Joël Prévost

Jean-Luc Potaux (born Richard-Jacques Bonay on 16 February 1950),^[1] known as Joël Prévost, is a French singer, best known for his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978.

Born in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, Prévost was adopted soon after birth by a family from northern France who changed his name, and grew up at Trith-Saint-Léger, close to the border with Belgium. In 1963, at the age of 13, he won a singing competition organised by the regional newspaper La Voix du Nord.^[1] He moved to Paris in 1970 and starred in the musical "Hair" together with Gérard Lenorman.^[1] In 1972, he signed a contract with CBS Records, releasing a string of singles and touring over the next few years with artists such as Serge Gainsbourg, Mike Brant, Michèle Torr and Serge Lama.

In 1977, Prévost entered the French Eurovision selection with the song "Pour oublier Barbara", but failed to progress from the semi-final.^[2] The following year, his song "Il y aura toujours des violons" ("There Will Always Be Violins") was chosen as the French representative for the 23rd Eurovision Song Contest. Strangely, the song only finished second in the French semi-final before emerging the clear winner in the final.^[3] As a result of Marie Myriam's victory for France the previous year, the 1978 Eurovision was held in Paris, on 22 April. "Il y aura toujours des violons" finished the evening in third place out of 20 entries, despite being a very traditional, old-style ballad with no concession to the musical trends of the late 1970s.^[4][5]

Prévost remains active, having played residencies at the Paris Olympia, Alhambra and toured extensively for several years throughout Africa.

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• Discography and cover art at encyclopédisque.fr