Louboutin Boutique Homme on Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Paris, opened in the summer of 2012.

Christian Louboutin Miami is located on 40th Street in the Design District of Miami, Florida.^[27] Louboutin chose to open a store in Miami because of the mix of businesses and the small urban scale, and because of his obvious following there. During Miami Basel art fair when the store opened in 2009, he said, "You don't get this with Europeans—but Americans actually come into my office in Paris to meet me, and a lot of those people are from Miami." The boutique stocks Louboutin's most colorful, strappy, precarious styles, on account of the subtropical climate and the fact that, Louboutin says, "people barely walk in the street."^[28]

The 2,400-square-foot space was designed by Eric Clough and 212box.^[28] Above a steel awning shaped like a Louboutin shoe in profile, with a red underside to boot, pink orchids sprout from the coral-stone facade. Still more orchids project from a wall in the entry gallery. Pantyhose have been recycled by Dutch artist Madeleine Berkhemer into a multi-colored sculpture that stretches over the empty concrete floor with some of Louboutin’s signature shoes dangling in the overhead tangle of nylon "like insects trapped in a psychedelic spider’s web."^[27] This L-shape space wraps two sides of a rectangular volume clad almost entirely in one-way mirror: a box that contains the merchandise for sale while allowing people who've just come in the front door to "witness other people falling in love with the shoes," Clough says.^[28]

The inside areas in the store are defined by lush red carpeting. Blue, blown-glass chandeliers hang from the ceilings.^[27] Hieroglyphics, symbols and Braille are carved onto wooden Codebox Tiles that line some of the store's interior walls.^[29] hiding the words of a poem by contemporary American poet Lyn Hejinian in plain sight, in the etched wooden tiles lining the gallery wall behind the orchids. "This is the way I / Want to go in and / Out of heaven... / Windows full at 5pm / My skull a place / Except that I think of space as the more exciting," the lines read.^[28] These coded tiles appear in many Louboutin stores designed by Clough around the world, including São Paulo, Brazil.

Fighting Fraud Online[link]

Branded genuine Louboutin shoes are sold in-store and online through various luxury goods retailers such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Joseph, Browns, Matches, Cricket and Cruise and online through Net-A-Porter and The Outnet in the UK. Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Nordstrom sell genuine Louboutin in the US.

Online, the Louboutin brand is under constant attack from sellers of fakes and knock-offs. Louboutin's own website now sells some of their products online in the US^[30] but this is the only legitimate domain with the word Louboutin in it to do so. Louboutin's main website contains a prominent note stating that any other domain name containing the word "Louboutin" is very likely to be selling counterfeit goods.

In the last few years, the company has served hundreds of DMCA notices on Google to remove many sites selling fake goods from their search results.^[31] Even after this action, thousands of sites remain online.

The company has recently set up a separate website^[32] focused on protecting their brand, and detailing more than 3 000 websites that sell fake goods, many of which have been closed down. The site also contains summaries of legal actions taken, including raids on factories with photographs and videos of the mass destruction of counterfeit goods.

References[link]

Periodicals[link]

• Footwear News, 1 June 1992, p. S8; 9 December 2002, p. 50
• Harper's Bazaar, December 1999, p. 104; April 2001, p. 226
• Newsweek International, 24 February 2003, p. 48
• People, 10 February 2003, pp. 87–88
• Vogue, June 2004, p. 206

External links[link]

• Christian Louboutin Official Site (in English)
• Simpson, Aislinn (30 June 2008). "Christian Louboutin shoes top sexiness poll". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2221378/Christian-Louboutin-shoes-top-sexiness-poll.html. Retrieved 8 July 2008. 
• Armstrong, Lisa (5 July 2008). "How to get dressed: Christian Louboutin, the most wanted shoe brand". The Times (London). http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article4241482.ece. Retrieved 8 July 2008. 
• Christian Louboutin designer profile at Fashion Model Directory

v t e High-heeled footwear Shoes Court shoe Mule Peep-toe shoe Platform shoe Slingback Boots Ballet boot Beatle boot Cowboy boot Fashion boot Kinky boots Knee-high boot Platform boot Thigh-high boots Winklepickers Types of heel Clear heels Kitten heel Spool heel Stiletto heel Wedge heel People and brands ALDO Group Manolo Blahnik Jimmy Choo Kenneth Cole Patrick Cox Terry de Havilland Salvatore Ferragamo Maud Frizon Cole Haan Hush Puppies Charles Jourdan Beth Levine Christian Louboutin Steve Madden Bruno Magli Nine West Beatrix Ong Prada Sergio Rossi Yotam Solomon United Nude Roger Vivier Stuart Weitzman Giuseppe Zanotti

