De Palmas

Born Gerald Gardrinier in 1967 to French parents on Reunion, the future Gerald De Palmas passed his first decade on that compact Indian Ocean island. When his family relocated to southern France in 1977, the teenager immersed himself in the sounds of the Specials and the Stray Cats while teaching himself guitar and bass. He soon abandoned high school to devote himself entirely to music, joining forces with Edith Fambuena and Jean-Louis Pierot to create Les Max Valentins. Although the band issued several singles without achieving widespread recognition, Gerald departed in 1988—after which the remaining members continued as the duo Les Valentins—and moved to Paris, where he supported himself as a session player while composing material in his free hours.

Victory in a televised talent contest in 1994 led De Palmas, who had adopted his mother’s maiden name for the stage, to an EMI contract and the release of his debut album, La Dernière Année, the following year. Its single “Sur la Route” became a major success, launching him to prominence and securing the Victoire de la Musique award for Best New Male Artist. Eager to repeat that breakthrough, he waited until 1997 to issue Les Lois de la Nature, yet the record failed to connect with audiences, prompting several years of relative seclusion. A conversation with Jean-Jacques Goldman, who contributed the song “J’en Rêve Encore,” reignited his creative drive and guided work on Marcher dans le Sable, which appeared in 2000 and earned him the Victoire de la Musique for Best Male Artist in 2001. The live set Live 2002 followed the next year.

After supplying material for Celine Dion, Johnny Hallyday, and additional artists, De Palmas prepared his fourth studio album, Un Homme Sans Racines, released in 2004 as a more introspective and somber collection. Contractual disputes with Universal delayed further releases for five years until he renegotiated his agreement, allowing Sortir to surface in 2009 and feature a duet with Eagle-Eye Cherry. Two years later the double-CD compilation Sur Ma Route arrived, incorporating the previously unheard track “L’Étranger.”