French song & variety
Born in Montreux in 1950, Patrick Juvet (1950-2021) went from French-Swiss pop to the heights of global disco. A model turned singer, he enjoyed huge success with “Où sont les femmes?” and “I Love America”, co-written with Jean-Michel Jarre before his conquest of American clubs. A local son who remained attached to his region, he came back to record at the famous Mountain Studios in Montreux, Queen’s studio: the vocal sessions for “Still Alive” (1980) were made there, and in September and October 1981 he cut the album “Rêves immoraux” there, produced by the in-house engineer David Richards.
Patrick Juvet was born in Montreux on 21 August 1950. A model before he was a singer, in the early 1970s he met the French composer Jean-Michel Jarre: their collaboration began with the album “Love” (1973) and peaked in 1977 with “Paris by Night”, which contains “Où sont les femmes?”.
Then came the American conquest, with the disco tracks “Got a Feeling” and “I Love America”. Within a few years, a boy born on the Vaud Riviera found himself at the top of New York dance floors.
Once disco had passed, Juvet came back to record where he was born. The vocal sessions for the album “Still Alive” (1980) were made at Mountain Studios in Montreux.
He returned the following year for a whole record: “Rêves immoraux” was recorded in September and October 1981 at Mountain Studios, then owned by Queen. Producing was David Richards, the in-house engineer, the very man who co-produced Queen’s albums and worked with David Bowie, with whom Juvet had already collaborated.
The record was released on Barclay in 1982.
For the title track, Juvet composed the music and called on Jean-Loup Dabadie, one of the great French lyricists. After two rejected attempts, Dabadie wrote a text about bisexuality, all dream imagery and forbidden desire, following the singer’s instructions.
The single came out in spring 1982. Despite heavy radio play, its content caused a scandal, even though France had only just decriminalised homosexuality. It reached number 42 in the French chart and sold around 65,000 copies, staying nine weeks on the chart, from 18 April to 13 June 1982.
This record, born in Queen’s studio in Montreux, remains one of the most personal of his career.
His house stood in the Villard valley, above Montreux. He recorded at Mountain Studios, which has since become the Queen: The Studio Experience exhibition.
Three RTS reports, filmed in 1977 and 1978, show him at the very start of his career. He died on 1 April 2021 in Barcelona, aged 70.
“A star is born”, RTS report (1978)
“La solitude”, a portrait of Patrick Juvet (RTS, 1977)
“Un autographe please”, RTS report (1978)
The free exhibition inside the real Mountain Studios, where Queen recorded seven albums between 1978 and 1995.
The local boy turned disco star: his family house is tucked away in the Villard valley.
The Casino nightclub where Patrick Juvet met Freddie Mercury several times.
1982
Recorded in September and October 1981 at Mountain Studios, then owned by Queen, produced by David Richards. Set to lyrics by Jean-Loup Dabadie evoking bisexuality, the title track caused a scandal on its release in 1982 despite substantial radio play.