Chevalier in 1920

Maurice Auguste Chevalier (September 12, 1888 – January 1, 1972) was a French actor, singer, entertainer and a noted Sprechgesang performer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including Louise, Mimi, Valentine, and Thank Heaven for Little Girls and for his films including The Love Parade and The Big Pond. His trademark attire was a boater hat, which he always wore on stage with a tuxedo.

Born in Paris, he made his name as a star of musical comedy, appearing in public as a singer and dancer at an early age before working in four menial jobs as a teenager. In 1909, he became the partner of the biggest female star in France at the time, Fréhel. Although their relationship was brief, she secured him his first major engagement, as a mimic and a singer in l'Alcazar in Marseille to which he received critical acclaim by French theatre critics. In 1918 he discovered jazz and ragtime and went to London, where he found new success at the Palace Theatre.

In 1917, he discovered jazz and ragtime and toured the United States. Whilst there, he met the American composers George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and brought Dédé to Broadway in 1922. He also developed an interest in acting, and had success in the operetta Dédé. When talkies arrived, he went to Hollywood in 1928 where he played his first American role in Innocents of Paris. In 1930 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his roles in The Love Parade (1929) and The Big Pond (1930), which secured his first big American hit, Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight.

In 1957, he appeared in Love in the Afternoon which was his first Hollywood film in more than 20 years. In the early 1960s, he made eight films, including Can-Can in 1960 and Fanny the following year. In 1970 he made his final contribution to the film industry where he sang the title song of the Disney film The Aristocats. He died in Paris, on January 1, 1972, aged 83.

Early life[link]

He was born in Paris to a house painter father and a mother of Belgian descent. He made his name as a star of musical comedy, appearing in public as a singer and dancer at an early age.

He worked a number of jobs; a carpenter's apprentice, electrician, printer, and even as a doll painter. He started in show business in 1901. He was singing, unpaid, at a café when a member of the theatre saw him and suggested he try for a local musical. He got the part. Chevalier made a name as a mimic and a singer. His act in l'Alcazar in Marseille was so successful, he made a triumphant rearrival in Paris.

In 1909, he became the partner of the biggest female star in France, Fréhel. However, due to her alcoholism and drug addiction, their liaison ended in 1911. Chevalier then started a relationship with 36-year-old Mistinguett at the Folies Bergère where he was her 23 year old dance partner; they eventually played out a public romance.

World War I[link]

When World War I broke out, Chevalier was in the middle of his national service, already in the front line, where he was wounded by shrapnel in the back in the first weeks of combat and was taken as a prisoner of war in Germany for two years. In 1916, he was released through the secret intervention of Mistinguett's admirer, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, the only king of a neutral country who was related to both the British and German royal families.

In 1917, Chevalier became a star in le Casino de Paris and played before British soldiers and Americans. He discovered jazz and ragtime and started thinking about touring the United States. In the prison camp, he studied English and had an advantage over other French artists. He went to London, where he found new success at the Palace Theatre, even though he still sang in French.

Hollywood[link]

After the war, Chevalier went back to Paris and created several songs still known today, such as "Valentine" (1924). He played in a few pictures, including Chaplin's A Woman of Paris (a rare drama for Chaplin, in which his character of The Tramp does not appear) and made a huge impression in the operetta Dédé. He met the American composers George Gershwin and Irving Berlin and brought Dédé to Broadway in 1922. The same year he met Yvonne Vallée, a young dancer, who became his wife in 1927.

When Douglas Fairbanks was on honeymoon in Paris in 1920, he offered him star billing with his new wife Mary Pickford, but Chevalier doubted his own talent for silent movies (his previous ones had largely failed).^[1]. When sound arrived, he made his Hollywood debut in 1928. He signed a contract with Paramount Pictures and played his first American role in Innocents of Paris. In 1930 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his roles in The Love Parade (1929) and The Big Pond (1930). The Big Pond gave Chevalier his first big American hit songs, "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight" with words and music by Al Lewis and Al Sherman, plus "A New Kind of Love" (or "The Nightingales").^[2] He collaborated with film director Ernst Lubitsch. He appeared in Paramount's all-star revue film Paramount on Parade (1930).

