Daniel Balavoine

Daniel Balavoine (5 February 1952 – 14 January 1986) was a French singer and songwriter. He was hugely popular in the French-speaking world, and inspired many singers in the 1980s, such as Jean-Jacques Goldman, Michel Berger, his closest friend, or the Japanese pop-rock group Crystal King; he was also a part of the original cast of the rock opera Starmania in 1978, which was written by Berger. He took part in French political life and is known for a 1980 televised verbal confrontation with then presidential candidate François Mitterrand.