Lucien Francoeur

Lucien Francoeur

Lucien Francoeur quit school at the age of 14 to go to New York where he lived in Greenwich Village for several months. Back in Quebec, he began writing poetry when he was about 18. In 1969, he went to New Orleans where he completed high school. An unwavering fan of Timothy Leary and Jim Morrison, he then discovered drugs and rock music. Later on, he found himself studying literature at Maisonneuve College in Montreal, and contributing to the literary review, Les Herbes rouges. A meeting with poet and publisher Gaston Miron led to the appearance of his first collection of poems, Minibrixes réactées (Éditions de l'Hexagone, 1972).

Following several trips to Los Angeles and Vancouver, in 1974 he founded the rock group Aut'Chose which recorded its first full album, Prends une chance avec moé. In 1975, the group participated in the Chant'Août festival in Quebec City, gave a concert on the main stage during the St-Jean-Baptiste celebrations on Mount Royal, and recorded Une nuit comme une autre, followed by Cauchemar américain (1976) and Aut'chose (1978).

In 1979, Francoeur was invited to Paris to launch an LP featuring his greatest hits, Chaud comme un juke-box. Following his return to Quebec, he devoted his time to composition. His album Le Retour de Johnny Frisson (1980) led to a series of concerts. In 1980, Francoeur gave his farewell stage performance at l'Imprévu, in Old Montreal.

In 1983, he launched an album, Jour et nuit in Montreal and Paris. This album was followed by Dernière vision (1985) and Les Gitans reviennent toujours (1987).

Between 1972 and 1988, Francoeur published some 20 collections of poems in Montreal.

During the 1970s, he symbolized the fusion of underground poetry and rock. His uproarious images mixing French and English, Californian and French influences, city pictures and rock mythology, have won an audience well beyond literary circles.