Jean-Michel Jarre personal informations

Jean-Michel Jarre was born on August 24 1948 in Perrache, Lyon; to a family of musicians. His father is the composer Maurice Jarre.
Married on 7 October 1978 with Charlotte Rampling (was already married before). Charlotte Rampling, born on 07 October 1978 (was already married before).
Children: Barnaby Southcombe (1973) from the first marriage of Charlotte Rampling; Emilie Jarre (1975) from the first marriage of Jean-Michel Jarre and David Jarre (1979).

Jean-Michel Jarre musical chronologie

1968 Joined the GRM Music Research Group in Paris in 1968, where is began experimenting with 'electro-classical' music under Pierre Schaeffer. His first composition was released as a single a year later, La Cage

1971 Jean Michel Jarre composes a ballet score, AOR, for the Opera de Paris, the first time electro-acoustical music is played there.

1972 Deserted Palace is released, Jean Michel Jarre's first album as well as composing the soundtrack for Jean Chapot's film, Les Granges Brulees.

1976 Oxygene is released and becomes an international success. It remains to date an unparalleled success in the history of the French music industry. Jean Michel Jarre is named Personality of the Year by the US media, whilst the Daily Mirror declares '... a French revolution to the rockworld'.

1978 Equinoxe confirms Jarre's success worldwide and storms the charts in over 35 countries. Also composes the music to Peter Fleischmann's film, The Illness of Hamburg.

1979 On Bastille Day in Paris, Jean Michel Jarre gives his first public performance - an outdoor concert at Place de la Concorde. It breaks all records. Over one million spectators which earnt Jarre his first entry in the Guinness Book of Records. Over one hundred million also watched the show on television. The show was on a scale never seen before. Giant images appeared on the facades of Parisian buildings, animated lasers filled the sky, powerful beams transformed the whole scene and fireworks lit up the night sky, all choreographed to the music played by Jarre from the central stage. During the same year, Jarre also composes the music for Peter Weir's film Gallipoli.

1980 Equinoxe confirms Jarre's success worldwide and storms the charts in over 35 countries. Also composes the music to Peter Fleischmann's film, The Illness of Hamburg.

1981 Magnetic Fields, Jean Michel Jarre's third album is released and two weeks after release, enters the top ten in every European territory. Jean Michel Jarre becomes the first Western artist to perform in post-Mao China. In October he played a series of five concerts, with a 34-piece Chinese orchestra, in Peking and October.

1982 A double album acting as a sound chronicle, Concerts in China, is released to celebrate the historic concerts. A special television documentary is also aired.

1983 Jean Michel Jarre hits the world headlines by auctioning the only copy of his new album, Music for Supermarkets. It was broadcast once only on radio and the master tapes destroyed.

1984 Zoolook is released, a new and radical album. Jarre becomes one of the first artists to use sampling, using Chinese, European and African rhythm tracks. Laurie Anderson, Adrian Belew (King Crimson, Talking Heads), Yogi Horton (Talking Heads), Marcus Miller (Miles Davies) all contributed to the album.

1986 Rendezvous is released. Jean Michel Jarre re-enters the Guiness Book of Records with his show Rendezvous Houston. One of his most spectacular concerts ever, he celebrates Texas' 150th anniversary and NASA's 50th anniversary by transforming the entire city skyline. Using lasers, image projectors and a breathtaking light and firework display, he amazed an audience of over 1.3 million people and set the standard for multi-media shows to come. The show earnt him the Victoires de la Musique that year for Best Show, where he also picked up the Best Album award for Rendezvous.
He followed up this success with a return to his birth place, the City of Lyon, to perform a spectacular concert in honour of Pope John Paul II. He performed at the foot of the Fourvieres Hills, using the same techniques which stunned Houston, this time transformed very different architecture of the Law Court building and the magnificant Basilica.

1987 Release of the album Houston-Lyon, In Concert, a celebration of the two concerts. A remix version Cities in Concert was also released within a box set to mark Jarre's tenth anniversary of Oxygene's release.

