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A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a civil wrong.^[1] Tort law deals with situations where a person's behaviour has unfairly caused someone else to suffer loss or harm. A tort is not necessarily an illegal act but causes harm. The law allows anyone who is harmed to recover their loss. Tort law is different from criminal law, which deals with situations where a person's actions cause harm to society in general. A claim in tort may be brought by anyone who has suffered loss. Criminal cases tend to be brought by the state, although private prosecutions are possible.

Tort law is also differentiated from equity, in which a petitioner complains of a violation of some right. One who commits a tortious act is called a tortfeasor. The equivalent of tort in civil law jurisdictions is delict. Tort may be defined as a personal injury; or as "a civil action other than a breach of contract."^[2]

A person who suffers a tortious injury is entitled to receive "damages", usually monetary compensation, from the person or people responsible — or liable — for those injuries. Tort law defines what is a legal injury and, therefore, whether a person may be held liable for an injury they have caused. Legal injuries are not limited to physical injuries. They may also include emotional, economic, or reputational injuries as well as violations of privacy, property, or constitutional rights. Tort cases therefore comprise such varied topics as auto accidents, false imprisonment, defamation, product liability (for defective consumer products), copyright infringement, and environmental pollution (toxic torts), among many others.

In much of the common law world, the most prominent tort liability is negligence. If the injured party can prove that the person believed to have caused the injury acted negligently – that is, without taking reasonable care to avoid injuring others – tort law will allow compensation.

However, tort law also recognizes intentional torts, where a person has intentionally acted in a way that harms another, and "strict liability" or quasi-tort, which allows recovery under certain circumstances without the need to demonstrate negligence.

Etymology[link]

According to Webster, the word's origin is Middle English, injury, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin tortum, from Latin, neuter of tortus twisted, from past participle of torquēre First Known Use: 1586

The word "torture" shares the same linguistic origin, though its present meaning diverged in a very different direction.

Categories of torts[link]

Torts may be categorized in several ways: one such way is to divide them into Negligence, Intentional Torts, and Quasi-Torts.

The standard action in tort is negligence. The tort of negligence provides a cause of action leading to damages, or to relief, in each case designed to protect legal rights, including those of personal safety, property, and, in some cases, intangible economic interests. Negligence actions include claims coming primarily from car accidents and personal injury accidents of many kinds, including clinical negligence, worker's negligence and so forth. Product liability cases, such as those involving warranties, may also be considered negligence actions, but there is frequently a significant overlay of additional lawful content.

Intentional torts include, among others, certain torts arising from the occupation or use of land. The tort of nuisance, for example, involves strict liability for a neighbor who interferes with another's enjoyment of his real property. Trespass allows owners to sue for entrances by a person (or his structure, such as an overhanging building) on their land. Several intentional torts do not involve land. Examples include false imprisonment, the tort of unlawfully arresting or detaining someone, and defamation (in some jurisdictions split into libel and slander), where false information is broadcast and damages the plaintiff's reputation.

In some cases, the development of tort law has spurred lawmakers to create alternative solutions to disputes. For example, in some areas, workers' compensation laws arose as a legislative response to court rulings restricting the extent to which employees could sue their employers in respect of injuries sustained during employment. In other cases, legal commentary has led to the development of new causes of action outside the traditional common law torts. These are loosely grouped into quasi-torts or liability torts.

Negligence[link]

Negligence is a tort which depends on the existence of a breaking of the duty of care owed by one person to another. One well-known case is Donoghue v Stevenson where Mrs. Donoghue consumed part of a drink containing a decomposed snail while in a public bar in Paisley, Scotland and claimed that it had made her ill. The snail had not been visible, as the bottle of beer in which it was contained was opaque. Neither the friend who bought the bottle for her, nor the shopkeeper who sold it, were aware of the snail's presence. The manufacturer was Mr. Stevenson, whom Mrs. Donoghue sued for damages for negligence. She could not sue Mr. Stevenson for damages for breach of contract because there was no contract between them. The majority of the members of the House of Lords agreed (3:2 ratio) that Mrs. Donoghue had a valid claim, but disagreed as to why such a claim should exist. Lord MacMillan thought this should be treated as a new product liability case. Lord Atkin argued that the law should recognise a unifying principle that we owe a duty of reasonable care to our neighbors. He quoted the Bible in support of his argument, specifically the general principle that "thou shalt love thy neighbor." Negligence is a breach of legal duty to take care resulting in damage to the plaintiff. This definition of negligence can be divided into four component parts that the plaintiff must prove to establish negligence. The legal burden of proving these elements falls upon the plaintiff. The elements in determining the liability for negligence are:

• The plaintiff was owed a Duty of care
• There was a Dereliction or breach of that duty
• The tortfeasor Directly caused the injury [but for the defendant's actions, the plaintiff would not have suffered an injury].
• The plaintiff suffered Damage as a result of that breach
• The damage was not too remote; there was proximate cause.

Duty of care[link]

The first element of negligence is the legal duty of care. This concerns the relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff, which must be such that there is an obligation upon the defendant to take proper care to avoid causing injury to the plaintiff in all the circumstances of the case. There are two ways in which a duty of care may be established:

• the defendant and plaintiff are within one of the 'special relationship'; or
• outside of these relationships, according to the principles developed by case law.

There are a number of situations in which the courts recognise the existence of a duty of care. These usually arise as a result of some sort of special relationship between the parties. Examples include one road-user to another, employer to employee, manufacturer to consumer, doctor to patient and solicitor to client.

Dereliction or breach of that duty[link]

Dereliction of duty generally refers to a failure to conform to rules of one's job, which will vary by tasks involved. It is a failure or refusal to perform assigned duties in a satisfactory manner. Dereliction of duty on the part of an employee may be cause for disciplinary action, which will vary by employer. It may refer to a failure by an organization member to abide by the standing rules of its constitution or by-laws or perform the duties of the position appointed to.

