*Biography*

First Steps


Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec on June 26, 1972, Garou came into the world eight years after the birth of his sister Maryse. Raised on music from the cradle, he trained his ear and developed an uncommon sense of rhythm growing up in a home where family gatherings were always a musical occasion.

At the age of three, Garou’s parents, aware of his potential, presented their son with a guitar. His father, who played the instrument as a hobby, taught his son a few chords, and Garou immediately demonstrated an innate talent. Two years later, Garou discovered both the piano and the organ.

While music has been his life-long love, it was not, ironically, Garou’s first career choice. As a child he dreamed of becoming an archaeologist and was fascinated by excavation and the discovery process associated with it. In fact, as an adult, Garou acknowledges that archaeology and music share an important trait: both are linked by a child-like joy in sharing discoveries. « As an artist, you’re in constant contact with the child inside you and the child-like fascination with life that makes people want to live. It’s the reason I love to sing. »

The Early Journey


In his early teens, Garou was a model student at the Séminaire de Sherbrooke, the private school for boys he attended. However, by the age of 14, his grades plunged and he adopted an attitude of defiance of authority and conformity. His parents and teachers were at a loss to understand. In music class, Garou was assigned the trumpet, but the teenager refused to be told what he should learn. Frustrated by the antics of this otherwise stellar student, Garou’s music teacher expelled him from class.

When his cronies from music class formed a Beatles cover band dubbed The Windows and Doors, they called on Garou to play guitar. In retrospect, a bemused Garou acknowledges the band got more than they bargained for. For the first performance of his life, on stage in the school auditorium, Garou played guitar – and sang – delivering his best imitation of his idol, Paul McCartney. It was a pivotal experience. « Every time we played, the auditorium was filled to capacity – 300 kids would come to hear us! We did everything ourselves – printing tickets, making posters – everything! That’s when I caught the entertainment bug. »

Shortly after graduation, inspired by his love of horns, Garou enlisted, trumpet in tow, in the Canadian Armed Forces’ regimental band. An incurable romantic, Garou saw himself more as a ballad-crooning troubadour than an eager cadet with impeccable boots answering a corporal’s orders. Suffice to say, Garou’s superiors had trouble reining in the perpetual rebel…

Summer 1991. Stationed at the Quebec City Citadelle, Garou often ‘borrowed’ an army vehicle for frequent forays to Montreal’s concrete jungle. A year later, Garou, convinced the time had come to bring his army career to a close, called a good friend in Sherbrooke to come and « spring him loose. » The armed forces, it seemed, were no longer in need of his services. « Before when all hell was breaking loose, I made it my job to lift the troop’s spirits. But that summer, everyone was happy and there were no more souls to save, so to speak, » he laughs, « … so I left.

Itinerary of a Romantic


1993. Military service behind him, Garou picked up a number of odd jobs: moving furniture, harvesting grapes, and a short-lived stint as a sales representative in a clothing store. During this time, Garou frequented Sherbrooke’s bars till the wee hours and soon developed a penchant for nocturnal busking. At three in the morning, after last call, fellow night owls emerging from the city’s watering holes would often hear Garou’s guitar strains and deep voice echoing in the night. Impressed with his rousing renditions of Quebec pop-folk classics, they would gather around him on the sidewalk stage – dancing, clapping hands and keeping time with their feet. These impromptu sessions were inevitably broken up by the arrival of the police, who, smiling, would reluctantly disperse the crowd.

Garou’s voice could also be heard in Montreal’s metro stations where he would select tunes to draw in passersby: Sex Pistols for the young rebel, Aznavour for a couple of starry-eyed lovers, an improvised nursery rhyme composed for a child in his mother’s arms. As always, this artist demonstrated a natural flair for using music to make others happy.

In March that year, Garou got his first break. He was invited by a good friend to hear Quebec singer Louis Alary perform. In between songs, Garou was offered the microphone. One gutsy performance of a single song, and he was hired on the spot for a regular gig at the bar. « I immediately went out and bought a sound system for my first show at the bar. I also had to learn new songs to add to my roster. I had only three days to prepare! That was my initiation to life working the grueling bar circuit. »

Garou’s reputation as a local entertainer spread quickly throughout the Eastern Townships. After spending a number of hectic months lugging his equipment from bar to bar, he was presented with the opportunity to perform at Sherbrooke’s Liquor Store, a showcase for the region’s up-and-coming artists. The owner, Francis Delage, was hounded by a close friend and fan of Garou to let the illustrious unknown grace the Liquor Store stage. Delage conceded and created ‘Les dimanches à Garou,’ transforming the club’s typically slow Sunday nights into a local phenomenon. The evening’s format was simple: Garou played host at a weekly jam session with talented musicians and vocalists from the area. The event was an instant success and continuous crowd pleaser for four straight years. « The energy of the audience, the rush of putting on a show – I learned all about that at the Liquor Store. »

In the summer of 1995, he formed The Untouchables, an R&B ensemble, complete with a horn section, including trumpet, saxophone and trombone. With The Untouchables, Garou aspired to win over every person who heard him sing – and the group immediately impressed the audience at each performance.

