Music

Catherine Ringer was born in 1957 in Paris, where she grew up in an artistic family, her father being a well-known painter and her mother an architect.

"There was a kinda poetic atmosphere at home, quite focused on the beauty of things," the singer would later tell. The young girl learned to sing by listening to her favorite French artists, such as Georges Brassens. She decided to leave home at the age of 14, stopping her studies at the same time, wishing to dedicate herself entirely to her artistic career. 

Dance, television, theatre; Ringer, the jack-of-all-trades tried everything. In 1979, she met Fred Chichin in a musical. "Let's leave this mess and start a rock band!" said the man with whom she would live the crazy adventure of Les Rita Mitsouko for more than 27 years.

Together on and off stage, the couple composed their first songs in their small kitchen and chose a stage name. "I was looking for funny names by mixing music-hall artists and Guerlain perfumes," the singer explained. The winning combination was ultimately that of Guerlain's perfume "Mitsouko" and a tribute to the stripper Rita Renoir: "It doesn't mean anything special, it's beautiful and international," according to Ringer.

In 1985, success awaited them with the release of the 45-rpm "Marcia Baila", named after the choreographer Marcia Moretto whom Catherine Ringer had met a few years earlier. She had hired Ringer for one of her shows but unfortunately died during the preparation.

The group released eleven albums, as well as several collaborations with performers that include Iggy Pop and the Sparks. The duo made a deep impression on the French musical landscape with their hits ("Les Histoires d'A", "Andy", "Le petit train"), slightly crazy choreographies and the inimitable voice of Catherine Ringer.

The couple also had three children, who have all inherited the family artistry. Ginger Romàn, their eldest daughter, is now an actress. Simone, on the other hand, co-founded the group Minuit, with their brother Raoul. The latter, a guitarist like their father, sometimes accompanies his mother on stage.

Catherine Ringer: from rock top neo-tango

When her accomplice died, Catherine Ringer began a solo career with a first album called "Ring'n'Roll" and a tour that delighted her audience. Two years later, she hooked up with Eduardo Makaroff and Christoph H. Müller, both members of the French neo-tango Gotan Project, as "Plaza Francia". Their long international tour ran until the end of 2015.

 "Chroniques et Fantaisie", her second solo album, was released on November 3, 2017. Two years later, the whimsical singer went on tour again, this time to revisit the Rita Mitsouko repertoire to celebrate the group's 40th anniversary. Recently, she revisited the French national anthem, La Marseillaise during an official ceremony. She sparked headlines by dodging President Macron's embrace. "I'm not his friend," she pointed out.

(CMa/ML - Photo: Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Catherine Ringer with Rita Mitsouko on the stage of the Cirque Royal in Brussels (Belgium) in June 1987 (© Etienne Tordoir)