Injury directly caused by the tortfeasor[link]

The negligent act of the tortfeaser must be connected to the injuries suffered.

Damage as a result of that breach[link]

For many torts, damage is a necessary part of the tort. Thus, it is not enough to demonstrate that you have suffered the wrong in order to win a tort case, you must also have legally recognized damages that were directly or indirectly caused by the as a result of the tort, and be able to prove the extent of those damages.

Proximate cause[link]

Proximate cause means that you must be able to show that the harm was caused by the tort you are suing for. (http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/study/outlines/html/torts/torts12.htm) The defense may argue that there was a prior cause or a superseding intervening cause. A common situation where a prior cause becomes an issue is the personal injury auto accident, where the person re-injures an old injury. For example someone who has a bad back is injured in the back in an auto accident. Years later they are still in pain. They must prove the pain is caused by the auto accident, and not the natural progression of the previous problem with the back. A superseding intervening cause happens shortly after the injury. For example, if after the accident the doctor who works on you commits malpractice and injures you further, the defense can argue that it was not the accident, but the incompetent doctor who caused your injury. ( http://www.jud.ct.gov/ji/Civil/part3/3.1-8.htm)

Statutory torts[link]

A statutory tort is like any other, in that it imposes duties on private or public parties, however they are created by the legislature, not the courts. One example is in consumer protection, with the Product Liability Directive in the European Union, where businesses making defective products that harm people must pay for any damage resulting. Liability for bad or not working products is strict in most jurisdictions. The theory of risk spreading provides support for this approach. Since manufacturers are the 'cheapest cost avoiders', because they have a greater chance to seek out problems, it makes sense to give them the incentive to guard against product defects. Another example is occupiers' liability, which was seen as overly complex and illogical, so many jurisdictions replaced the common law rules for occupiers' liability with statutory torts. Statutory torts also spread across workplace health and safety laws and health and safety in food.

Such torts as often grouped in with quasi-torts.

Nuisance[link]

Legally, the term “nuisance” is traditionally used in three ways: (1) to describe an activity or condition that is harmful or annoying to others (example- indecent conduct, a rubbish heap or a smoking chimney); (2) to describe the harm caused by the before-mentioned activity or condition (example- loud noises or objectionable odors); and (3) to describe a legal liability (responsibility) that arises from the combination of the two. The law of nuisance was created to stop such bothersome activities or conduct when they unreasonably interfered either with the rights of other private landowners (example- private nuisance) or with the rights of the general public (example-public nuisance).

The tort of nuisance allows a claimant (formerly plaintiff) to sue for most acts that interfere with their use and enjoyment of their land. A good example of this is in the case of Jones v Powell. A brewery made stinking vapors which wafted onto a neighbor's property, damaging his papers. As he was a landowner, the neighbor sued in nuisance for this damage. But Whitelocke J, speaking for the Court of the King's Bench, said that because the water supply was contaminated, it was better that the neighbor's documents were risked. He said "it is better that they should be spoiled than that the common wealth stand in need of good liquor." Nowadays, interfering with neighbors' property is not looked upon so kindly. Nuisance deals with all kinds of things that spoil a landowner's enjoyment of his property.

A subset of nuisance is known as the rule in Rylands v. Fletcher, where a dam burst into a coal mine shaft. So a dangerous escape of some hazard, including water, fire, or animals means strict liability in nuisance. This is subject only to a remoteness cap, familiar from negligence when the event is unusual and unpredictable. This was the case where chemicals from a factory seeped through a floor into the water table, contaminating East Anglia's water reservoirs.

Free market environmentalists would like to expand tort damage claims into pollution (example-toxic torts) and environmental protection.

Defamation[link]

Defamation is tarnishing the reputation of someone; it has two varieties, slander and libel. Slander is spoken defamation and libel is printed or broadcast defamation. The two otherwise share the same features: making a factual assertion for which evidence does not exist. Defamation does not affect or hinder the voicing of opinions, but does occupy the same fields as rights to free speech in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, or Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Related to defamation in the U.S. are the actions for misappropriation of publicity, invasion of privacy, and disclosure. Abuse of process and malicious prosecution are often classified as dignitary torts as well.

Intentional torts[link]

Intentional torts are any intentional acts that are reasonably foreseeable to cause harm to an individual, and that do so. Intentional torts have several subcategories:

• Torts against the person include assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud.
• Property torts involve any intentional interference with the property rights of the claimant (plaintiff). Those commonly recognized include trespass to land, trespass to chattels (personal property), and conversion.

An intentionality tort requires an overt act, some form of intent, and causation. In most cases, transferred intent, which occurs when the defendant intends to injure an individual but actually ends up injuring another individual, will satisfy the intent requirement. Causation can be satisfied as long as the defendant was a substantial factor in causing the harm.

Economic torts[link]

Economic torts protect people from interference with their trade or business. The area includes the doctrine of restraint of trade and has largely been submerged in the twentieth century by statutory interventions on collective labour law and modern antitrust or competition law. The "absence of any unifying principle drawing together the different heads of economic tort liability has often been remarked upon."

Through a recent development in common law, beginning with Hedley Byrne v Heller in 1964, a victim of negligent misstatement may recover damages for pure economic loss caused by detrimental reliance on the statement. Misrepresentation is a tort as confirmed by Bridge LJ in Howard Marine and Dredging Co. Ltd. v A Ogden & Sons

Modern competition law is an important method for regulating the conduct of businesses in a market economy. A major subset of statutory torts, it is also called 'anti-trust' law, especially in the United States, articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as well as the Clayton and Sherman Acts in the U.S., which create duties for undertakings, corporations and businesses not to distort competition in the marketplace. Cartels are forbidden on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. So is the abuse of market power by monopolies (sole producers in a market) or the substantial lessening of competition through a merger, takeover, acquisition or concentration of enterprises. A huge issue in the EU is whether to follow the U.S. approach of private damages actions to prevent anti-competitive conduct.

