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    Fair haired Patrick Juvet was born in Montreux, Switzerland on August 21,1950. And like his 1950's American counterparts, was expected to learn the piano. Lessons began around the age of seven and young Patrick showed a remarkable talent for tickling the ivorys. In fact he was so good that his parents had him enrolled in the local conservatory to compliment his home lessons. Classical music background intact, Juvet found rock 'n' roll and the Beatles in his early teens and briefly toyed with the notion of giving up piano playing all together, but his level-headed parents prevailed and the lessons continued.
     After graduating school 18 year old Patrick dreamed of moving to Paris. But with little money and big ambitions he put that dream on the back burner, when an old friend, now living in Germany called. He was offered some minor modeling work. A move to Dusseldorf resulted in a two year stint on the catwalks as a svelte boyishly handsome model. He saved his earning and finally at 20 years of age he moved to "Gay Paree."
     After arriving in Paris Juvet quickly found his way into the thriving music scene. His first major break came when he met the well-known French producer Eddy Barclay in Saint Tropez. Impressed by his looks and obvious talent Barclay corraled Patrick into the studio in late 1971 to record "Romantiques Pas Morts." The record was good but not a hit.
     Juvet branched out into composing, penning "Le Lundi Au Soleil" for French disco star Claude François. Juvet rapidly followed this up with his own hit, rocketing to the top of the charts with "La Musica" - a single which went on to become his first million seller. Following the success of "La Musica," Patrick went on to record a string of hit singles, making a name for himself on the French music scene with pop classics such as "Ecoute-Moi," "Au Même Endroit, à La Même Heure" and "Sonia." In 1973 Juvet took part in the Eurovision Song Contest, the same year that ABBA entered for Sweden, performing "Je Vais Me Marier, Marie" (a song written by the prominent French lyricist Pierre Delanoé). Sadly Patrick didn't win, neither did ABBA, but at least they placed third. But both would find global disco success later on.
     With his dashing good looks and his romantic pop songs he was an instant teen heartthrob. His posters hung in teen girls bedrooms all across France. He was France's equivalent of David Cassidy or Davey Jones....he was BIG!
     But unhappy with his "pop star" image Juvet was lured into reinventing himself when he met Jean-Michel Jarre. The two began writing together and a friendship ensued. The fruits of their collaborations ended up on his 1973 release "Love." The whole new image, complete with eyeliner and glittered face make up, moved him into the "glam-rock" genre. The innovative album featured the hit song "Unisex."
     In November 1973 Patrick performed at the Olympia, taking part in "Musicorama," broadcast on French radio station Europe 1. Playing to an enthusiastic audience of over 3,000 fans, Patrick appeared on stage wearing full Bowiesque-style make-up and brought the house down with his vivid performance. His metamorphosis from teen heartthrob to glam-rocker appeared to be firmly set.
     In 1974 he shot to the top of the charts once again with the pop-ish "Rappelle-Toi Minette." But by years end he was back to the "new" Patrick Juvet.
    "Chrisalyde" released in late 1974 was more of the experimental Juvet. His writing with Jarre continued for several years culminating in 1976's "Mort Ou Vif." It landed him yet another hit with "Faut Pas Rêver."
     By the mid 1970's Patrick was at the pinnacle of his career. And as hedonistic as disco and the 1970's were...Patrick was there, partying, boozing it up, living the extravagant lifestyle, tooling around in limos with Jarre and his entourage. As disco was ramping up Patrick seized the movement and changed his image and sound once again. His first all-out disco release was the french 12" single "Ou Sont Les Femmes" released in 1977. The song, although wildly successful in France, saw little action across the ocean But it did serve one purpose here in America it brought him to the ears of Neil Bogart. The head of Casablanca saw the chance to exploit him when his next release came up. In an overt ploy to conquer the American audience Juvet recorded "I Love America" it worked. Casablanca released a blue vinyl 12" to D.J.'s and the song took off!
     The album and it's second 12" single, "Got A Feeling," climbed to number five on Billboard's Club Play list in the summer of 1978. "I Love America" hit #-1 in 15 different countries and made him an instant global disco sensation. His second album release "Lady Night" didn't fare quite as well but in retrospect it's equally as good. "Lady Night/Swiss Kiss" only climbed to #-58 on the charts here in America. It actually fared better around the globe, particularly in his beloved France.
     After performing a memorable show at the Olympia in 1979 (which resulted in an excellent live album), Juvet went on to perform his first European tour in 1980.
     As we all know disco danced it's "last dance" around 1980. As new musical styles emerged in the new decade Juvet was forced once again to reinvent himself musically. The Swiss star returned to the French music scene in 1982 with an eclectic new album entitled "Rêves Immoraux." This album failed to match the commercial success Juvet had known in the past, only selling a mere 200,000 copies.
     The early 1980's were not kind to Mr. Juvet. He suffered with bouts of depression and alcoholism. Gone were the lavish parties, the limos, the endless partying. Although the royalties from his earlier writings and recordings kept him afloat, he was by no means sitting on top of the world any longer. In 1982 he took up exile in London, then moved here to L.A. in 1984. Within a year his cashflow dried up and he was forced to move back to Switzerland with his family. Between 1985 and 1990 Patrick put himself back together, both physically and mentally. By the early 1990's Patrick was fit enough to return to performing. He began doing circuit parties and small club venues.
     1991 found Patrick making a surprise move back to Paris and regaing some of his old glory with a new album, "Solitudes." The album marked the return of Patrick as a songwriter and composer. The songs on the new album (which featured contributions from major stars such as Françoise Hardy, Luc Plamondon and Marc Lavoine) expressed some highly personal sentiments and emotions, almost as if Juvet were baring his soul in an attempt at some form of public therapy. Unfortunately, "Solitudes" failed to garner the expected sales figures, French music fans appearing reluctant to let Juvet escape his past as a disco idol.
     In 1995 Juvet was invited to perform at Le Zénith in Paris at a fund-raising concert organised by the AIDS charity "Aides." Juvet played a hugely popular 20-minute set at the event, working the 8,000-plus audience into a frenzy with a hi-energy run-through of his disco classics - which earned him a (well-deserved) standing ovation! Following his success at Le Zénith, Juvet's old record label went on to release a "Greatest Hits" compilation.
     With the revival of disco in the 1990's Patrick has found a renewed interest in his "disco" persona. He has returned to playing sets at Europe's top disco's and making the rounds of european talk shows. As of today he still writes and composes and is still hopeful that he'll once again regain his former popularity..........for the man that proclaimed "I Love America" we say..."America Loves You...still!"
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