Axelle Red | |
|---|---|
 Axelle Red in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Fabienne Demal (1968-02-15)15 February 1968 (age 57) |
| Genres | Pop,Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Former:Virgin Records Current: Music & Roses |
| Website | Official website |
Fabienne Demal (born 15 February 1968), better known by her stage nameAxelle Red, is a Belgian singer-songwriter.[1] She has released 12 albums, includingSans plus attendre,À Tâtons,Toujours Moi andJardin Secret. She is best known for her 1993 single "Sensualité", a hit inFrance in 1994.[2]
Axelle Red was born as Fabienne Demal on 15 February 1968 inHasselt,Flanders, Belgium, the daughter of Roland Demal, a solicitor in Hasselt and a councillor for theFlemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) in the City Council.[3]She has lived in Paris and currently lives in a village nearBrussels. In 1983, aged 14, Fabienne Demal produced her first single, "Little Girls", using the artist name Fabby. In 1986, she chose the artist name Axelle Red. Her stage name was not only a reference to the color of her hair. It was also a nod to the character of the singer, namely 'fiery' and 'fighting'.[4]
Axelle Red graduated from theVrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) as a lawyer in 1993.
Despite her Flemish origin, she decided to focus on a French-language career. In 1993, her first albumSans Plus Attendre was released, which immediately resulted in her artistic break-out in France, Switzerland, Canada and Belgium, where sales amounted to more than 200,000.
Axelle Red received anInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry platinum award for sales of more than 1 million; a year later she sold out theParis Olympia for the first time.
In 1998, she married Filip Vanes (still her husband and manager at Music & Roses).
That year, she also sang the official anthem, "La Cour des Grands", withYoussou N'Dour at the opening ceremony of the1998 FIFA World Cup in theStade de France outsideParis, before a television audience of over a billion people. Seven months pregnant with her daughter, Janelle, in her shows devoted tosoul andrhythm and blues she was joined by her heroes,Wilson Pickett,Sam Moore,Eddie Floyd,Percy Sledge andAnn Peebles. Axelle supportedAmnesty International's grand benefit concert in Paris, although under doctor's orders, she was advised not to perform herself due to her pregnancy. That same year saw the release of her Spanish album,Con Solo Pensarlo.
In 1999, Axelle received the most important music award in France for female artist of the year, theVictoire de la Musique, while her third studio album,Toujours Moi, was also released, written and produced by herself. It sold more than 800,000 copies.
In 2002, her fourth studio album,Face A / Face B, was released. The title refers to the vinyl records from the sixties labelled "fast and slow" side (an up-tempo side for dancing and a ballad side for slows). It was a co-production with producer Al Stone.
In 2003, her second daughter, Gloria, was born. A CD box was also released comprising three CDs with numerous previously unreleased tracks such as duets withCharles Aznavour,Francis Cabrel,Stephan Eicher,Sylvie Vartan,Arno andTom Barman. Her duet withRenaud, "Manhattan-Kaboul", had the most airplay in France that year and notched up sales of more than 800,000 singles, for which Axelle and Renaud received anNRJ music award atMidem inCannes.
In 2004, Axelle made her acting debut in Rudolf Mestdagh's filmEllektra.
French Soul, her first 'Best Of' compilation, was released with two previously unreleased songs "I Have A Dream" and "J'ai Fait Un Rêve", an homage toMartin Luther King Jr. Axelle directed the two videos herself. Pregnant with a third daughter, Billie, she ended the year with a lightning visit toSri Lanka with UNICEF emergency aid for the people who had been hit so badly by thetsunami.[5]
In May, she joinedPeter Gabriel andYoussou N'Dour at theGeneva concert on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of theUnited Nations, at which Axelle was thanked byKofi Annan for her humanitarian work with the various NGOs. Together withBob Geldof, she was also the spokesperson forLive 8 in France and performed on 2 July 2005 at the Palace of Versailles in front of 200,000 people during the benefit.
2006 saw the release ofJardin Secret, Axelle's fifth studio album. The tracks were recorded inWillie Mitchell's Royal Studios in Memphis. In September 2006, Axelle received the highest artistic honour, becomingChevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, presented to her by the French Minister of culture,Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. She also took part in the0110 concerts against intolerance and racism inAntwerp andBrussels.
In 2008 she wrote her first album in English,Sisters & Empathy, and recorded it with her regular musicians, Michael Toles and Lester Snell from Memphis andJeff Anderson and Damon Duewhite fromNew York City.
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In 2011, a new album was released, Un Coeur Comme le Mien (A heart like mine), carried by the single La Claque. It became a certified gold record in Belgium. After two concerts in May in Paris and Brussels, a tour was scheduled from October 2011 to summer 2012.
The album Rouge Ardent from 2013 marked a return to soul pop. Different musicians cooperated on this album:Gérard Manset, author of Je te l'avais dit,Christophe Miossec andStephan Eicher, in co-writing for De mieux en mieux, andAlbert Hammond (Ce cœur en or, Je te l'avais dit) the album was number 1 when it was released in Belgium and went gold in Belgium.
Also in 2013, an Axelle Red Fashion Victim exhibition was presented at the Modemuseum in her hometown, Hasselt.
She joined the jury for the third season ofThe Voice van Vlaanderen, broadcast from January to May 2014 onVTM. On 30 October 2015,The Songs (Acoustic) was released, an acoustic compilation of covers and some original tracks. OnExil, her album released in 2018, Axelle Red switched from soul to more electronic and rock music. Once more,Albert Hammond cooperated on this album, together withShelly Peiken andDave Stewart. The album's release was followed by a tour in Belgium and France.
Somewhat different from her repertoire, in 2022 Red released a Christmas album with covers. The album contains soulful versions of songs like "Let It Snow" and "Little Drummer Boy", but above all she focussed on less common songs.[6] The album was followed by a winter tour, and the 2022Night of the Proms also featured Axelle Red, next toNik Kershaw andKool & the Gang.[7]
In 2023, a new tour in Belgium celebrates her thirty-year career, and features mostly best-of setlists.
Since 1997, Axelle Red has been an ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), standing up for the rights of children and women in war-torn regions and developing countries. That same year she devoted herself to theOttawa Convention against land mines and in the poverty-strickenHaiti.
After being forced to flee the riots in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo in June 2004, in July of that year Axelle campaigned inNiger withUNICEF against female circumcision and child marriages.
Red travelled to the north ofSenegal in 2005 for the FrenchOxfam/Agir Ici's campaign, "Make noise till Hong Kong". She spoke up for honest trade prices. At the European summit, Axelle officially askedJosé Manuel Barroso, chairman of theEuropean Commission, to increase the budget for the development of the Third World countries.
In 2007, Axelle visited poverty-stricken Sierra Leone for the UNICEF campaign "Together, saving 4 million babies", five years after the civil war. Sierra Leone has the largest child mortality in the world. In March 2007, Axelle spoke at theFIFDH (International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights) in Geneva together with the Cambodian director,Rithy Panh, during a debate on prostitution. In December 2007, KingAlbert II presented her with the medal ofCommandeur in de Kroonorde for her social commitment.
In May 2008, theUniversity of Hasselt awarded Axelle the honorary title ofDoctor Honoris Causa for her social commitment as an artist and human rights' activist. On the occasion ofInternational Women's Day, Axelle was guest speaker at theCouncil of Europe during a debate ondomestic violence.
As ambassador for Handicap International in 2022, she visited the organization's workshop in Colombia, where efforts are being made to clear the soil of land mines, inch by inch.[8]
Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres: 2006
Commandeur in the BelgianOrder of the Crown: 2007[9]| International | |
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