Jacques Romain Georges Brel (French: [ʒɑk ʁɔmɛ̃ ʒɔʁʒ bʁɛl] ⓘ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs.

[1] Although he recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, he became an influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers, such as Scott Walker, David Bowie, Brett Anderson, Alex Harvey, Marc Almond, Neil Hannon, and Rod McKuen.

English translations of his songs were recorded by many performers, including Bowie, Walker, Anderson, Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, The Kingston Trio, Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey, James Dean Bradfield, Frank Sinatra, and Andy Williams.

[6] Jacques and his elder brother Pierre grew up in an austere household, and attended a Catholic primary school, École Saint-Viateur, run by the order of Saint Viator.

[8] In Brussels, the family lived at 138 Avenue du Diamant in Schaerbeek,[4] then moved to 26 Boulevard Belgica in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, and finally settled at 7 Rue Jacques-Manne in Anderlecht.

[1] In the spring of 1947, during his final year at Saint-Louis, Brel wrote a short story titled "Frédéric" for a school magazine Le Grand Feu ("The Great Fire").

[14] Perhaps to offset the boredom of his daily office routine, he joined a local Catholic youth organisation, La Franche Cordée (FC), which had as its motto, "More is within you.

[17] In June 1948, Brel enlisted for military service, did his basic training in Limbourg, and served as a corporal in the Belgian air force stationed at Groenveld barracks in Zellik near Brussels.

One positive result of the experience was that the French star Juliette Gréco requested to sing one of Brel's songs, "Le diable (Ça va)" (The devil (It's OK)), at her up-and-coming concert at the prestigious Olympia music-hall.

[1] In March Brel's wife and children joined him in France and the family settled in the Paris suburb of Montreuil-sous-Bois at the rue du Moulin à vent.

In June he toured France again with Canetti's show Les Filles de Papa, which included Françoise Dorin, Perrette Souplex, and Suzanne Gabriello.

In September he appeared on the bill in the Discorama programme Au Palace d'Avignon with Raymond Devos, Pierre-Jean Vaillard, and Les Trois Ménestrels.

[1] In January 1960, Brel's new impresario, Charles Marouani, organised a series of international concert tours for the singer that would take him from the French provinces to the then Soviet Union, the Middle East, Canada, and the United States.

The album included "Mon Enfance" (My childhood), "Fils de..." (Sons of...), "Les bonbons 67" (The candies 67), and "La Chanson des vieux amants" (Song of the old lovers).

While in New York, he went to see Man of La Mancha, a musical based on Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote, at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre in Greenwich Village.

The result was the album Ne me quitte pas (Don't leave me), which contained the title track, "Marieke", "Les Flamandes" (Flemish women), "Quand on n'a que l'amour" (When you only have love), "Les Biches" (The does), "Le Moribond" (The dying man), "La Valse à mille temps" (The waltz in thousand time), and "Je ne sais pas" (I don't know).

[1][26] In 1967 Brel began his film career, appearing in André Cayatte's Les risques du métier (Risky business), co-starring Emmanuelle Riva, Jacques Harden, and Nadine Alari.

[27][30] In 1970 Brel appeared in his fourth feature film, Mont-Dragon  [fr], directed by Jean Valère and co-starring François Prévost, Paul le Person, and Catherine Rouvel, with a screen play by Robert Margerit.

[1][27][32] In 1971 Brel appeared in his sixth feature film, Les Assassins de l'ordre (Law breakers), directed by Marcel Carné and co-starring Paola Pitagora, Catherine Rouvel, and Charles Denner.

[27][36] In 1973 Brel appeared in his tenth and final feature film, L'emmerdeur (The troublemaker), directed by Édouard Molinaro and co-starred Lino Ventura, Caroline Cellier, and Jean-Pierre Darras.

In the spring he recorded a new single, "L'Enfance" (Childhood), the proceeds of which he donated to La Fondation Perce Neige, an association set up to help disabled children.

In July, after his health began to fail, Brel was flown back to France and rushed to a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where doctors discovered a cancerous tumour.

On 12 October, his body was flown back to the Marquesas Islands, where he was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Atuona on the southern side of Hiva-Oa, French Polynesia—a few yards away from the grave of artist Paul Gauguin.

Brel also recorded two obscure singles in Dutch, "De apen" ("Les Singes") and "Men vergeet niets" ("On n'oublie rien"), which were included in the 16-CD box set Boîte à bonbons by Barclay.

Canadian Terry Jacks' version of "Seasons in the Sun" (based on Brel's "Le Moribond") became a global pop hit in 1974, topping the charts internationally.

"[46] During the 1960s, other English translations emerged on the folk music scene, including "The Dove" ("La colombe"), an anti-war lament recorded both by Joan Baez and Judy Collins.

English translations were provided by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, a Brill Building songwriter responsible for such hits as "This Magic Moment", "Viva Las Vegas", "A Teenager in Love", and others.

In addition to Alasdair Clayre's "The Dove", the revue used mostly Brel's later songs, including "Friend, Don't Let Me See You Cry" ("Voir un Ami pleurer") and "To Grow Old" ("Vieillir").

[44][45] Actor / singer Peter Straker debuted his tribute show to Brel in 1997 at the Edinburgh Fringe, and subsequently in a new version at the King's Head Theatre, London in 2004.

Both releases include five previously unpublished songs that Brel wrote in 1977: "La Cathédrale", "L'Amour est mort", "Mai 40", "Avec élégance", and "Sans exigences".