Sheila
Sheila (born Annie Chancel, 16 August 1945) is a French pop singer who became successful as a solo artist in the 1960s and 1970s, and was also part of the duo Sheila & Ringo with her husband singer Ringo. She also fronted a disco act called Sheila and B. Devotion. Her stage name came from the title of her first release, a French cover version of "Sheila", a hit by Tommy Roe.
Throughout her career, Sheila has sold more than 85 million records worldwide.
Sheila started her musical career in 1962, after being noticed by Claude Carrère, a French record producer and songwriter. Her parents signed a contract with Carrère for her, when she was 16; the contract led to an artistic collaboration which lasted for more than 20 years. In 1995, a lawsuit put an end to this life-time deal. She entered into a long royalties battle against her former producer, which she won.
Sheila had numerous hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, playing the typical 'girl next door'. Her first hit was "L'école est finie" ("School is over"), in 1962 (1 million copies). It reached the #1 position in France.
In the movie, Eight Women, Ludivine Sagnier sang her 1963 hit "Papa t'es plus dans l'coup" ("Daddy, you are not in on it anymore"). Sheila's music also featured in the 1996 François Ozon film Une robe d'été (A Summer Dress). The character Sébastien is a fan of Sheila, and Sheila's version of Cher's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" was on the soundtrack. "Les rois mages" also featured in "Ma vie en rose", a 1997 gender-bender film, "Love me baby", in 1978, "Attention les enfants regardent", with Alain Delon, "Spacer" in "Podium" (2004).
After more than a decade of targeting the French teen music audience, mainly in French but also in Spanish, German and Italian, Sheila made a change in her career by releasing "Les Femmes (Qu'y a-t-il dans le cœur des femmes)", a song by Christine Charbonneau in 1976. "Les Femmes" climbed to number one and stayed in the chart for three months. "Les Femmes" brought to Sheila a revolution of modernity, making her one of the idols of the French pop music.
In 1977, she started singing in English as Sheila and B. Devotion (in some countries records were under the name "Sheila B. Devotion") and changed her style to disco music. Sheila was accompanied by three male dancers who made up the "Black Devotion" in her routine. She enjoyed international success with hits such as "Singin' in the Rain", "Love Me Baby", "You Light my Fire" and "Spacer" (from the album King of the World, produced by Chic). "Spacer" is one of her biggest hits with more than 5 million copies sold worldwide. According to different interviews, she often said her experience with Chic completely changed her way of working and singing. It was the beginning of a deep artistic disagreement with her French manager Carrère, which made Sheila leave France, move to New York "to start all over again" and studied at the Actors Studio.
After her disco period, in 1981, Sheila (without the "B. Devotion" gimmick) recorded the rock album Little Darlin', produced by Keith Olsen, and was back in the U.S. Billboard chart. The title song became her only U.S. Billboard Hot 100 hit, reaching #49 in early 1982. ...
Source: Article "Sheila (French singer)" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 8.908 |
Birthday | 1945-08-16 |
Place of Birth | Créteil, Val-de-Marne, France |
Also Known As | Annie Chancel, Sheila & B. Devotion, |
1967
Bang Bang
1/1
Sheila's uncle has just died; many of his relatives come, but,much to their displeasure, it's his niece who inherits his private detective agency. But...
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Bang Bang
1992
Cambiando el destino
4.3/3
A musical band of teens travel by plane to a scheduled event where they will perform in scenario have an accident and get lost in the middle of the de...
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Cambiando el destino
2015
Nile Rodgers: Secrets of a Hitmaker
6.7/3
King of disco in the 70s with the band Chic, producer of Bowie, Mick Jagger, Madonna, Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams and many others... Nile Rodgers is...
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Nile Rodgers: Secrets of a Hitmaker
2019
La Génération Salut les copains
8/1
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La Génération Salut les copains
2021
Chroniques de l'âge tendre
8/1
This document proposes an immersion in the French society of the 60s and 70s and in the youth of the time with the testimonies and confidences of Shei...
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Chroniques de l'âge tendre
1970
Terzo canale - Avventura a Montecarlo
4/1
A rock band called "The Trip" want to get to Montecarlo to take part in a festival. Due to a series of circumstances however they end up in the place...
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Terzo canale - Avventura a Montecarlo
1971
La Lucarne magique
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La Lucarne magique
2020
Numéro un - Demis Roussos
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Numéro un - Demis Roussos
2022
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
7.7/3
In May 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became President of the Republic and wanted to bring about a new era of modernity. One of his first decisions wa...
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La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
2022
Sheila, toutes ces vies-là
7.5/4
The portrait of a woman who remembers. Sheila tells the story of Sheila, without concessions or evasions. Her childhood, her parents, her beginnings,...
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Sheila, toutes ces vies-là
2022
Sheila - Tournée anniversaire : 60 ans de carrière
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Sheila - Tournée anniversaire : 60 ans de carrière
1964
Graduation Year
8/1
In a small provincial town, students meet at a party organized by one of them, and share their thoughts on the difficult year they are leaving : the p...
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