Liability, defenses, and remedies[link]

Vicarious liability[link]

The word 'vicarious' derives from the Latin word for 'change' or 'alternation' or 'stead' and in tort law refers to the idea of one person being liable for the harm caused by another, because of some legally relevant relationship. An example might be a parent and a child, or an employer and an employee. You can sue an employer for the damage to you by their employee, which was caused "within the scope of employment." This is called respondeat superior. For example, if a shop employee spilled cleaning liquid on the supermarket floor, and you slipped and fell, suffering injuries, you could sue the employee who actually spilled the liquid, or sue the employers. In the aforementioned case, the latter option is more practical as they are more likely to have more money. The law replies "since your employee harmed the claimant in the course of his employment, you bear responsibility for it, because you have the control to hire and fire him, and reduce the risk of it happening again." There is considerable academic debate about whether vicarious liability is justified on no better basis than the search for a solvent defendant, or whether it is well founded on the theory of efficient risk allocation.

Defences[link]

A successful defence absolves the defendant from full or partial liability for damages.

Apart from proof that there was no breach of duty, there are three principal defenses to tortious liability.

Consent[link]

Typically, one cannot hold another liable in tort for actions to which one has consented. This is frequently summarized by the phrase "volenti non fit injuria" (Latin: "to a willing person, no injury is done" or "no injury is done to a person who consents"). It operates when the claimant either expressly or implicitly consents to the risk of loss or damage. For example, if a spectator at an ice hockey match is injured when a player strikes the puck in the ordinary course of play, causing it to fly out of the rink and hit him or her, this is a foreseeable event and spectators are assumed to accept that risk of injury when buying a ticket. A slightly more limited defence may arise where the defendant has been given a warning, whether expressly to the claimant or by a public notice, sign or otherwise, that there is a danger of injury. The extent to which defendants can rely on notices to exclude or limit liability varies from country to country. This is an issue of policy as to whether (prospective) defendants should not only warn of a known danger, but also take active steps to fence the site and take other reasonable precautions to prevent the known danger from befalling those foreseen to be at risk.

Contributory negligence[link]

This is either a mitigatory defence or, in the United States, it may be an absolute defence. When used as a mitigatory defence, it is often known in the U.S. as comparative negligence. Under comparative negligence a plaintiff/claimant's award is reduced by the percentage of contribution made by the plaintiff to the loss or damage suffered. Thus, in evaluating a collision between two vehicles, the court must not only make a finding that both drivers were negligent, but it must also apportion the contribution made by each driver as a percentage, e.g. that the blame between the drivers is 20% attributable to the plaintiff/claimant: 80% to the defendant. The court will then quantify the damages for the actual loss or damage sustained, and then reduce the amount paid to the plaintiff/claimant by 20%. While contributory negligence retains a significant role, an increasing number of jurisdictions, particularly within the United States, are evolving toward a regime of comparative negligence. All but four US states now follow a statutorily created regime of comparative negligence.

Contributory negligence has been widely criticised as being too draconian, in that a plaintiff whose fault was comparatively minor might recover nothing from a more egregiously irresponsible defendant. Comparative negligence has also been criticised, since it would allow a plaintiff who is recklessly 95% negligent to recover 5% of the damages from the defendant, and often more when a jury is feeling sympathetic. Economists have further criticised comparative negligence, since under the Learned Hand Rule it will not yield optimal precaution levels. In response, many places now have a 50% rule where the plaintiff recovers nothing if the plaintiff is more than 50% responsible.

Illegality[link]

Ex turpi causa non oritur actio is the illegality defence, the Latin for "no right of action arises from a despicable cause." If the claimant is involved in wrongdoing at the time the alleged negligence occurred, this may extinguish or reduce the defendant's liability. Thus, if a burglar is verbally challenged by the property owner and sustains injury when jumping from a second story window to escape apprehension, there is no cause of action against the property owner even though that injury would not have been sustained but for the property owner's intervention.

Remedies[link]

The main remedy against tortious loss is compensation in 'damages' or money. In a limited range of cases, tort law will tolerate self-help, such as reasonable force to expel a trespasser. This is a defence against the tort of battery. Further, in the case of a continuing tort, or even where harm is merely threatened, the courts will sometimes grant an injunction. This means a command, for something other than money by the court, such as restraining the continuance or threat of harm.^[3] Usually injunctions will not impose positive obligations on tortfeasors, but some Australian jurisdictions can make an order for specific performance to ensure that the defendant carries out their legal obligations, especially in relation to nuisance matters.^[4]

Theory and reform[link]

Scholars and lawyers have identified conflicting aims for the law of tort, to some extent reflected in the different types of damages awarded by the courts: compensatory, aggravated and punitive. In The Aims of the Law of Tort (1951),^[5] Glanville Williams saw four possible bases on which different torts rested: appeasement, justice, deterrence and compensation.

From the late 1950s a group of legally oriented economists and economically oriented lawyers emphasized incentives and deterrence, and identified the aim of tort as being the efficient distribution of risk. They are often described as the law and economics movement. Ronald Coase, one of the movement's principal proponents, submitted, in his article The Problem of Social Cost (1960),^[6] that the aim of tort should be to reflect as closely as possible liability where transaction costs should be minimized.

Calls for reform of tort law come from diverse standpoints reflecting diverse theories of the objectives of the law. Some calls for reform stress the difficulties encountered by potential claimants. Because not all people who have accidents can find solvent defendants from which to recover damages in the courts, P. S. Atiyah has called the situation a "damages lottery."^[7] Consequently, in New Zealand, the government in the 1960s established a no-fault system of state compensation for accidents. Similar proposals have been the subject of Command Papers in the UK and much academic debate.

However, in the U.S. calls for reform have tended to be for drastic limitation on the scope of tort law, a minimisation process on the lines of economic analysis. Anti-trust damages have come under special scrutiny,^[8] and many people believe the availability of punitive damages generally are a strain on the legal system.

