Jean Michel André Jarre
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Jean Michel Jarre’s 1976 album Oxygene sold 12 million copies, the best-selling French album of all time. He holds three Guinness World Records for largest concert audiences, including 3.5 million in Moscow in 1997. In 1981, he became the first Western musician to perform in China, and has been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for over 15 years.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Jean Michel Jarre — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Jean Michel Jarre by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Jean Michel Jarre — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Born on August 24, 1948 in Lyon, France, Jean Michel André Jarre grew up with little contact with his father, composer Maurice Jarre, after his parents divorced when he was five. His mother, France Pejot, ran an underwear shop during World War II while serving in the French Resistance, storing weapons and hosting clandestine meetings. He studied at Lycée Michelet in Vanves and later at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was introduced to electronic music.
Jarre’s first mainstream success came in 1976 with the album Oxygene, recorded in a makeshift home studio. It sold an estimated 12 million copies, becoming the best-selling French record of all time. A 1979 concert at Place de la Concorde drew over a million people, earning his first Guinness World Record. He became the first Westerner to perform in the People’s Republic of China in 1981, with concerts in Beijing and Shanghai broadcast to 500 million people. The album Concerts in China followed in 1982.
Jarre auctioned the only copy of Music for Supermarkets in 1983, destroying all master tapes and pressings. It remains a sought-after collector’s item. For the 1986 album Rendez-Vous, he collaborated with NASA, staging a concert in Houston for 1.3 million spectators. His 1988 album Revolutions merged electronic music with Arabic instruments. He broke his own record in 1990 with 2.5 million fans at Paris-La Défense. Jarre released the sequel Oxygene 7-13 in 1997 and performed in Moscow for 3.5 million people, setting his third world record, while linking with astronauts on the Mir space station. His 1999 millennium concert at the Great Pyramids of Giza was broadcast to 2 billion viewers.
Jarre has been married four times: to Flore Guillard 1975-1976, with whom he has a daughter, Emilie born 1976; to actress Charlotte Rampling 1976-1996, fathering son David Jarre born 1977, who became a magician; to actress Anne Parillaud 2005-2010; and to actress Gong Li married since May 2019. He also dated actress Isabelle Adjani from 2002 to 2004. His half-brother Kevin Jarre is a screenwriter. He supported Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign.
Alongside Vangelis and Mike Oldfield, Jean Michel Jarre pioneered electronic music. His album Oxygene remains the best-selling French album globally. His record-breaking outdoor concerts set a new standard for live spectacles. He holds three Guinness World Records for largest audiences: 1979, 1986, and 1990. He has been a UNESCO Spokesperson and Goodwill Ambassador since 1995. In 2004, he performed again in China at the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, drawing a billion viewers. He received the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication in 2017 and was named Commander of the Legion of Honour. A minor planet, 4422 Jarre, is named in his honor. His innovative electronic music and elaborate concerts define his legacy.
The complete filmography of Jean Michel Jarre — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Jean Michel Jarre — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Jean Michel Jarre — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Really Didn’t Know My Father Well, Because My Parents Separated When I Was Still Very Young. but My Mother Was a Very Important Influence on Me. She Was an Important Figure in the French Resistance. I Think She Gave Me a Sense of Tolerance and a Sense of Loyalty to Your Beliefs. When I Was a Child and Even Through My Teens and as a Young Adult There Was a Profound Anti-German Feeling in France. My Mother Taught Me the Difference Between Nazis and Germans, She Taught Me to Never Confuse a People with an Idea.
Is It Too Easy for the Young to Do What Used to Be so Hard for Me? My Own View Is That It’s Not so Much Difficulty That Is Important but Rather a Framework – Rules and Boundaries Which Must Be Respected, but Within Which We Are Free. the Thing Is That These Tools Offer Almost Too Much Choice, They Offer Everything but with No Boundaries. the Tools Are Also the Same the World Over, They Are Easier to Use in a Practical Sense, but Harder Because Everyone Uses Them in Oddly Similar Ways. Globalisation Affects Ideas Too.
A Man Standing in Front of a Laptop Is Not Very Sexy. I Think People Expect a Little More from a Live Show.
Coldplay Is a Definite Sound, a Definite World, Whatever the Sound Is. They Have Almost a Kind of Scientific Approach of Emotions.
I Think That It’s a Mistake When People Think That an Artist Can Renew Himself. I Think an Artist Has One Thing to Say.
Heroes Is a Good Mixture of What Bowie Is: Decadent, Avant-garde, Glam, Popular, Mysterious, Obvious, All That.
Little-known facts about Jean Michel Jarre — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
He entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1979, 1986, and 1990 for attracting the largest audience at a concert.
His favorite songs include I Feel Love by Donna Summer, My Generation by The Who, Heroes by David Bowie, The Scientist by Coldplay, Live and Let Die by Wings, Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix, I Want to Break Free by Queen, Jealous Guy by John Lennon, Mysterious Ways by U2, and Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys.
Debut album Oxygene 1976 is the best-selling French album of all time with 12 million copies sold.
He dated French actress Isabelle Adjani from 2002 to June 2004.
He was decorated Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Government in 1995.
He was the first Westerner to perform in the People’s Republic of China 1981.
He was named Personality of the Year by People magazine U.S. in 1976.
Minor planet 4422 is named Jarre in his honor.
In 1971 he became the first composer to introduce electronic music into the sanctuary of the Paris Opera House.
He is the father of magician David Jarre.
He has a son with Charlotte Rampling named David Jarre, born in 1977; David is a magician.
He supported Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign.
He won Instrumental Album of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique for Zoolook in 1985 and Rendez-vous in 1986.
He sold the only copy of Music for Supermarkets for 10,000 UK pounds.
Musical equipment used by Jarre includes the Arp 2600, Elka 660, Elka Synthes, EMS vocoder, Poly Moog, Yamaha CS-60, Yamaha DX-7, Roland D-50/D-550, Linn Drum, Moog Liberation, Memory Moog, Fairlight CMI, Korg PS-3300, Farfisa, Mini Moog, TR-808, Casio CZ-5000, Oberheim OB-Xa, Korg O1/w, OSCar synth, Ensoniq SQ 1, Kawai K5, Moog Taurus, Electro Harmonix Mini Synthesizer, Korg Polyphonic Ensemble, VCS 3, Yamaha DX-100, Roland JX-8p, and Emulator II.
He dated actress Anne Parillaud from July 2004.
He has a daughter with Flore Guillard named Emilie, born in 1976.
He was named Gdansk’s Man of the Year 2005.
His mother Francette Pejot ran an underwear shop in Lyon during World War II while serving in the Resistance, storing weapons and hosting clandestine meetings for a network set up by American SOE agent Virginia Hall.
He is the son of Maurice Jarre and Francette Pejot.
He was engaged to actress Isabelle Adjani.
He has an older half-sister, Stéphanie Jarre, and a step-brother, Kevin Jarre.
He was an HCA Ambassador for the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Bicentenary Festival.
He is an honorary member of the Beijing Conservatory of Music.
He is an ex-stepson of Dany Saval and Laura Devon.
He received a Doctor Honoris Causa from the Mendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology in 2008.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Jean Michel Jarre.
Celebrities similar to Jean Michel Jarre — same craft, ranked by reach.
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