While under contract with Paramount, Chevalier's name was so recognized that his passport featured in the Marx Brothers film Monkey Business (1931). In this sequence, a little more than halfway through the film, each brother uses Chevalier's passport, and tries to sneak off the ocean liner where they were stowaways by claiming to be the singer—with unique renditions of "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" with its line "If the nightingales could sing like you". In 1931, Chevalier starred in a musical called The Smiling Lieutenant with Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins. Despite the disdain audiences held for musicals in 1931,^[3] it proved a successful film.^[4]

In 1932, he starred with Jeanette MacDonald in Paramount's film musical, One Hour With You which became a success and one of the films instrumental in making musicals popular again. Due to its popularity, Paramount starred Maurice Chevalier in another musical called Love Me Tonight (also 1932), and again co-starring Jeanette MacDonald. It was about a tailor who falls in love with a princess when he goes to a castle to collect a debt and is mistaken for a baron. Featuring songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, it was directed by Rouben Mamoulian, who, with the help of the songwriters, was able to put his ideas of the integrated musical (a musical which blends songs and dialogue so the songs advance the plot). It is considered one of the greatest film musicals of all time.^[3]

In The Merry Widow (1934)

In 1934, he starred in the first sound film of the Franz Lehár operetta The Merry Widow, one of his best-known films. In 1935, he signed with MGM and returned to France later that year.

During his years in Hollywood, Chevalier had a reputation as a penny-pincher. When filming at Paramount, he balked at parking his car in the Paramount lot at ten cents a day. After bargaining, he managed to get five cents per day. Another story is told of Chevalier (a smoker) having a conversation with someone who offered him a cigarette. He took it, said "Thank you", put it in his pocket, and continued with the conversation. But in Hollywood he seemed to be a divided character. When not playing around with young chorus-girls, he actually felt quite lonely, and sought the company of Adolphe Menjou and Charles Boyer, also French, but both much better educated than Chevalier. Boyer in particular introduced him to art galleries and good literature, and Chevalier would try to copy him as the man of taste. But at other times, he would 'revert to type' as the bitter and impoverished street-kid he basically was. When performing in English, he always put on a heavy French accent, although his normal spoken English was quite fluent and sounded more American.

In 1937, he married the dancer Nita Raya. He had several successes, such as his revue Paris en Joie in the Casino de Paris. A year later, he performed in Amours de Paris. His songs remained big hits, such as Prosper (1935), Ma Pomme (1936) and Ça fait d'excellents français (1939).

In 1957, Chevalier was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by George Eastman House for distinguished contribution to the art of film.

World War II[link]

During World War II, Chevalier kept performing for audiences. In 1941, he performed a new revue in the Casino de Paris: Bonjour Paris, which was another success. Songs like "Ça sent si bon la France" and "La Chanson du maçon" became hits. The Nazis asked Chevalier to perform in Berlin and sing for the collaborating radio station Radio Paris. He refused but did perform for prisoners of war in Germany at the camp where he was interned in World War I, and succeeded in liberating ten people in exchange.^[5]

In 1942 he returned to Bocca, near Cannes, but returned to the capital city in September. In 1944 when Allied forces freed France, Chevalier was accused of collaborationism. Even though he was acquitted by a French convened court, the English-speaking press remained hostile and he was refused a visa for several years.^{[citation needed]}

After World War II[link]

In his own country, however, he was still popular. In 1946, he split from Nita Ray and started writing his memoirs, which took many years to complete.

Chevalier in 1959.

He started to paint and collect and acted in Le silence est d'or (1946) by René Clair. He still toured throughout the United States and other parts of the world and returned to France in 1948.

In 1944, he had already participated in a Communist demonstration in Paris. He was therefore even less popular in the U.S. during the McCarthyism period; in 1951, he was refused re-entry into the U.S. because he had signed the Stockholm Appeal.

