Unanimous tributes to Catherine Ringer, iconic voice of Rita Mitsouko
The singer, who died on Tuesday at the age of 68, received a shower of tributes from music personalities and the political class.
Quick Look
- Catherine Ringer, the famous voice of Rita Mitsouko, died at the age of 68 following cancer.
- Artists and political figures, from Benjamin Biolay to Emmanuel Macron, salute his memory, his freedom and his unique imprint on French rock.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Catherine Ringer was the emblematic singer of Rita Mitsouko, a major French rock group of the 1980s.
Rock could be French, free, explosive. In the 1980s, the emergence of Rita Mitsouko shook up the musical landscape. Alongside Fred Chichin, Catherine Ringer propelled herself to the top of the bill thanks to the unforgettable song Marcia Baila, from the album The No Comprendo (1986). Benjamin Biolay has not forgotten her and salutes the memory of the singer, who died on Tuesday at the age of 68.
“Nothing was the same for French music after this immense album. Rest in peace Queen Catherine Ringer. We all love you very much. You are awesome. The most important group in the history of French rock can reform,” comments the 53-year-old musician.
His colleague Clara Luciani follows suit in another publication: “French song has lost its unique and irreplaceable punk genius (…) I admire you forever”. The interpreter of La Grenade accompanies this tribute with a photo of Catherine Ringer and her, improvising a dance step.
It is to Ringer’s “grain of madness” that Les Francofolies de la Rochelle pays homage. The singer has visited the festival several times, and was present during the first edition in 1985 in Charente-Maritime. “His loyalty, his touch of madness and his love for La Rochelle have marked generations of festival-goers and our entire team,” comments the event.
“The Rita Mitsouko made up a formidable group, the closest thing to Prince in France. They have made an independent, free career, always with a lot of heart. All French rockers are affected,” comments host and rock critic Philippe Manoeuvre on BFMTV. We can see him feeling emotional behind his dark glasses.
Emmanuel Macron, for his part, salutes the woman who “had made her voice a theater and each song a freedom”. “She was unclassifiable, irreverent, profoundly French. She dances. She beams. She will be missed,” adds the President of the Republic, who combines his message on social networks with a video of Catherine Ringer singing La Marseillaise during the ceremony to include abortion in the Constitution.
“It only took a few notes to recognize his voice. A few seconds on stage to capture this energy which belonged only to her”, judge on social networks Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly. Which thus describes the character: “free, daring, inimitable”. The singer suffered from cancer, said those close to her. To quote Marcia Baïla, “it was death that murdered her”. Her again.
Open Questions
- What will be the arrangements for public tributes or his funeral?
