Jo Lemaire is a Belgian singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the early 1980s as one half of the duo Jo Lemaire + Flouze and later embarked on a successful solo career. Born on January 5, 1956, in Gembloux, Belgium, she began her musical journey by forming the new wave band Jo Lemaire + Flouze in 1979 alongside her then-husband, Philippe Depireux. Later that year, Jo Lemaire + Flouze released their eponymous debut album, which showcased the band's unique sound influenced by punk, new wave, and electronic music. The group gained considerable success in Europe and Canada, becoming an essential part of the Belgian new wave scene. In 1981, Jo Lemaire + Flouze released their second album, Precious Time, which solidified their growing reputation across the French-speaking world. The band's most successful single, a cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je Suis Venue Te Dire Que Je M’en Vais," was released in 1981 and received widespread critical acclaim. Despite the success of the single and its parent album, 1981's Pygmy World, the pair decided to disband in 1982. Jo Lemaire released her first solo album, Concorde, in 1983, kicking off a fruitful solo stint that yielded popular releases such as Jo Lemaire (1984), Stand Up (1987), Duelle (1990), Aujourd'hui (1992), Une Vie (1999), and Jo Prend La Mer (2003). Throughout her career, the Belgian chanteuse has paid tribute to other European artists such as Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, and Will Tura while performing at Transmusicales de Rennes, Printemps de Bourges, and Rock en France. Her extensive catalog has been revisited in the compilations Master Serie (1994), Tranches de vie (1996), Master Serie Vol. II (1999), and La Vie à deux (2007), which features a duet with singer Rocco Granata.
