Bashung's Play blessures (1982), Osez Joséphine (1991), and Fantaisie militaire (1998) have made multiple French lists of the greatest albums.

Alain Baschung (he later dropped the "c" from his surname) was the son of a Breton mother working in a rubber factory and an Algerian father, whom he never knew.

[7] He discovered music during his childhood, notably Kurt Weill's Mahagonny, and began to practice with a Rosebud harmonica offered to him when he was five.

[7] While studying (before dropping out after he was awarded a BTS in accountancy from the École nationale de commerce in 1965),[7] he formed a band called Les Dunces playing folk music and rockabilly.

In June 1967, at the Palais des Sports of Paris, he was the opening act (alongside Noël Deschamps and Ronnie Bird) of artists such as the Pretty Things, the Troggs or Cream.

From 1972 to 1974, he composed some of the music and cowrote three albums and three singles (including "Marilou") for French rock singer Dick Rivers.

[7] In 11 years, he released no less than four EPs and ten singles, one under the moniker of David Bergen, and two others in 1976 and 1977 as Hendrick Darmen, composer for a band called Monkey Bizness.

In the wake of the success of "SOS Amor", he released in 1986 the album Passé le Rio Grande, which allowed him to get his first Victoires de la musique award.

In 1991, he released another album with Fauque as lyricist, Osez Joséphine, which also included some cover versions of classic American rock songs.

In 1992, he covered the French pop classic song "Les Mots bleus", from the album by the same name by Christophe, for an AIDS research support compilation.

For this album, he worked with artists such as Sonny Landreth, Ally McErlaine, Link Wray, Marc Ribot or Stéphane Belmondo.

From 1994 onwards, Bashung began to spend more time for his acting career (which he started in 1981 with Nestor Burma, détective de choc), for instance with Ma sœur chinoise by Alain Mazars.

After recording a duet with Brigitte Fontaine, "City" for her Les Palaces album, he came back to music in 1998 with Fantaisie militaire.

For this album, he notably collaborated with Jean Fauque, Rodolphe Burger, Les Valentins, Jean-Marc Lederman and Adrian Utley of Portishead.

The album is not easily accessible and features strings and electronic arrangements, with sometimes nearly spoken lyrics, and was inspired according to Bashung by old black and white movies.

In early 2007, after a small break, he was involved in the Les Aventuriers d'un autre monde tour alongside rock and pop artists Jean-Louis Aubert, Cali, Daniel Darc, Richard Kolinka and Raphaël.

That same year, he played with Belgian singer Arno in the movie J'ai toujours rêvé d'être un gangster, by Samuel Benchetrit.

On 24 March 2008, he released the album Bleu pétrole, collaborating notably with Gaëtan Roussel of French band Louise Attaque, Arman Méliès, M. Ward or Gérard Manset (covering the latter's song "Il voyage en solitaire" as the final song on the album).

[13] On 28 February 2009, he received three prestigious Victoires de la Musique awards for his final album Bleu pétrole.

[14][15] On 27 November 2009, a box set called À perte de vue, which contained the entire output of Bashung so far (on 27 discs), was released.

Alongside this box set a double live album documenting his last tour, called Dimanches à l'Élysée and recorded at the Élysée Montmartre on 14 December 2008, was released on 16 November.