Bernard Dimey

Poet, songwriter and performer, Bernard Dimey was an important figure in the Montmartre district of Paris, inspiring many artists. Born in Nogent, Haute-Marne, on July 16, 1931, he grew up in Paris, in the Montmartre district frequented by painters, and worked in radio, wrote for Esprit magazine and painted under the name Zelter. He frequented the milieu of artists and singers. His poems became songs, often set to music by Jean Bertola. He wrote "Mon truc en plume" for Zizi Jeanmaire in 1961, "Syracuse" for Henri Salvador the following year, "Mémère" for Michel Simon and many others for Patachou, Jean Sablon, Les Frères Jacques, Mouloudji, Serge Reggiani, Charles Aznavour, Yves Montand, Juliette Gréco, Hélène Martin, Jean Ferrat, Mireille Mathieu, Jean-Claude Pascal and his daughter Dominique Dimey. He became the interpreter of his own texts with the albums Ivrogne et Pourquoi Pas (1968), Volume 2 (1969), Le Bestiaire de Paris with Mouloudji, Magali Noël (1974) - a long poem set to music by Francis Lai -, Je Finirai Ma Vie à l'Armée du Salut (1974), Testament et Testament, Vol. 2 (1978), published by Disques Déesse. In 1978, Bernard Dimey performed at Salle Pleyel and the Théâtre de Dix Heures. Bernard Dimey died on July 1, 1981 at the age of 49. A Paris street in the 18th arrondissement bears his name, and his poems are published. His wife, the painter and sculptor Yvette Cathiard, published La Blessure de l'ogre in 1994, which won the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles-Cros. Several compilations of his poetry and songs have appeared, including La Mer à Boire (1991), Châteaux d'Espagne (1999) and Bernard Dimey et ses Interprètes - Poésie et Chansons 1959-1961 (2012).