Julos Beaucarne

Julos Beaucarne, (27 June 1936 – 18 September 2021) was a Belgian artist (storyteller, poet, actor, writer, singer, sculptor), singing in French and Walloon. He lived in Tourinnes-la-Grosse, in Walloon Brabant (Belgium). One of his acting roles was the "father Jacques" in The Mystery of the Yellow Room and Le Parfum de la dame en noir. Beaucarne's first single was recorded in 1964.

He produced multiple albums since then. In 1964, he recorded his first single and its first LP Julos chante Julos came out in 1967. Since then, he produced about one album every two years. These include L'enfant qui veut vider la mer (1968), Julos chante pour vous (1969), Chandeleur 75 (1975), Les communiqués colombophiles (1976), Julos au Théâtre de la ville (1977), La p'tite gayole (1981), Chansons d'amour (2002), a double album with Barbara Alcantara given to the farm of Wahenge, site of the post-industrial pagodas near the village where he lived, and two CDs where he sings poems he set to music.

These albums range from song collages, recited poems, humorous monologues, to "catch-up sounds and voice clips". Each album is thus an atmosphere more than a concept, which reflects a state of mind mixing revolt (lettre à Kissinger, Bosnia and Herzegovina), tenderness (Y Vaut Meyeu S'bêtchi), humor (Pompes funèbres) and everyday life, as his neighbor's voice in the "communiqués colombophiles" (pigeon releases).

He refused stardom, had his own publishing house, records and books (Publishing Louise-Hélène France). He continued to live in his village of Tourinnes-la-Grosse in Wallonia and talked by himself on the forum of his website. The murder of his wife Loulou (Louise-Hélène France) at Candlemas in 1975, changed his style to a more humanist one. That night he wrote an open letter analyzing the guilt of the society that put the weapon in the hands of assassins, along with a call to "reforest the human soul" with "love, friendship and persuasion".

After this tragedy, he traveled, particularly in Quebec and he strengthened his ties with French speakers' singers culture. At the death of King Baudouin, he was chosen as a symbol of the Belgian people to sing a tribute to the late king. He was knighted in July 2002 by King Albert II. He also signed the Manifesto for Walloon culture in 1983. He put poems into songs, from Belgian authors (especially Max Elskamp) or non-Belgian, which gave birth to the songs "Je ne songeais pas à Rose" (Victor Hugo), "Je fais souvent ce rêve étrange" (Paul Verlaine).

He played the "father Jacques" in The Mystery of the Yellow Room and Le Parfum de la dame en noir. In 2012, he played the role of father of Prudence in Associés contre le crime Pascal Thomas, Catherine Frot and Dussollier. Source: Article "Julos Beaucarne" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.