An Italian-born Belgian singer, Claude Barzotti is best known for the 1984 hit "Le Rital". Born in Châtelet in the province of Hainaut on July 23, 1953, Francesco Barzotti grew up near Pesaro, Italy, where his parents settled, before returning to Belgium after a spell in Luxembourg. He learned to play the accordion and guitar, and performed in a ballroom orchestra, while holding down various jobs as a bricklayer, mechanic and music teacher. In 1975, while artistic director at Vogue, he recorded his first song "Madame", followed by an album of the same name in 1979. Re-recorded in 1981, the song became a hit two years later, buoyed by Claude Barzotti's signature track, "Le Rital", which ranked among the best-selling singles of 1983. In November 1984, the man nicknamed "Le Rital" had two of his songs ranked in the very first Top 50: "Beau, j's'rai jamais beau" (No. 27) and "Je ne t'écrirai plus " (No. 40). Claude Barzotti enjoyed further success in the following years with "Prends bien soin d'elle " (No. 34, 1985) and "Aime-moi " (No. 11, 1990). Albums from this period for the Disques Déesse label went on to win gold discs. In 1992, her composition "Nous, on veut des violons" (We want violins ), performed by Maurane, came 20th in the Eurovision Song Contest. The singer, who continued to record for various labels throughout the decade, tried in vain to stage the musical Les Nouveaux nomades. Somewhat forgotten by the public, he made a winning comeback in 2003 with the album Ancora, featuring one of his songs in Italian, "Vadio Via" (no. 72), and the Best Of compilation released by his new label Up Music. Between the presence of his first two hits in the film Camping in 2006, the track "Jada" ranked No. 28 in 2007, and an appearance at the Paris Olympia immortalized in the double album Je Reviens d'Un Voyage - L'Olympia Live (2009), Claude Barzotti takes part in three Âge tendre and têtes de bois tours between 2008 and 2011. He produced the albums Une Autre Vie (2011), Chante Noël (2012), Souvenirs d'Italie (2014), Le Temps Qui Passe (2015) and Un Homme (2019). After a final appearance on the Âge tendre, la tournée des idoles tour in 2020, he ended his career due to health problems. Stricken with pancreatic cancer, the singer died at his home in Court-Saint-Étienne (Belgium) on June 24, 2023, at the age of 69.
