François Ravard

François Ravard is a record and film producer.

Biography

François Ravard was born on April 26th, 1957. His parents are Nadine Milhet and Jacques Ravard.
His father, who belongs to the team production of The Bald Soprano (a play by Ionesco), takes him backstage as a child. His vocation springs from there.

In 1975, at the Lycée Edgar Poe, FR meets Olivier Caudron - aka Olive - who introduces him to Jean-Louis Aubert. The three of them become friends and come to share an apartment the year after, located avenue Frémiet, in Paris.

In November of this year, the four members of the band that will become Téléphone make a appearance on the American Center stage. François Ravard and Olive promote the gig by writing the graffiti "concert rock!" in the city.

A few months and dates later, FR becomes the band manager. He is "the fifth member", involved in the conception and graphic design of the album covers (he brings in Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Lynn Goldsmith, Franky Boy) as well as in the tour production. He chooses to sign Téléphone at Pathé Marconi, where he is in touch with Philippe Constantin, whose musical knowledge pleases him and who will become his closest friend. He also comes up with a certain view of the job by seeing the music publisher Jacques Wolfsohn.

Shortly after signing the contract at Pathé Marconi, in November 1977, the first Téléphone album is released. It goes Gold in a few months. The band has continued success and will sell millions of albums over the years.

In 1980 François Ravard runs himself the "Telephone Music" a publishing company. He is one of the first to invest money in video promo (with such director as Julian Temple who makes Argent trop cher and ça or Jean-Baptiste Mondino Un autre mooned). Ravard declares international ambitions at Téléphone : he signs a deal with Virgin UK, the Richard Branson firm, and hires a British booking agent to get dates in France and in other countries. He manages the artistic direction.

François Ravard is doing as well A&R and turns toward anglo saxon producers to make or produce albums : Mike Thorne, Martin Rushent, Bob Ezrin, Glynn Johns…

In 1985, due to internal tension, Téléphone stops. The five of them split up.

In the next months, Bertrand de Labbey (at the time in charge of the music department at Artmedia) gets in touch with him. François Ravard joins Artmedia where he spends one year, from 1986 to 1987, taking care of his own artists (Jean-Louis Aubert, Rita Mitsouko - whose he's the manager for one album The No Comprendo) and brings others on board like Laurent Boutonnat or Marie Trintignant.

In 1987, François Ravard establishes his own movie production company R. Films. He produces some short films and three features movies: Divine enfant by Jean-Pierre Mocky (1988), Stan the Flasher by Serge Gainsbourg (1990), La Pagaille, de Pascal Thomas (1991).

In 1994, while he shares office with Philippe Constantin, who introduced him to Marianne Faithfull, Ravard becomes her impresario, manager and A&R person. He encourages the singer to increase her artistic collaborations in a wide range of interests, theater, cinema, recordings, tours, readings, …

Marianne Faithfull gets the leading role in Black Rider, directed by Bob Wilson (music from Tom Waits, libretto William Burroughs). François Ravard then works with her on the 20th Century Blues album (Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht), followed by a worldwide one year tour: An Evening in the Weimar Republic. Marianne Faithfull moves on recording Seven Deadly Sins. The show is set in numerous opera theaters all over the world, and triumphs at the Salzburg Festival.

For the Vagabond Ways album, François Ravard gets the Roger Waters song Flower Child and Elton John For Wanting You. For the album Kissin' Time, he brings into play Blur, Billy Corgan, Beck, Dave Stewart and Jarvis Cocker. As for Before the Poison he imagines to get contributions from PJ Harvey and Nick Cave and wants Hal Willner to direct Easy Come, Easy Go (also Horses and High Heels (2011).

Regarding cinema, François Ravard is the co-producer of the Dream'in My Dream documentary, as well as Live In Hollywood. He encourages Marianne Faithfull to work with Patrice Chéreau (Intimacy) and Sofia Coppola (Marie-Antoinette) and many more.

Discography

Albums with Téléphone

• Téléphone (1977)
• Crache ton venin (1979)
• Au cœur de la nuit (1980)
•  Dure limite (1982)
•  Un autre monde (1984)

Albums with Marianne Faithfull

• 20th Century Blues (1997)
• Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins (1998)
• Vagabond Ways (1999)
• Kissin' Time (2002)
• Before the Poison (2004)
• Live in Hollywood
• Live at the BBC (2008)
• Easy Come, Easy Go (2008)
• Horses and High Heels (2011)

Music DVD with Marianne Faithfull

• Sings Kurt Weill - Montréal Jazz Festival (1997)
• Dreaming my dreams (1999)
• Live from The Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood (+ 1 CD) (2005)

Notes et references

Filmographie sur Internet Movie Database
«The Secret World of Serge Gainsbourg», Vanity Fair, November 2007.