"It's time to say goodbye" Music icon Mireille Mathieu ends her career
She has had enough of life as an artist. French singer Mireille Mathieu announces the end of her career. "When it's at its best, it's time to say goodbye," says the 77-year-old.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Mireille Matthieu, formerly known as the "Sparrow of Avignon", is saying goodbye to the stage.
- But before that happens, the 77-year-old has big plans.
- In 2024, the French singer wants to go on a world farewell tour and celebrate her 60th stage anniversary.
The bad news for all Mireille Mathieu fans: the French singer is saying goodbye to the stage.
The good news: in 2024, the 77-year-old singer plans to go on a world farewell tour and celebrate her 60th stage anniversary in style, including a few performances in German-speaking Europe.
After that, Mathieu told the newspaper "Bild", life as an artist will be over. "The planning for the 2024 tour took well over a year. So I had enough time to make this decision."
The sparrow from the beginning has had enough of the stage
In France, the singer is also known as La Demoiselle d'Avignon; in German-speaking Europe, she was known as the Sparrow of Avignon at the beginning of her career. Mathieu has sold no less than 190 million records during her career.
On July 22, just under a month from now, Mathieu will be celebrating her 78th birthday. "The main reason I've done so well," she says, "is that I've been eating very healthily all my life, I've never smoked, I only drink a glass of champagne on special occasions and I avoid direct sunlight."
Mathieu, who comes from a humble background and is still very close to her 13 siblings, has lived with her younger sister Monique in their family home in Avignon for over 40 years.
It was in the kitchen there, over half a century ago, that a great singing career began: little Mireille suddenly heard the voice of the great Édith Piaf on the radio. From that day on, Mathieu began to sing himself.
Like Piaf, Mathieu is relatively small at 1.50 meters tall. However, both have a big voice, although "The Sparrow of Avignon" has a less raspy timbre than "The Sparrow of Paris".
Mireille Matthieu: "I sing for an hour every day"
Despite her advanced age, Mireille Matthieu told Bild that she feels "completely happy and not at all 78. I'm interested in everything new, sing for an hour every day and keep fit as best I can."
She looks back on her career as a singer with gratitude. "I've been able to live my dream my whole life, meet interesting people and see the whole world." Mathieu will never forget her first public performance in Avignon in 1964, when she won the singing competition.
And by the way: there is a special reason why the farewell tour is called "Goodbye my Love, Goodbye". "It's not my biggest hit, but it's one of my favorite songs. I sang it for the first time many years ago with Peter Alexander and then re-recorded it with Florian Silbereisen."
What does the singer plan to do after her career ends? "I will continue to live in Paris and Avignon and spend the summers on the Côte d'Azur." Well, and maybe she will still give the odd concert afterwards. "But the big tours are over."