Theoretical and policy considerations are central to fixing liability for pure economic loss and of public bodies.

Overlap with criminal law[link]

There is some overlap between criminal law and tort, since tort, a private action, used to be used more than criminal laws in the past. For example, in English law an assault is both a crime and a tort (a form of trespass to the person). A tort allows a person, usually the victim, to obtain a remedy that serves their own purposes (for example by the payment of damages to a person injured in a car accident, or the obtaining of injunctive relief to stop a person interfering with their business). Criminal actions on the other hand are pursued not to obtain remedies to assist a person – although often criminal courts do have power to grant such remedies – but to remove their liberty on the state's behalf. That explains why incarceration is usually available as a penalty for serious crimes, but not usually for torts.

The more severe penalties available in criminal law also means that it requires a higher burden of proof to be discharged than the related tort. For example, in the O. J. Simpson murder trial, the jury was not convinced beyond reasonable doubt that O. J. Simpson had committed the crime of murder; but in a later civil trial, the jury in that case felt that there was sufficient evidence to meet the standard of preponderance of the evidence required to prove the tort of wrongful death.^[9]

Many jurisdictions, especially the US, retain punitive elements in tort damages, for example in anti-trust and consumer-related torts, making tort blur the line with criminal acts. Also there are situations where, particularly if the defendant ignores the orders of the court, a plaintiff can obtain a punitive remedy against the defendant, including imprisonment. Some torts may have a public element – for example, public nuisance – and sometimes actions in tort will be brought by a public body. Also, while criminal law is primarily punitive, many jurisdictions have developed forms of monetary compensation or restitution which criminal courts can directly order the defendant to pay to the victim.^[10]

Tort by legal jurisdiction[link]

Legal jurisdictions whose legal system developed from the English common law have the concept of tortious liability. There are technical differences from one jurisdiction to the next in proving the various torts. For the issue of foreign elements in tort see Tort and conflict of laws.

• Australian tort law
• Canadian tort law
• English tort law
• Scots Law of Delict (broadly equivalent, deals more with principle rather than specific wrongs)
• United States tort law
• Irish tort law (see Irish Citizens Information Board)

In addition, other legal systems have concepts comparable to torts. See, for instance, the rabbinic category of Damages (Jewish law) (note though that while a few aspects of this law are incorporated into Israeli law, tort law in Israel is technically similar to English tort law - as enacted by British Mandate of Palestine authorities in 1944 and taking effect in 1947, a year before Israel became a state).

See also[link]

• Outline of tort law
• Index of tort articles

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Deakin, Johnston and Markesinis (2008). Markesinis & Deakin's Tort Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928246-3. 
• Mark Lunney, Ken Oliphant, Tort Law - Texts, Cases (2003) 2nd Ed. Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-926055-9
• van Gerven, W. et al. (eds) (2001). Cases, Materials and Text on National, Supranational and International Tort Law. Oxford: Hart Publishing. ISBN 1-84113-139-3. 

Look up tort in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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Mylène Farmer
Background information
Birth name	Mylène Jeanne Gautier
Born	(1961-09-12) 12 September 1961 (age 50) Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada
Origin	Paris, France
Genres	Pop, rock, electronica
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress
Years active	1984–present
Labels	Polydor Records
Associated acts	Moby, Seal, Archive, Alizée, Jean-Louis Murat, RedOne

Mylène Farmer (pronounced: [milɛn fa�?mœ�?]), born Mylène Jeanne Gautier^[1] [milɛn ɡotje]; born 12 September 1961), is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author.

She has sold more than 30 million records^[2] and is among the most successful recording artists of all time in France. She holds the record for the most number one hits in the French charts, with twelve to date, eight of which were consecutive.

Biography and career[link]

Early years[link]

Mylène Farmer was born in Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada. Her parents moved from France in the late 1950s as Farmer's father, Max, pursued an engineering contract on a dam. Her family returned to France when she was eight, settling in the Parisian suburb of Ville d'Avray. In her teenage years, Farmer was passionate about horse-riding, qualifying as a riding instructor at the equestrian centre in Saumur. At the age of 17, however, Farmer discovered acting and she abandoned the stables to take a three-year course at the Cours Florent, a drama school in Paris. Changing her name to Mylène Farmer as a tribute to her idol, 1930s Hollywood actress Frances Farmer, she began to earn a living as a model acting in several TV ads such as Fiskars, Caisse d'Epargne etc.

In 1984, Farmer met Laurent Boutonnat, a young film student, after replying to a newspaper ad for an actress for a small film he was working on. Farmer and Boutonnat became friends and forged a creative partnership, writing and producing the music. Boutonnat, whose ambition was to become a film director, was the force behind Mylène’s videos.

Farmer gained fame with songs featuring shocking yet poetic lyrics, and explicit music videos: "Maman a tort" was about the love of a young girl for her female hospital nurse. "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" contains hints of sodomy; the video, set in the 18th century, featured a caning. "Libertine" is said to feature the first full frontal nudity appearance by a singer on a major music video. "Que mon cœur lâche" was about love with condoms in the age of AIDS; the video for the song features a scene in which God tells Jesus he will not send him to Earth again because the last time "was a disaster". The videos for "Beyond My Control" and "Je te rends ton amour" were censored because of their sexual and violent content; later released in a video single, the latter one became the highest selling release of that kind in France.

Her most well-known songs include "Désenchantée", "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces", "Sans contrefaçon", "Libertine", "XXL", "C'est une belle journée", "Rêver", "Les Mots" and "Oui mais... non".

Debut (1984–1989)[link]

Boutonnat and a young songwriter, Jérôme Dahan, had written a song, and were auditioning to find a singer to record it. Farmer was eventually chosen and recorded the song, "Maman a tort" (one of the few songs not to be written by Farmer herself), which was released to good success in March 1984. The video cost the modest sum of 5000 FR but caused a stir in the music world.^[3] However, the following single, "On est tous des imbéciles", was met with little praise.

