Fréhel Essentials

Fréhel was the stage name of Marguerite Boulc'h, whose life story of poverty, love and loss coloured her chansons on life in Paris during the interwar period. After a brief stint on the cabaret scene, she spent time in Türkiye and Russia before returning to France in 1924 to perform at the Paris Olympia. Singing a bal-musette style of music performed with a cabrette and accordion, her haunting, expressive voice on classics such “Comme un moineau” and “La java bleue” won the hearts of the public and cemented her place in the annals of French music history.