Born : 1954 - Paris, France
Years Active : 60s-90s
Genre : Easy
Styles : Easy Listening
Instruments : Piano

This highly popular pianist, specializes in light classical compositions, with a romantic, yet low profile image. His father was a piano teacher, and at the age of 12, Clayderman enrolled at the Conservatoire in Paris, and won the first prize four years later. He was encouraged to study classical piano, but his ambition was to be in a rock band. The dream was never realized, although in the '70s he did play with French pop stars such as Johnny Halliday and Michel Sardou. After working as a bank clerk, Clayderman was signed to the Delphine label, and had a hit in several European countries with Ballade Pour Adeline, which sold several million copies. He followed up with albums which contained show tunes, film themes and familiar classical pieces, with his relaxed, low-key piano playing cushioned by a large string orchestra. In the early '80s he was reputed to be the top album seller in France, and in other countries such as South Africa and Japan. In 1982 he broke into the UK market with the number 2 hit album RICHARD CLAYDERMAN and, the following year, with the television promoted THE MUSIC OF RICHARD CLAYDERMAN. In the same year he played his first sell-out UK concerts and appeared several times on television. By the early '90s his publicity machine was claiming album sales totalling 60 million worldwide, and plans to play to audiences of 120,000 in Japan, Brazil and Australia, but some of his 1990 UK concerts were less well attended. One of his 1991 albums, TOGETHER AT LAST, in collaboration with James Last, contained recent hits by Bryan Adamsand Elton John. Albums (many albums contain a mixture of new recordings and previously released tracks): BALLADE POUR ADELINE (THE LOVE SONG) (1981), DREAMING (TRAUMEREIEN) (1981), DREAMING (TRAUMEREIEN) 2 (1981), DREAMING (TRAUMEREIEN) 3 (1981), RICHARD CLAYDERMAN (1982), A COMME AMOUR (1982), LETTRE A MA MERE (1982), MUSIQUES DE L'AMOUR (1982), THE MUSIC OF RICHARD CLAYDERMAN (1983), A PLEYEL (1983), MARRIAGE OF LOVE (1984), THE MUSIC OF LOVE (1984), CHRISTMAS (1984), with the Royal Philharmonic THE CLASSIC TOUCH (1985), HOLLYWOOD AND BROADWAY (1986), SONGS OF LOVE (1987), A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (1989), ELEANA (1988), THE LOVE SONGS OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER (1991), TOGETHER AT LAST.