Despite the mitigated success of her first two singles, Farmer, helped by Boutonnat, started working on her first album. Even if this album was almost entirely written and composed by Boutonnat, it was then that it was decided that Farmer would write the lyrics of her songs and Boutonnat would compose the music and direct the videos. "Libertine", the album's lead single, was released in March 1986 and set the tone for Farmer's musical style. The sensual, romantic lyrics were inspired by 19th-century literature. As for the video, which had a running time of more than 10 minutes, Boutonnat was inspired by the film Barry Lyndon and the novels of the Marquis de Sade, thus giving the video a cinematic style. Farmer, lit by candlelight, is shrouded in mystery and sexual ambiguity, it also was the very first video in which a French female singer appeared full frontal nude. The following single, "Tristana", also met success and the video also had a cinematic approach that impressed the audience. Meanwhile, another single from the album, Plus grandir, also shot in cinematic 35 mm, was released.^[4]

In 1988, Boutonnat and Farmer began work on her next album, Ainsi soit je... (a play on the French expression ainsi soit-il, meaning "so be it" or "amen"). This album, infused with a much darker atmosphere, is more sexually ambiguous than her previous one, featuring songs inspired by Mylène’s favourite authors, including the French romantic poet Charles Baudelaire and the American horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. The album sold 1.8 million copies on the back of the Nº2 hit "Sans contrefaçon" as well as the first Nº1 hit of her career, "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces". The other singles, "Sans logique" and title song were also hits in France, while the Juliette Gréco cover "Déshabillez-moi" became a fan favourite. Ainsi soit je... was the best-selling female album in France of the 1980s.^[5]

In spite of her drama courses, Farmer found it difficult to overcome shyness when in front of an audience. It was only after hesitation that she agreed to make a concert tour in 1989. After singing in a small venue in Saint-Étienne as a test, the singer came to Paris to perform at the Palais des Sports for a week in May. Following the positive response of the audience, she agreed for a full-scale 52-date tour through francophone Europe. A live album documenting the tour was released at the end of the year, titled En Concert, also containing a new song, "A quoi je sers", in which she questions the future of her career. The costumes of the tour were designed by the French designer Thierry Mugler.

It was also during this period that it was noticed that Farmer rarely gave interviews or appeared in public, even if she is now even less inclined to public exposure than at the time.^[6]

[edit] L'Autre... and "Désenchantée" (1990–1992)

By the turn of the decade Farmer was a full-blown superstar in France, but it wasn't until the release of her third album, L'Autre..., and single "Désenchantée" that she became iconic. The album, released on 8 April 1991, displayed a new image to her audience: more mature, more confident, with very short hair and a more defiant attitude (as evidenced in the videos for "Désenchantée" and particularly "Je t'aime mélancolie", in which Farmer plays a professional boxer fighting a male opponent). The music had also evolved in comparison to her previous records. The lyrics now approached a larger scope of subjects such as religion ("Agnus Dei"), politics ("Désenchantée") and press criticism ("Je t'aime mélancolie").

"Désenchantée", the album's lead single, became a phenomenon in French pop music, striking a universal chord with its political lyrics. The song hit Nº1 in France, remaining 9 weeks atop of the chart. At the time, it went on to become the best selling French single of all time (both in country and around the globe), according to Guinness Book of World Records. It also spent 6 weeks at Nº1 in Belgium, and made the Top 10 in Canada and the Top 20 in Austria and the Netherlands. It is considered by many to be Farmer's signature-song.^[7] It was accompanied by an epic video, in which Mylène plays a rebelling prisoner in a facility which resembles a concentration camp or gulag.^[8]

Following the phenomenal success of "Désenchantée", Farmer released three more very successful singles from the album: "Regrets", a gold-selling Nº3 duet performed with Jean-Louis Murat, "Je t'aime mélancolie" (Nº3) and "Beyond My Control" (Nº8), the latter having a blood-and-sex-charged video that was banned from airplay. The success of the singles helped its parent album sell close to 2 million copies in France alone, having been certified Diamond.^[9] It spent a then-record 20 weeks at the pole position of the French charts, as well as topping the chart in Belgium and making top 10 in Canada. It has become Farmer's best selling studio album.

Prior to the release of the album's third single, on 14 November 1991^[7] a disturbed man who had been stalking Farmer entered the Polydor Records headquarters in Paris and held employees at gunpoint demanding to talk to her. The man had previously written the singer some fan mail, which she did not respond to. He killed the receptionist. Following this occurrence, Farmer shunned media attention and left France to live in Los Angeles for a few weeks.^[10]

In late 1992, she released the remix album Dance Remixes, a two-disc set containing 14 remixes of the singer's greatest dance hits plus a new song : the single "Que mon cœur lâche". As usual, Farmer did not shy away from controversy; "Que mon cœur lâche", a song dealing with AIDS and sexual relations, is accompanied by a video directed by Luc Besson (the first time in the singer's career that a video wasn't directed by Boutonnat) in which Farmer plays an angel sent down to earth by God (who refuses to send Jesus again, stating that "last time it was a disaster") to save mankind from itself. The imagery in the clip references pop stars, condoms, prostitution, homosexuality and drug use. The single was also recorded in an English version, "My Soul Is Slashed".

Giorgino (1992–1994)[link]

"Que mon cœur lâche" would be the last single released by Farmer in 3 years. In the meantime the singer would star in a movie, as her longtime collaborator had written a script he had wanted to direct for a long time. The result was the ill-fated Giorgino (1994). The film, shot in English, was a huge critical and commercial flop. Budgeted at 80 million Francs, it was seen by only 60 000 people and recovered only 1% of its budget.^[11] One of the main reasons for the film's flop was its 3-hour-plus length. According to Farmer herself, the bad reception of Giorgino was particularly hard on Boutonnat, who was directing his first feature film,^[12] something he would not do again for 13 years until the release of Jacquou le Croquant in 2007. Following the lukewarm reception of the film, Farmer decided to leave France to take a long break in the USA.

