Paris (AFP)

"Where are the women ?"

and "I love America" ​​will reappear in the playlists: Swiss singer Patrick Juvet, disco star in the 70s with these titles, has died at the age of 70, his agent Yann Ydoux told AFP on Thursday .

The artist's body was found in an apartment in Barcelona.

The causes of death are not yet established.

"There will be an autopsy, I had it on the phone three days ago, I found it good," said his agent.

"Patrick is a character who is deeper, richer than one might have thought. It is a great loss," lamented to AFP Jean-Michel Jarre, who had worked with him on two of his albums, including "Paris by night" (1977), containing "Where are the women?", immense success.

The two men had been put in touch by a mutual friend, producer, because the Swiss wanted to change lanes after a first period of singer of variety, "singer with minettes" as he said himself.

"I Love America", another hit on the dancefloors (1978), was born from Juvet's meeting with renowned producers of the genre, Henri Belolo and Jacques Morali, and was co-signed with Victor Willis, pillar of the Village People.

“It's very sad,” Amanda Lear, who knew him well, told AFP. “We practically debuted together at the start of the disco period. I remember a duet in binoculars for the Carpentiers (variety TV show famous from the years 1960 to 1980) on the song of the + Demoiselles de Rochefort + ".

- "Effeminate, very makeup, he assumed" -

"It had been talked about at the time because he assumed the fact of being effeminate, with long hair and a lot of makeup like Bowie," she continues.

"He was one of the first to come out on his sexuality (he said he was bisexual, editor's note), it was quite revolutionary for the time, it was something that was not assumed in the middle of the song ", adds Jean-Michel Jarre.

Amanda Lear insists that he "was a prisoner of his hits of the time".

"He had to sing + I Love America + and + Where are the women? +. We didn't ask him anything else even though he had recorded a lot of other songs."

"He was very frustrated. He was not very happy. He had retired to Spain because France was sulking him a bit. He lived in Barcelona. We last saw each other there. He didn't drink. more. He was telling me he was trying to get out. "

- Drugs, alcohol -

Juvet's career "has had ups and downs, good times, others less, a bit like Renaud", summarized Yann Ydoux, who met the singer 22 years ago.

At the top, he also had a Daniel Balavoine beginning as a chorister, something little known to the general public.

But Juvet also paid the ransom of fame.

"He said it himself, there is nothing secret. With his brutal success, he burnt his wings, he fell into alcohol, drugs, excess, never mind. is not really delivered ", decrypts Jean-Michel Jarre.

And the 1990s were a desert crossing that did not help his addictions.

The "Tender Age and Wood Head" tour, from the 2000s, had put him back in the spotlight.

In this "all-star" of popular stars, we found alongside him artists such as Dave, Sheila, Michèle Torr or even Stone and Charden.

"When I found him for this tour, he was coming out of a difficult patch, Christophe Dechavanne, tour producer told AFP. This job is difficult when you are not constantly on top. I had the pleasure of seeing him regain an immense taste for life and the stage. He took care of him with a diet. I was happy to witness all that ".

"Patrick still had plenty of projects, including a new album as a composer," assures his agent.

"Happy fellow from the beautiful Disco years, wonderful melodist, such a nice boy, so affable," Sheila wrote on Facebook.

© 2021 AFP