Biography

Gerard Berliner is a French singer, composer, and actor who is best known for his 1982 summer hit "Louise." Born in Paris, France, on January 5, 1956, he began his professional recording career in the late '70s with a couple relatively unsuccessful singles on Philips, "C'est la Vie à Vingt Ans" (1978) and "L'Amitié Après l'Amour" (1979). In 1980-1981 he adopted the monikers Toto de Miramar and Gino Lorenzi for a few more relatively unsuccessful singles: "Une Nana Pour Noël" (1980) and "Un Mec Pour l'Été" (1981) as the former, "L'Amore Perdonera" (1980) as the latter. Then in 1982, after reverting back to his born name, he scored the breakout hit "Louise" on the label Carrère. Co-written with frequent collaborator Frank Thomas, the song was one of the most popular French hit singles of summer 1982. Subsequent singles released on Carrère include "Voleur de Maman" (1982), "Je Porte Ma Vie" (1983), "C'Était Pas Moi" (1984), and "La Maladie" (1985), though none came close to rivaling the success of "Louise." Also minor hits at best were subsequent singles released on the WEA subsidiary Flarenasch such as "Comme des Millions d'Histoires d'Amour" (1986), "Où Es-tu?" (1987), "Le Messager" (1988), and "L'Amour de l'Amour" (1990). In addition to these singles, there was a series of accompanying full-length albums including Voleur de Maman (1982), Je Porte Ma Vie (1983), La Mémoire Profane (1984), De Toi à Moi (1990), Le Vertige des Fleurs (1992), Chien de Voyou (1994), and Heureux (1997). In subsequent years, after leaving pop music behind, Berliner found success in the theater, in particular with his musical production Mon Alter Hugo, whose success spawned the album Berliner Chante Victor Hugo (2006). In the wake of his theatrical success, Berliner released the album Aimer C'est Plus Que Vivre (2008). ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi