Born on February 15: Axelle Red, the flamboyant singer who loves Christmas above all

Her real name is Fabienne Demal, she was born in Hasselt, in the Flemish town of Limburg in 1968 but has always sung in French.

Axelle Red has been immersed in a diverse musical environment since childhood. Her parents listen with the  to Mozart sonatas with the same reverence as to stars of black American music. Without disdaining to support the local football club whose destiny her father Roland presided over, she nevertheless spent more time in front of horizontal bars than at the stadium refreshment bar! At the time, the teenager didn't yet know that she would one day fly to Nashville to record an album there, that she would seduce Mick Ronson (a time guitarist for David Bowie), that she would open the 1998 World Cup with the title "Dans la cour des grands" and that she would bring the sacrosanct French variety (an expression she loathes) to its knees.

Between Aretha Franklin to whom she dedicates the chorus of "Aretha and I" and the immense Isaac Hayes with his impressive vocal chords, her heart swings and emotions jostle. Axelle Red loves black music, it's obvious...

Now mother of three girls (Janelle, Gloria and Billie), Axelle even invited them to her side for her "The Christmas Album" (2022), a project she had been cherishing for years. Together, they sing a "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" that Judy Garland performed for the first time in the musical "Meet Me In St Louis" by Vincente Minnelli.

Throughout a career that began very discreetly in 1983 with the single "Little Girls" (which few people have heard), Axelle has not only broadened the scope of her inspirations but also written some of the most touching titles in French song for women with "Je t'attends" and "Sensualité" (1993), "Le monde tourne mal" (1995), "A tâtons" (1996), "Rester femme" (1998) and "Rouge ardent" (2013), without forgetting "Manhattan-Kaboul", her masterful duet with Renaud in 2002 unfortunately more relevant than ever with the return of the Taliban to the Afghan capital. 

Although she handles the french language with undeniable mastery, Axelle has also tried her hand at English and even Spanish with a version of "Sensualité". Yet, despite repeated promises, she still hasn't dared to sing in her mother tongue, Dutch. Axelle Red therefore still has at least one challenge to face!

(Stéphane Soupart - Tr.: MH - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Axelle Red on stage at the Uccle Cultural Center (Belgium) on November 16, 2019