Garou received a number of attractive recording proposals, but hesitated to sign. « Real music comes from the heart, from living life’s experiences – it can’t be forced, » he explained. « Back then, Sony approached me with a record contract, but I wanted to wait because I didn’t feel ready. »

« We (The Untouchables) never followed a set list. The musicians in the band had to get used to the fact that they never knew what we were going to perform next! I love improvisation! » These same musicians, the original members of The Untouchables, would go on to accompany Garou on tour in Europe and Quebec following the release of his album, ‘Seul.’

Summer 1997. Luc Plamondon attended a performance of The Untouchables and discovered the star who would incarnate the complex personality of Quasimodo in the musical drama, ‘Notre-Dame de Paris.’ « Luc is a real visionary. I still don’t understand how he saw in me the sadness of Quasimodo, when I was singing about joy and happiness. It’s beyond me.

Garou, the Actor


« I went for the audition but I had no idea it was for the role of the hunchback. Richard (Cocciante) played the opening bars of « Belle, » and I began to sing. He stopped playing and looked at Luc (Plamondon). Then they asked me to sing « Dieu que le monde est injuste. » I felt that song like no other I’d ever sung. The next morning, they called to say: « You are Quasimodo! »

Garou was stunned at the incredible opportunity that had fallen in his lap. He immersed himself in a study of Victor Hugo’s novel, but finished the book with cold feet. Garou wasn’t fazed by the thought of nightly performances in front of hundreds of spectators. He knew the energy from the audience would carry him. And he did not doubt his ability to emote the creature’s pain, to convey the tortured intensity of Quasimodo. It was the idea of acting that he could not compute. His insecurity was at the time so strong, it pushed him momentarily to the point of abandoning the project altogether. Little did Garou know, the instinct lay in him all along. « One day, I got into an argument with our director Gilles Maheu. He left me to figure things out on my own most of the time while I felt I needed him to give me more direction. He just looked at me, smiled and said, ‘Keep on doing what you’re doing. That’s exactly what I need you to do’. »

Months later, in Paris, Montreal, Lyon, Brussels and in London, Garou portrayed the hunchback brilliantly. « Each night I would become the hunchback, the unloved, the outcast. Then I would leave the theatre and feel all the love the public had for me. The paradox was quite de-stabilizing. »

Garou won Quebec’s top music prize, the ‘Félix Révélation de l’année 1999′ for his performance as the hunchback and his rendition of the song « Belle » garnered him the ‘Victoire’ award in France, as well as accolades at the World Music Awards. « Belle » was also voted the best song of the past 50 years by the French public.

Destiny Lights a Path


‘Notre-Dame de Paris’ was a sensational hit in France and the offers began to pour in for numerous record projects and film proposals, but Garou was determined to wait for a recording deal that fit perfectly with his vision. Even without a record contract, one thing was clear: Garou had become an overnight sensation in France. « The people of France have given me so much love. I’ll be indebted to them for a long time… »

1998. Garou appeared on the album ‘Ensemble contre le sida’ singing a duet, « L’amour existe encore » (composed by Plamondon and Cocciante for Céline Dion), with Hélène Segara. He also appeared on two ‘Enfoirés’ albums, as well as one titled, ‘2000 et un enfants’ for which the Jacques Brel classic « Un enfant » was served up à la swing, thanks to Garou’s band The Untouchables.

« I never asked for all this to happen to me. I never set my sights on popularity, » says Garou. Yet, as fate would have it, in 1999, another important personality entered his life and set in motion his latest great adventure. The person: René Angelil, the husband and manager of the world’s pre-eminent singer, Céline Dion. « My first meeting with René Angelil lasted all of 20 seconds. He came up to me and shook my hand and there was this magical current. My parents are my best friends and closest confidants. I remember rushing to tell them about it. Later, when René and I met again, he told me that it wasn’t my voice or my performance on stage that impressed him most – it was our handshake. » Garou had no idea how much that handshake would change the course of his life.

Montreal, December 1999. Céline Dion invited Garou, along with Bryan Adams and a number of artists from ‘Notre-Dame de Paris,’ to join her as special guests at her New Year’s Eve mega-concert to ring in the new millennium. The show was also slated to be Céline’s last performance before taking a well-deserved two-year hiatus. After rehearsal one night, Céline and René asked Garou to dinner. « Céline was telling me how fortunate she was to work with the best team in the world and that so many artists were hoping to work with this coveted group during her absence. I was just about to swallow a bite when she looked at me and said, ‘We think you should work with them…’ I was flabbergasted. To have the number one singer in the world ask you to work with her team is unthinkable. To be offered so generously, so politely… was just too much! In my wildest dreams I never thought this would happen to me. »

Source: the official web