Francoise Hardy

Francoise Hardy ranks up there with Serge Gainsbourg as the single-most influential French pop star of the rock age. While many French musical stars came from immigrant or working-class backgrounds, the well-healed Francoise Madeleine Hardy cut a strikingly different figure when she appeared on the scene in 1961. Far from Latin and emotive, the striking Miss Hardy projected an image and sound that was remote, shy and slightly injured. A major star in France for decades, Hardy was also an international fashion figure during the 1960s. A fine songwriter as well as an interpretive vocalist, she has the David Bowie/Paul Weller-like ability to change with the times without changing her unique point of view. Rare for a public performing artist, Hardy has somehow managed to continue working at a consistently high creative level while remaining a very private, family-oriented woman.