Dalida

Dalida, born Yolanda Cristina Gigliotti (1933-1987), was an Egyptian-born Italian-French singer and actress who performed and recorded in more than 10 languages. She ranks among the most popular singers in the world, her sales figures more than 170 million albums worldwide. More than that, she's the biggest Gay Icon in France.

One reason for this was, since her favorite brother, who was also her manager, was gay, that she was always surrounded by him and his gay friends and learned to perform in the larger-than-life style that gay people have practically invented. Many of her songs were inspired by her gay entourage.

Another reason was that despite her success, she led a very troubled life: she was married and divorced and had had many lovers (former French President François Mitterand rumored to be among them), but things would always go wrong: In January 1967, her fiance, Italian singer Luigi Tenco, committed suicide. In December 1967, just after her first suicide attempt, she became pregnant by an 18-year-old Italian student, Lucio. She decided to abort but the surgery left her infertile. In September 1970 her former husband (1956-1961) Lucien Morisse, with whom she was on good terms, committed suicide, shooting himself in the head. In April 1975, her close friend, singer Mike Brant leapt to his death from an apartment in Paris. He was 28. In July 1983, her lover from 1972 to 1981, Richard Chanfray, committed suicide by inhaling the exhaust gas of his car.

All this was too much for Dalida: on 2 May 1987, she committed suicide herself, by overdosing on barbiturates. She left behind a note which read, "Life has become unbearable for me... Forgive me."

The first song which gay people all over the world connected with was He Had Just Turned 18 (Il Venait D'Avoir 18 Ans), from 1974. The singer, who informs us in the song's last line that she is two times 18, is head over heels in love with an 18-year-old man, "beautiful like a child and powerful like a man". He treats her more or less with indifference, although they do make love. "Nestled in a makeshift bed", the singer discovers "a wondrous sky". Meanwhile, the object of the singer's desire pronounces their lovemaking "not bad".

It was this uneven balance of desire, often encountered by gay people in that era, plus the youth fetish, still prevalent in gay culture, that made the song so identifiable to gay people. The fact that it was a brilliant song sung with feeling and gusto didn't hurt either.

Here she is, quite the Diva:

The song was the B-side of Gigi L'Amoroso. Both sides became great hits, selling almost 4m copies in Europe alone. Gigi L'Amoroso is also a song worth noting. It tells the story of Giuseppe or Gigi, the heartthrob and wannabe singer who lives in a small village near Napoli (Naples) and all the women in the village are in love with him. But a rich American promises to make him the new Caruso and takes him with her to America. The village is not the same without him, but then one day he returns, ashamed that he didn't live up to his promise. The villagers, however, welcome him back enthusiastically - and especially the narrator, who had been secretly in love with him all this time. The music has an Italian flavor appropriate to the lyrics.

Here, you can judge for yourselves:

In 1980 Dalida had discovered Disco and made an album full of dance songs. What do you know, it was the sequel to Gigi L'Amoroso, called Gigi In Paradisco, which gave the album its title. It was released as a single, was embraced by the gay population and went gold.

Here it is:

I actually preferred the B-side, called "I'm Every Woman" (not that one). This one's original title is Je Suis Toutes Les Femmes. It begins in a slow tempo and gradually builds to full dance-mode. Quite fun.

Here it is: