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He shakes his head and gives me a delightful grin: ‘Lower taxes.’ I do not want to be some crazy obsessive who dies on stage.’Īnd what would his last wish be? A glass of champagne, I suggest hopefully. ‘I am much more content as I get older because I can give more time to my family. ‘I think I have found a harmony in my life,’ he says.
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Yes, he is still the Prince of Romance, even if Cupid’s arrows are becoming a little rusty with age. He looks at me with his heavy-lashed eyes, which are at once triste and tender. I do not fit, and I have grown happy about that.’Ĭlayderman walks to the piano and begins to play a lush arrangement of the theme from Love Story. I used to mind when critics were nasty about me, but it is stupid. ‘I cause critics inconvenience, because they are not able to place me. People are jealous, like those who attack my music.’Ĭlayderman is in a league of his own, a fact that explains his popularity and the carping of musical purists. Has he indulged in un petit peu de Botox? Yet his complexion is smooth and there are no rock star circles under his eyes. ‘I jog every day and cycle to keep myself in shape. ‘I will carry on touring as long as my health lets me, but it is harder as you get older,’ he says. He has just returned from a concert tour of China and will soon perform in Britain before embarking on tours of Asia, Japan and Switzerland. It is crazy, so much taxes.’įortunately for his fans, Clayderman’s enthusiasm for the piano is undimmed. What does he think of his fellow countryman Gerard Depardieu, who caused un petit scandale recently by becoming a Russian citizen in order to evade French taxes? I’ve been very generous to my ex-wives, especially the second - I even paid for her new boyfriend! But France under President Hollande is no good for people with money. Today, he thinks less about love and more about taxes. She played in the orchestra that accompanies me, so she knew my character very well.’ ‘She was the best for me, as I had known her for ten years. As I write, they are still together.Ĭareer: Richard Clayderman's big break came in 1977 and began gaining British fans in the early 1980s
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He did, however, acquire another wife in 2010, a violinist called Typhaine. I have a few paintings, but none of them are worth much.’ He is a multi-millionaire, but his idea of a rest is to retreat to his modest home near Versailles and walk his dog. Sometimes you just want to hide and be alone. But, even so, I had to do so many tours it was not good for the marriage. ‘I was a better husband and father the second time. They married in 1980 and have a son, Peter. He met his second wife, Christine, a former hairdresser, at the theatre. My big fault is getting married and divorced! It’s a very bad weakness because it’s extremely expensive.’ My parents didn’t drink or smoke and when my father became ill we tried to live as healthily as possible.’īut not even a tipple on his wedding day? ‘I once took a sniff, but didn’t drink it. A Frenchman who’s never tasted champagne? Quelle horreur! He’s never smoked, taken drugs nor even touched alcohol. I was playing in London, Spain, Vienna, Latin America - a world of temptations.’īut he resisted. ‘Of course, there were temptations that were hard to resist. She came to one of my concerts and called me the Prince of Romance! Of course, there was nothing between us.’Ĭlayderman has never attracted scandal, but was he never tempted? Nancy Reagan was the one who gave me my nickname. All the girls! Not that I am complaining. Though his first album was available only by mail order, thousands of besotted women sent cheques. His introduction to British fans came in 1982 through a marketing ploy of commercials of him playing the piano that seemed to go on for ever. Liberace was more a showman than a proper pianist.’ His lush, orchestral approach has been compared to that of Liberace, but the Frenchman snorts derisively. It is one of those light, hypnotic compositions that lodge in your brain and it made Clayderman world famous. His big break came in 1977 when he was asked to record a new tune, Ballade Pour Adeline. Gave my life to it, which didn’t help on a personal level. Romantic Frenchman: Clayderman married for the first time at the age of 18 and was nicknamed Prince of Romance by none less than Nancy Reagan