In 1949, he performed in Stockholm in a Communist benefit against nuclear arms. Also in 1949, Chevalier was the subject of the first official roast at the New York Friars' Club, although celebrities had been informally "roasted" at banquets since 1910.^[6]

In 1952, he bought a large property in Marnes-la-Coquette, near Paris, and named it "La Louque",^[7] as a homage to his mother's nickname. He started a relationship in 1952 with Janie Michels, a young divorcee with three children. In 1954, after the McCarthy era abated Chevalier was welcomed back in the United States. His first full American tour was in 1955, with Vic Schoen as arranger and musical director. The Billy Wilder film Love in the Afternoon (1957) with Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper was his first Hollywood film in more than 20 years.^[8]

Chevalier appeared in the movie musical Gigi (1958) with Leslie Caron and Hermione Gingold, with whom he shared the song "I Remember It Well", and several Walt Disney films. The success of Gigi prompted Hollywood to give him an Academy Honorary Award that year for achievements in entertainment. He also appeared as himself in the 1958 Lucy Goes to Mexico television episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.

Final years[link]

In the early 1960s, he toured the United States and between 1960 and 1963 made eight films, including Can-Can (1960) with Frank Sinatra. In 1961, he starred in the drama Fanny with Leslie Caron and Charles Boyer, an updated version of Marcel Pagnol's "Marseilles Trilogy." In 1962, he filmed Panic Button; (not released until 1964); playing opposite blonde bombshell/sex symbol, Jayne Mansfield. In 1965, at 77, he made another world tour. In 1967 he toured in Latin America, again the US, Europe and Canada. The following year, on October 1, 1968, he announced his farewell tour.

Historical newsreel footage of Chevalier appeared in the Marcel Ophuls documentary The Sorrow and the Pity. In a wartime short film near the end of the film's second part, he explained his disappearance during World War II (see the "World War II" section in this entry) as rumors of his death lingered at that time, and emphatically denies any collaboration with the Nazis. His theme song "Sweepin' the Clouds Away" from the film Paramount on Parade (1930) was one of its theme songs and was played in the end credits of the film's second part.

In 1970, several years after his retirement, songwriters Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman got him to sing the title song of the Disney film The Aristocats, which ended up being his final contribution to the film industry.

He died in Paris, on January 1, 1972, aged 83, and was interred in the cemetery of Marnes-la-Coquette in Hauts-de-Seine, outside Paris, France.

Chevalier has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1651 Vine Street.

Famous songs[link]

• "Madelon de la Victoire" (1918)
• "Dans la vie faut pas s'en faire" (1921)
• "Valentine" (1924)
• "Louise" (1929)
• "(Up On Top Of A Rainbow) Sweepin' The Clouds Away" (1930)
• "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" (1930)
• "Living In the Sunlight, Loving In the Moonlight" (1930)
• "Mimi" (1932)
• "Prosper (Yop La Boum)" (1935)
• "Quand un Vicomte" (1935)
• "Ma Pomme" (1936)
• "Le Chapeau de Zozo" (1936)
• "Mimile (un gars du Ménilmontant)" (1936)
• "Ça Fait d' Excellents Français" (1939)
• "Paris sera toujours Paris" (1939)
• "Ça sent si bon la France" (1941)
• "La Chanson du Maçon" (1941)
• "Notre Espoir" (1941)
• "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" (1957)
• "I Remember It Well" (1957)
• "Enjoy It!" (1967)
• "The Aristocats" (1970)

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Chevalier, Maurice (1949). The Man in the Straw Hat, My Story. New York: Crowell. 
• Chevalier, Maurice; Eileen and Robert Pollock (1960). With Love. Boston: Little, Brown. 
• Chevalier, Maurice (1970). Schoffie met wit haar. Utrecht/Antwerpen: A.W. Bruna & Zoon. ISBN 90-229-7116-3. 
• Chevalier, Maurice (1970). I Remember It Well. Macmillan. 
• Gene Ringgold and DeWitt Bodeen (1973). Chevalier. The Films and Career of Maurice Chevalier. Secaucus, New Jersey: The Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-0354-8. 

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maurice Chevalier

• Maurice Chevalier at the Internet Movie Database
• Maurice Chevalier at the TCM Movie Database
• Maurice Chevalier at the Internet Broadway Database
• Photographs of Maurice Chevalier

The Dø
The Dø performing at the Paléo Festival in 2008.
Background information
Origin	France, Helsinki, Finland
Genres	Folk rock, indie rock
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Get DOwn! Cinq7 (Fr) Six Degrees (US) AK Music Video (Tu) Andante Vs Massala (Pt) Ministry of Sound (De) Rockhopper Music (Fi) Border Music (Se) Shock Records (Au) Bang Music (Be)
Website	Official website
Members
Dan Levy Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti

The Dø is a French/Finnish indie pop band founded in Paris in 2005. The band is Olivia Merilahti (singer and musician) and Dan Levy (multi-instrumentalist). The duo has been backed on stage by three different drummers (Jérémie Pontier 2007–2008, José Joyette 2008–2009, Pierre Belleville since 2009). Their first studio album A Mouthful topped the French charts in 2008, making them the first French act singing in English to reach that position.

