Guesch Patti

Patricia Porasse, a.k.a. Guesch Patti, born 1946 in Paris, is no easy listening. She burst on the stage in 1987, and although I did not (and sadly still do not) understand the French language sufficiently enough, Guesch Patti intrigued me to follow her further, beyond her very popular song 'Etienne', which, at the time, was censored by several TV stations due to the suggestive video accompanying her debut...

Guesch chose her stagename from the nickname she had as a child Guesch. Patti is a nickname for Patricia. She first started her career dancing at age of 9 when she performed in a ballet at the Opéra National de Paris. After having accompanied the pianist Yves Gilbert, she decided to begin a singing career and, in 1965, recorded two albums, which passed unnoticed. In 1984 she briefy joined the trio named 'Dacapo'. Three years later she published above mentioned single with her band Encore. The album Labyrinthe followed soon after.
Perhaps due to her controversial lyrics, which range from gender change to criticising the French 'elite', political and otherwise, her subsequent albums Nomades and Gobe were critically well received but not as commercially successful. She certainly continued to capture my interest.
In 1995, her next album, Blonde, strongly marked a musical shift and a more electronic experimentation, with less commercial sounds and new collaborations with many artists including Étienne Daho ('Blonde') and Françoise Hardy ('Un peu, beaucoup'). There were three single releases from this album : 'La Marquise', 'Blonde' and 'Amnésie'.
The British filmmaker Peter Greenaway chose it for the soundtrack of his film 'The Pillow Book' in 1996.
The fifth album, Dernières Nouvelles, released in 2000, highlighted a painful and romance-drama ambiance, strongly tinged with loneliness. A complimenting DVD completed the album, containing choreographed performances and a false interview dealing with existential problems and the condition of the artist.
Following the failure of these albums, Guesch decided to abandon music and diversify her artistic experiences. She then continued her dancing career, especially with the show entitled 'Elle sourit aux larmes', presented at the Theatre des Abbesses in 2001. She also appeared in films, making a brief appearance in Claude Lelouch's film 'Une pour toutes', and also played in 'Elles', alongside Miou-Miou, Marthe Keller, Marisa Berenson and Carmen Maura. She continued to go on stage, with plays such as L'Opéra de quat'sous, Les Monologues du vagin and Jésus Camacho 404 284.
Guesch is currenty working on another album, which I will be awaiting with excited anticipation.

Guesch Patti - Etienne (1987)
FR#1, IT#1, CH#3, European Hot100 #5, AT#6, DE#9, NL#29
'Etienne' remained in the French Top50 for 23 weeks, taking the #1 position for 4 weeks



Guesch Patti - LetBe Must The Queen (1988)
AT#21, FR#25



Guesch Patti - Faits Divers (1988) - no video available



Guesch Patti - Bon Anniversaire (1988)



Guesch Patti - L'Homme Au Tablier Vert (Fleurs Carnivores) (1990)



Guesch Patti - Nomade (1990)



Guesch Patti - Blonde (1995)



Guesch Patti - La Marquise (1995)