Hello Monaco #09 Spring–Summer 2020 | Page 97

FAMOUS MONEGASQUES
Also known as «Ecama»,
Didier Marouani, born
in Monaco in the
1950s, quickly made an
impression on the French
music scene. He started
composing lyrics for major musical
performers at an early age, encouraged
by Étienne Roda-Gil, the song and
screenwriter based in Paris. Thanks to the
initial success of his single «Je Suis Ton
Chevalier», he toured with the greatest
singers of the time: Johnny Hallyday,
Claude François and Joe Dassin. The
creation of his own musical band, fortythree
years ago, gave his career a turning
point. Ecama’s track «Magic Fly» became
the theme song for Jackie Chan’s «Snake
in the Eagle’s Shadow» (1978).
After leaving Space for a while, Marouani
launched himself into a new project, «Paris-France-Transit»
(1982) that reopened the
doors of the Soviet Union, where he performed
twenty-one concerts the following
year. Four years later, he released «Space Opera»,
the first album entirely devoted to synthesizers
and choirs, including the exclusive
participation of both the Russian Red Army
and the American Harvard University Choirs.
The space-themed album was even broadcast
on board the «Mir» Soviet Space Station.
Eddie Barclay contacted me on the advice of
Charles Aznavour’s daughter, who pointed
out my talent after seeing me on stage in
Tokyo. It was a great honour to get a part-
MY LIFE IS PASSION AND
MY PASSION IS MUSIC.
I STARTED LEARNING
MUSIC WHEN I WAS FIVE
AND IMMEDIATELY BEGAN
MY FIRST GOAL.
Didier Marouani
nership proposal from him. Barclay, the renowned
French producer, wanted me to
make a new single in French. So I pushed
him to contact Étienne Roda-Gil, my spiritual
father. Luckily, he was available, just after
finishing a great album, «Terre de France»,
for Julien Clerc, for whom he was working
exclusively. We agreed on making a new album
that increased my fame further, allowing
me to open for the most popular singers.
HM: What pushed you and your band to test
such an innovative musical performance?
DM: When I created my music group in
1977, we launched «Magic Fly» that quickly
became a real success story on radios, hitparades
and discos, globally… I decided to
HelloMonaco talked to Didier Marouani
about his extraordinary gift during a special
interview.
HelloMonaco: Mr. Marouani, your talent as
a musician was clear from the beginning of
your career, what memories come back to
you of that wonderful period? Who or what
inspired you most to become a composer
and singer?
© Didier Marouani & Space
Didier Marouani: I started my musical vocation
when I was a teenager. In 1973, I sent
a piece of music to the popular Tokyo International
Music Festival. Shortly after, I was
invited to perform in that prestigious international
contest as a singer. That surprised
me at first since I considered myself to be
more of a composer. I finally decided to participate,
so I spent a whole week in the Japanese
capital with my mentor. It was amazing
for me, being a nineteen-year-old guy who
was awarded the best male interpretation
prize, in the presence of Olivia Newton John
and other major performers who were attending
the event. Thanks to the success
achieved, I was then asked by Japanese music
producers to record a full-length album
as a singer. The outcome reached great success,
it included three songs in Japanese
and the rest were in French. After a while,
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