[edit] Anamorphosée (1995–1997)

During her time in California, Farmer started to write her fourth studio album, Anamorphosée. The album was launched by "XXL", a rock song with blasting electric guitars, and a video directed by Marcus Nispel featuring Mylène strapped to the front of a moving train. The single became her first to debut at Nº1. Anamorphosée debuted at Nº2 in the album charts and sold half a million copies in 3 months. The album continued to sell well with the release of "L'Instant X", "California" (a jazzy-pop ballad bolstered with bass guitar featuring a highly acclaimed video directed by Abel Ferrara), "Comme j'ai mal" and "Rêver", which helped the album reach Nº1 in January 1997 – 16 months after its release – becoming Diamond. The album is the first to contain music written by Farmer ("Tomber 7 fois...").

In summer 1996, Farmer embarked on her second concert tour which met with huge success. The corresponding live album, Live à Bercy, is currently the best-selling French live album ever. During the tour, Farmer sang a Raï version of Michel Polnareff's La Poupée qui fait non with Khaled, which was released as a promotional single from the live album and became a Top 10 hit in France.

[edit] Innamoramento and Mylènium (1998–2000)

Farmer returned in spring 1999 with her 5th studio album Innamoramento. The lead single "L'Âme-stram-gram" was a futuristic up-tempo techno-ballad with erotic lyrics accompanied by a Chinese-themed video in which Farmer commits suicide to save her twin. Both the single and the album went straight to #2 on the charts.^[13] The album is certified Diamond in France.

The video for the second single, "Je te rends ton amour", sparked controversy because of its religious blasphemy being condemned by the Catholic Church and banned by many networks. Despite this, Farmer released a video single, which became the highest selling release of that kind in France.

In late 1999, Farmer embarked on her third concert tour, the Mylenium Tour, which set the record of the highest grossing tour by a non-English speaking artist. The stage of the show featured a huge pharaonic statue at the center of the stage from which she emerged and flew before being carried down by the hand of this very statue. During the tour, Farmer released the album's third and fourth singles: "Souviens-toi du jour" and "Optimistique-moi".

After "Innamoramento", the last single of the album, she recorded "L'Histoire d'une fée, c'est..." for the animated film Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, and released her third live album and DVD documenting the Mylènium Tour along with "Dessine-moi un mouton", the promotional single for the live CD of the show.

Alizée (2000–2004)[link]

In 2000, Farmer and Boutonnat had assembled songs and video ideas they felt appropriate for a younger, new star. They began the search for a female singer to break into the French charts – they found Alizée, a contestant on the French television show Graines de stars. They wrote and produced Alizée's albums Gourmandises and Mes courants électriques. Alizée's biggest hit, "Moi... Lolita" reached the top of the charts and she became the most successful French singer that year. In 2001, Le Figaro announced Farmer as top earning French entertainer of the year thanks, in part, to her writing, recording, and producing credits of Alizée's music, which earned 10.4 million €.^[14][15]

Alizée's image was crafted by Farmer and Boutonnat; she was allowed a few interviews of no more than 20 minutes and a limited number of promotional appearances. In 2005, after two successful albums and a concert tour, Alizée amicably parted ways with the duo to meet different songwriters and producers.

[edit] Les mots (2001–2003)

At the end of 2001, and seventeen years into her career, Universal issued Farmer's first greatest hits collection: Les Mots whose title track and lead single, a duet with Seal, became an enormous hit. The music video of the song was the first one directed by Boutonnat since "Beyond My Control", and borrowed many influences from art. Les Mots was the Nº1 selling album of 2001 and 2002, and remains the best selling greatest hits album in France with more than 1.5 million sold. The album also featured the new tracks and singles, including Top 10 hits "C'est une belle journée" and "Pardonne-moi".

[edit] Avant que l'ombre... (2004–2006)

In December 2004, after a long period of silence, Farmer held a press conference announcing her new album, Avant que l'ombre..., and the single "Fuck Them All" as well as a special 13-night concert engagement at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in January 2006. This era featured no further promotion, and marked a new level of reclusivity for the star, who simply stated : "What I have to say is in my music". She also announced her new series of concerts in Paris-Bercy, a show designed by Mark Fisher. She explained that she could not tour due to the complex sets of the performances of the show, which featured two stages, a mobile bridge to link the two stages and a curtain of words written with water.

The album debuted and spent several weeks at Nº1, selling nearly a million copies and going multi-platinum, although its commercial success is considered inferior to her previous albums because she made little if no effort to promote it. Nonetheless, all five singles became Top 10 hits in France, while the single "L'amour n'est rien..." became a very big success in Russia.

As announced in her press conference, she returned to the stage in January 2006 for 13 dates in Paris-Bercy. A live album and concert DVD, Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy were released in December 2006. Within months, the DVD became the best-selling music DVD in France ever.

After her concerts in Bercy, electronic musician Moby invited her to record a duet with him. Choosing "Slipping Away", Farmer translated the lyrics herself to French, and the resulting single became a phenomenal success in French-speaking countries, becoming her 4th No.1 single in France.

In 2007, Farmer's long-time songwriting partner, Laurent Boutonnat, directed his second feature film, Jacquou le Croquant. Farmer recorded the theme song of the film, "Devant soi", for the end credits. During that period, she also worked on the French version of Luc Besson's animated feature Arthur and the Minimoys, lending her voice to Selenia, the character voiced by Madonna in the international version. The movie was a box-office hit.

[edit] Point de Suture (2008–2010)

In March 2008, Universal confirmed Farmer would release her seventh studio album near the end of 2008, and embark on her fifth concert tour the following year, including two shows at the Stade de France. The record's lead single, "Dégénération", had a minimal electronic music while its video marked the singer's return to the scripted videos of the beginning of her career. The song became Farmer's 5th No.1 single.