Biography[link]

Formation and first years (2005–2007)[link]

Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy met in 2005 while recording the music for a French movie Empire of the Wolves directed by Chris Nahon and produced by Gaumont.

They released their first piece under the name The Dø a few months later: a 3-track EP including The Bridge is Broken for a contemporary dance ballet titled Scène d’amour by Finnish choreographer Juha-Pekka Marsalo. They kept on working for cinema (The Passenger, awarded at the Festival d'Angers and the Festival d'Aubagne, Wild Camp, and Darling), dance (Prologue, Perle and Cinderella by Juha-Pekka Marsalo, as well as poetry lectures by Carolyn Carlson) and theatre (Laure by Colette Peignot).

They used their free time to write the songs that would feature on their first album, A Mouthful. The band's myspace page was opened in 2007. The first four songs released online (The Bridge is Broken, At Last, On My Shoulders and Playground Hustle) quickly created a buzz that brought them to play a series of sold-out concerts in Paris. In December 2007, they opened the festival Les Transmusicales de Rennes.

Meanwhile, they signed on the indie label Cinq/7, and the song On My Shoulders was their first single, also used in an Oxford-notepads commercial.

The band's name is derived from the first note of the solfège scale, and is pronounced as the English word "dough", with a long "o" sound. It is written with the letter Ø (slashed o), and the "D" often in lower-case to resemble a half note.

[edit] A Mouthful (2008–2010)

A Mouthful was released in France in January 2008. The rest of Europe and Australia released it later that year . It was very well received by critics and the public, ranking n°1 in the French charts on the first week. It was acclaimed as an eclectic record, drawing inspiration from various genres as pop, folk, rock or hip-hop, while keeping an integrity and an original approach.

The first single from the album was On my shoulders, followed by At last and Stay (Just a little bit more). The music video for At last was directed by Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus.

The band went on tour in Europe and Australia for over 200 shows. They spent summer 2008 playing at most of the biggest festivals in Europe (Eurockéennes de Belfort, Paleo, Provinssirock, Vieilles Charrues, Roskilde, Main Square Festival, Pukkelpop...), flew to Australia for the V Festival in spring 2009, and spent two weeks in America, playing from Mexico to Canada, NYC to Los Angeles, in September 2009.

A Mouthful was officially released in the US in April 2010 on Six Degrees Records, including 3 bonus tracks.

[edit] Both Ways Open Jaws (2011)

In December 2010, the band released a video for the first promotional single 'Dust It Off'. Their second album entitled Both Ways Open Jaws was released in some parts of Europe on Monday, 7 March 2011, and in France on Wednesday, 9 March 2011. Beginning late October and ending in mid-November, the album was released worldwide.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2005: Empire of the Wolves / Soundtrack^[1]
• A Mouthful (2008)^[2]
• A Mouthful [U.S. Release] (2010)^[3]
• Dust It Off - EP (2010)^[4]
• Both Ways Open Jaws (2011)
• Both Ways Open Jaws Extended (2011)

Singles[link]

• "On My Shoulders" (2007)
• "At Last!" (2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Dø

• Official website
• The Dø 'A Mouthful' Album Review
• Six Degrees Records

London May (born 20 July), is a rock musician best known for playing drums in Glenn Danzig's post-Misfits/pre-Danzig punk/goth band Samhain, which he joined in the summer of 1985. May played on the group's best known release, "November-Coming-Fire" as well as "Final Descent" and "Live: '85-'86"

Previously, May was the drummer for Dischord Records band, Reptile House,^[1] which later became Dischord Records band Lungfish.

He remained with Samhain until February 1987, when he was replaced by Chuck Biscuits.

