Robert Paquette

Paquette, Robert

Robert Paquette. Singer-songwriter, actor, radio and TV host, b Sudbury, Ont, 2 Jul 1949. He studied French literature at Laurentian University in Sudbury. While composing songs, he played in an Ontario rock group, Marketville Riot. In the early 1970s, before leaving for Europe, he wrote five songs for Moé, j'viens du Nord, Stie, staged by the student theater company of Laurentian University. Back in Canada, he toured Quebec with the Théâtre populaire du Québec. In 1974, following the release of his first album (Dépêche-toi soleil), he took part in the Superfrancofête in Quebec City. Subsequently, he gave concerts at the NAC, the Mariposa Folk Festival and the Congrès international de la francophonie in Brussels, in addition to making several tours of Quebec and the USA. In 1978, he represented Canada at the Spa Festival, Belgium, and he participated in the Printemps de Bourges, France, in 1982. Two years later, he toured 40 European cities with Gare à vous. In 1988, he composed the stage music for the play Le Chien presented in Montreal by the Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario. Jean Beaunoyer has described the songs of this artist who celebrates travelling and being on the road as 'hits full of punch, bite and energy [...] Paquette does not reveal much about himself in his music: his lyrics are those of a witness rather than a participant. He is a photographer and a storyteller'.