The album, Point de Suture, released in stores on 25 August, followed suit debuting at Nº1 with over 100 000 copies sold in its first week in France. The electronic-driven album continues in the vein of Farmer's previous work, featuring a mix of ballads and upbeat, synth-driven pop songs.

Farmer's next four singles from the album, "Appelle mon numéro", "Si j'avais au moins...", "C'est dans l'air" and "Sextonik", all became No.1 hits in France, Farmer beating her own record. Farmer then had a record of nine No.1 hits in France, more than any other artist in French music history. It is also the first time that all five singles from her album became No.1 hits.

Meanwhile, in 2008 Farmer announced a new protégée in the vein of Alizée: Lisa, Farmer's niece. Her lead single, "Drole de creepie", was released in September 2008, produced and written by Boutonnat and Farmer. The song accompanied the hit children's series, Growing Up Creepie, and the video depicts Lisa dressed as Creepie Creecher. Unlike Farmer & Boutonnat's previous side-projects, Lisa is marketed primarily to children.

Farmer's sold-out tour began in May 2009 in Nice and ended in September 2009 in Brussels, gathering extremely positive response from the critics.^[16] She also gave two concerts at the Stade de France, as well as other concerts in Russia, Belgium and Switzerland. The show was designed by Mark Fisher.

A new live album documenting her 2009 tour, N°5 on Tour, was released on 7 December 2009 and hit No.1 position in the charts, becoming double-platinum in its first week of release. A DVD of her Stade de France concerts followed on 12 April 2010, becoming instantly Diamond.

[edit] Bleu Noir (2010–2011)

In the latter half of 2010, the media reported that Mylène Farmer would work with Line Renaud and Ben Harper in their respective new releases. After thirty years of absence, Line Renaud released her new album in November 2010, which contains "C'est pas l'heure," a duet with Farmer, written by Farmer and Boutonnat. Also in November, Australian band INXS released the album Original Sin as a tribute to the late Michael Hutchence. Farmer covered "Never Tear Us Apart" with Ben Harper, featuring new lyrics in French written by Farmer.

It was announced surprisingly on 27 September 2010 that Farmer would be releasing a new single "Oui mais... non" to lead her next album. Unlike all the previous musical works by Farmer, Boutonnat was not included in the production or composition. Instead Farmer hired RedOne, known for his work with Lady Gaga to produce and write the music for the single. "Oui mais... non" was released to digital downloading markets on 11 October and hit No.1 on the French charts. Considering the music market crisis, it's her most successful single since 2002. This also makes her the only French singer to have number-one hits in four consecutive decades. The following singles, "Bleu Noir" and "Lonely Lisa", hit the top of the charts too, expanding her record with twelve No.1 singles.

The album Bleu Noir was released on 6 December 2010, produced by Farmer, RedOne, Moby and Archive. It entered the French album chart at No.1 and remained at the top for three consecutive weeks. It topped the 9th position in the French 2010 charts, with more than 300,000 copies sold in three weeks. It has sold so far over 600,000 copies,^[17] reaching Diamond status, within three months of its release. It also broke the record for best debut in the Downloads Chart with 9,000 copies sold.

[edit] 2001-2011 (2011–Present)

Farmer's 2nd hits collection titled 2001.2011 was released in late 2011, featuring all of her hit singles recorded after Les Mots.

Filmography[link]

• Giorgino (1994 by Laurent Boutonnat) (portrayed Catherine Degrâce)
• Arthur et les Minimoys (Arthur and the Invisibles) (2006 by Luc Besson) (French voice of Princess Selenia)
• Arthur et la Vengeance de Maltazard (2009 by Luc Besson) (French voice of Princess Selenia)
• Arthur et la Guerre des Deux Mondes (2010 by Luc Besson) (French voice of Princess Selenia)

Discography[link]

• Cendres de Lune (1986)
• Ainsi soit je... (1988)
• L'Autre... (1991)
• Anamorphosée (1995)
• Innamoramento (1999)
• Avant que l'ombre... (2005)
• Point de suture (2008)
• Bleu Noir (2010)
• TBA (2012)

Bibliography[link]

By Mylène Farmer

• Lisa-Loup et le Conteur (2003) – Mylène Farmer – Anne Carrière Ed. – ISBN 2-84337-221-6 – A tale written and illustrated by Mylène Farmer
• Avant que l'ombre à Bercy – Paris 2006 (2006) – Mylène Farmer – Anne Carrière Ed. – ISBN 2-84337-433-2