Later, he performed briefly with Dain Bramage (replacing a pre-Nirvana Dave Grohl), Voice of Doom, Dag Nasty^[2](with Minor Threat's Brian Baker and Doug Carrion of The Descendents), and remained for longer stints in Lunchbox (with T.S.O.L.'s Ron Emory), Dead, White, and Blue, Distorted Pony (recorded/produced by Steve Albini), Sheppard Pratt (on drums and guitar, produced by The Cramps/Nick Cave's Kid Congo Powers), The Amazing Chan Clan (on guitar), and Carbonation (on guitar with producer Paul Stacy of Oasis/Black Crows).

London re-joined Samhain for their 1999 reunion tour, switching off on bass and drums with Steve Zing. He later drummed for Tiger Army^[3] and recorded their classic "Power Of Moonlight" CD along with Son of Sam's first album, "Songs From The Earth", which featured vocalist Davey Havok of AFI and a guest appearance by Glenn Danzig.^[4]

In 2003 London joined The Hunns (featuring skateboarding legend Duane Peters) for a blitzkrieg 35 date tour of Europe. While on tour London met the German born FrankEEE and together they formed the rock "melancholia" band 'The Foul and the Fragrant' and have released two albums. The Foul and The Fragrant is an international project in which the members use internet file sharing to write and record material.^[5]

In 2008 May founded the Los Angeles-based hardcore punk rock tribute band Millions Of Dead Comps. with Chris Bratton (ex-Chain Of Strength, Inside Out, Drive Like Jehu) and all proceeds from their performances are donated to charity. To date, the group has raised over $2000 for various charities in and around Los Angeles.^[6]

In 2009 Metallica selected Samhain to appear as a special guest artist on their Guitar Hero: Metallica video game and May's original drum track from "Mother Of Mercy," a song from the 1986 album, "Samhain III November-Coming-Fire," is featured. The game has sold over 1.5 million copies and has been nominated for 2010 music video game of the year.^[7]

London and his former band Distorted Pony re-convened in 2010 for their 20th anniversary and have been rehearsing and recording new material in preparation for a new release and European tour. In May, the band played three consecutive nights in Los Angeles to celebrate there return to the stage after disbanding 17 years ago.

Also in 2010, Minor Threat/Fugazi/Dischord Records front man Ian Mackaye and London have been working on the upcoming 25th anniversary re-release of Reptile House's first Dischord 7" from 1985 (which Mackaye also produced.)

May has also traveled the globe as a solo performer and fund raiser, recently performing in Cairo, Egypt and Beijing, China where he helped raise money for animal welfare by performing in a Misfits tribute band.

In March 2010 London (also a part-time ER nurse) spent a week in earthquake ravaged Haiti where he volunteered as part of an emergency medical team.

Branching out even further, London recently starred in the Ron Howard produced TV pilot, The Great Escape, for TNT/FOX network.

Featured Releases[link]

• REPTILE HOUSE
  • Bouncing Babies Album comp. 1982
  • I Stumble As The Crow Flies 7" 1985
• SAMHAIN
  • November-Coming-Fire LP, CD 1986
  • Final Descent CD 1990
  • Box Set CD 2000
  • Live: '85-'86 CD 2001
• VOICE OF DOOM
  • Faith Is Torn 7" 1987
• DEAD, WHITE, AND BLUE
  • Play It Safe 7" 1991
  • Ego 7" 1991
  • Heads CD 1992
• DISTORTED PONY
  • Punishment Room CD 1992
  • Gasoline Boost 7" 1993
  • Instant Winner CD 1994
  • Ow! Quit It 7" comp. 1994
  • Smitten CD comp. 1994
  • Bring Me The Head of Corporate Rock and Roll CD comp. 1994
  • The Best of Bomp! CD comp. 1994
• SHEPPARD PRATT
  • Blossom, Bone, and Still Alone CD 1994
• SON OF SAM
  • Songs from the Earth CD 2001
  • Punkzilla Comp. CD comp. 2001
• TIGER ARMY
  • Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite CD 2001
  • Give 'Em the Boot III CD comp. 2002
  • Punk-O-Rama Vol. 8 CD comp.(video only) 2002
• 30 DOLLAR MUSIC SCHOOL
  • 99 Cent Drum Clinic - instructional video 2003
• TREEPHORT
  • Enchanted Forest CD (producer) 2004
• THE FOUL AND THE FRAGRANT
  • Dead In The Center CD 2005
  • All The Fetisch CD 2010

References[link]