1988 Revolutions is released and sets the scene for a concert in London's Docklands. In October, he stages two concerts, amid an apocalyptic, partially demolished/rebuilt decor. Performing on a floating stage in the middle of the river Thames, Jarre has to battle against the odds with rain pouring down on both evenings. The Destination Docklands film, directed by Mike Mansfield, was a fitting tribute to the events. A video chronicle of the event was also broadcast worldwide, the Making of Destination Docklands.

1989 Jarre Live, the album of the London concerts is released. The Laser Years is also released, to mark ten years of CD music by one of the musicians who best represents this new technology.

1990 Release of the album Waiting for Cousteau, inspired by marine biologist Commandant Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Jarre created a brand new style of album by mixing the synthesizer with traditional caribbean music, re-inventing the calypso. Jarre travelled to Trinidad to record his music with the Amoco Renegades, a local steel-drum band.
Jarre stops Paris with Paris-La Defense, A City in Concert. Staged to celebrate Bastille Day, Jarre performed in front of the modern architecture of La Defense, using lasers, giant images projectors, beams and fireworks. The whole of the Champs Elysees and the banks of the river Seine are filled by over 2 million spectators, entering Jarre into the record books again.

1991 Featuring some previously unreleased tracks, Images - The Best of Jean Michel Jarre, chronicles Jarre's career so far.

1992 Jarre stages two multi-media spectaculars within the space of three months. In September, Jarre transformed the Swiss town of Zermatt, under the Matterhorn mountain. For the first time Jarre had moved away from the urban city centres and moved into a rural arena. Jarre astonished the watching crowds by projecting images and laser animations onto a huge rock face, as well as wild beams and fireworks.
He followed up this show by travelling to Africa for the first time. To mark the opening of the magnificant Lost City complex, he re-composed his music with an African blend for three shows.

1993 The album Chronologie is released. Jarre travels Europe on his first tour, visiting fifteen cities on his way. The shows are higely acclaimed by both press and fans alike, which saw Jarre present a new outdoor format - an imaginary city over 100m wide and 25m high, transformed into a total audio-visual experience.
At the start of the year, Jarre is also appointed UNESCO Ambassador for Tolerance and Youth. Jarre's first mission is to relay the declaration of the Year of Tolerance worldwide.

1994 Jean Michel Jarre sets foot on Chinese soil again, this time to give a concert in the new Hong Kong stadium. Jarre involved local graphic artists, street performers, ballerinas, the Hong Kong Opera Society and a traditional chinese orchestra, integrating them with his latest techniques to create a remarkable event.
Jean Michel Jarre is appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
A double CD Hong Kong is released.

1995 Jarre tranforms the Eiffel Tower with his first Concert for Tolerance to celebrate the 50th anniversary of UNESCO. In front of 1.5 million spectators, Jarre portrays his vision of tolerance, as well as to a live worldwide television audience.
Jarremix is released, featuring mixes from artists including Sunscreem and Gat Decor.

1996 Jarre remains busy composing his new follow-up album to Oxygene, for release near the end of the year, as well as planning concerts for Australia, USA, Europe and India for 1997.

1997 The new album Oxygene 7-13 is released and Jarre is doing a promotional tour around Euopre for it. Also he annouced a new Indoor tour around Europe.

Awards of Jean-Michel Jarre

1976 The Grand Prix du Disque given by the acedemi Charles Cross for Oxygene.

1979 Entry in the Guinness Books of Records for the La Concorde Concert in Paris (1 Million spectators, free concert)

1984 Grand Prix du Disque Francais for Zoolook

1985 Victoires De La Musique award for Zoolook

1986 Second entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the Houston Concert on April 5 (1.3 million spectators, free concert). Victoires De La Musique for Rendez-vous

1987 Honary Citizen of Lyon.

1991 Entry in Guiness Book of records for the Paris La Defense concert in Paris 1990 on July 14, over 2.5 million people saw this free concert. November 27 (France) video award for all of his video's, Jarre did send a tape with a compilation of his concerts (China,Houston,Lyon,Docklands,La Defense). The tape was called "Extraits concert of Europe".

1992 Jarre received the Goldene Europa for al his concerts.

1993 Jarre received the Victoires De La Music for his complete tour Europe in Concert.

1995 Nomination for the Vitiores de La Music

Plus several Golden, Silver and Platina records from al over the world.