About Mylène Farmer

• Mylène Farmer (1989) – Patrick Milo – Albin Michel Ed.
• Mylène Farmer, Ainsi soit-elle (1990) – Philippe Seguy – Taillandier Ed.
• L'album photo Mylène Farmer (1991) – Geda Ed.
• Mystérieuse Sylphide (2000) – David Marguet – Idoles de la Pop Ed.
• Picture Book Mylène Farmer (2001) – Collectif – Omega Ed.
• Mylène Farmer de A à Z (2002) – Florence Rajon – MusicBook Ed.
• La part d'ombre (2003) – Caroline Bee, Antoine Bioy & Benjamin Thiry – Archipel Ed.
• Au Cœur du Mythe (2003) – Jean-Claude Perrier – Bartillat Ed.
• L'Ange Rouge (2003) – Béatrice Nouveau – Michel Lafon Ed.
• Le Mystère Mylène Farmer (2003) – Mathias Goudeau – Prélude & Fugue Ed.
• L'ange blessé (2004) – Caroline Bee – Librio Musique Ed.
• Mylène Farmer, de chair et de sang (2004) – Annie et Bernard Reval – France Empire Ed.
• Mylène Farmer (2004) – Bernard Violet – Fayard Ed.
• Mylène Farmer (2005) – Fabien Lecœuvre – VadeRetro Ed.
• Mylène Farmer & Vous : Le Référentiel (2005) – Maxime Lemen – Ter Prod Ed.
• Les Années Sygma (2005) – Sylvain Sennefelder & Maxime Lemen – Tear Prod Ed.
• Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer (2006) – Benoît Cachin – Tournon Ed.
• Fou de Mylène Farmer, deux années à l'attendre (2006) – Christophe-Ange Papini – K&B Ed.
• Belle de Scène (2006) – Julien Wagner – K&B Ed.
• Dans la peau de Mylène Farmer (2006) – Line Grégory – Michel Lafon Ed.
• Mylène Farmer Influences (2006) – Benoît Cachin – Tournon Ed.
• Mylène Farmer Phénoménale (2006) – Erwan Chuberre – City Ed.
• Mylène Farmer, le culte (2007) – Sophie Khairallah – Why Not Ed.^[18]
• Le Référentiel Mylène Farmer 2008 (2007) – Renan Cornetto – K&B Ed.
• L'intégrale Mylène Farmer (2007) – Erwan Chuberre – City Ed.
• Mylène Farmer, la collection – L'ultime référentiel (2007) – Why Not Ed.^[19]
• Sainte Mylène, Priez pour Moi ! (2007) – Erwan Chuberre – City Ed.
• Mais où est encore passée Mylène Farmer ? (2008) – Bioy/Beuh/Tudor – K&B Ed.
• Amylène analgésique (2008) – Arno Mothra – Komakino Ed.
• Mylène Farmer : la libertine (2008) – Thierry Wolf – La Lagune Ed.
• Mylène (2008) – Hugues Royer – Flammarion Ed.
• Mylène Farmer : des mots sur nos désirs (2009) – Erwan Chuberre – City Ed.
• Mylène Farmer : La culture de l'inaccessibilité (2010) – Julien Rigal Premium ed

Farmer has never acknowledged any of the works listed above. "Everything that is said about me is false..." ("Tout ce qui est dit sur moi est faux...")

Companies owned by Farmer[link]

Unofficial fanclub[link]

The Mylène Farmer-International Fan Club (MFIFC) existed from 1995 to 2001. At its peak, it had over ten thousand subscribers in 37 countries.^[21] The club published subscriber-only fanzines, which included interviews with people who personally knew Mylène, including Khaled, Marcus Nispel, Abel Ferrara, H. R. Giger and Paco Rabanne. They also organised a fan tour in which several members attended concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

See also[link]

	Book: Mylène Farmer
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Children's literature portal

• List of artists who reached number one on the French Singles Chart

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mylène Farmer

• Mylène Farmer at the Internet Movie Database
• Mylène Farmer on Facebook
• Listen to Mylène Farmer's discography
• Mylène.net (French)
• Sans-Logique.com
• Mylene Farmer's photos, videos, songs (English)
• Mylene Farmer's Concerts, Tourdates, Bio, Songs, Videos, Lyrics, Awards, Filmograpy, Videography and Discography (English)
• Mylene Farmer Fan-Made French website and Forum (English/French)
• Mylene Farmer`s Photos archive
• Mylene Farmer México (Spanish)
• Mylene Farmer Romania (Romanian)
• Mylene Farmer Innamoramento.net Big Site (French)
• Mylene Farmer Mylene-01.com Fans portal (French)
• M.F. International: Mylène Farmer & General French Music Forum (English)

The Rule
Background information
Origin	Minnesota, United States
Genres	pop, R&B, reggae
Labels	R, R, & R Records
Website	therulemusic.com
Members
Ryan Liestman Jeff Love Shawn Connelly
Past members
Gregory Washington

The Rule (formerly Ry and the Rule) is an American pop/R&B band, led by Ryan Liestman (keyboardist for the Jonas Brothers^[1]). The group released its first album, the self-titled The Rule in the summer of 2006, under the indie label R, R, & R Records. Michael Bland, Tommy Barbarella, and Stokley Williams have also performed with The Rule.^[2]

In the fall of 2006, The Rule toured the United States with American, Grammy Award-winning singer Cyndi Lauper.^[3]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• The Rule (2006)

Additional images[link]

• 

  The Rule in concert in the summer of 2006.

References[link]

first grad second grade third grade

External links[link]

• Official site
• The Rule on Myspace
• Earthquake Music Video
• Commercial for 2006 Cyndia Lauper Tour (special guest, The Rule)

This article on a United States band or other musical ensemble is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2011)

DJ Disciple (David Banks)^[1] is an American DJ and house music producer from Brooklyn, New York.^[2]

In 1994, his track, "On the Dancefloor", peaked at #67 in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] In 2002, he hit number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart with "Caught Up." Vocals on the track were performed by Mia Cox. The track was featured in the Showtime television series Queer as Folk^[3].

On 2006, his single, "Work It Out", featuring Dawn Tallman, released under his Catch 22 Recordings label, became a hit record. It was played in Ibiza in 2006, BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong played the record for three months, and it was signed by countless labels and compilations such as Xtravaganza (UK), Blanco Y Negro (Spain), Poole Music (France), Networks (Italy) and United (Belgium). In 2008, "Work It Out" was re-released. The label's last release, "Changes", was a collaboration with David Tort and DJ Ruff. "Changes" stayed on the Beatport digital top three downloads for two months.^{[citation needed]} It was played throughout the Winter Music Conference by DJ’s Roger Sanchez, DJ Dan, and Erick Morillo.

DJ Disciple has worked with underground American music artist and song writer, Dru Hepkins, and released tracks “When I Die”, “Red Light”, and “Romper Room”. Red Light's Prok & Fitch remix was featured as Roger Sanchez's “hot download pick” in 2009.

DJ Disciple released the book, Around the World in 150 Clubs.

See also[link]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References[link]

This article on an American disc jockey is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e