At dinner the other evening someone mentioned that a well known singer was buried in the churchyard at Selgues, Verfeil. Our hostess said that it was Colette Magny and we had the feeling that Therese did not exactly approve of the lady in question, saying that she had become "grossière", which we took to mean "rude", though looking at her photos on Wikipedia it is clear that she was also "grosse" in the more conventional meaning.
Born in Paris in 1923 Colette Magny became a well know singer/songwriter dealing with mainly radical causes. Her songs in the 1960's were in step with the protest songs coming out of the USA (Dylan et al). She became involved with ecological issues and in 1991 published an album partly funded by public conscription, Kevork dealt with the freedom of animals and their environment.
Her style was very much blues and she freely adapted poetry from many of French literature's leading writers. True to her beliefs, she often angered right wing governments and was shunned by the press and media for her "colourful" support of radical causes.
In she settled in Verfeil sur Seye (82) and made that her home until her death in 1997. She founded the arts association Act'82 in the village and its annual festival Des Croches et la Lune in 1987. Now much reduced in size and ambition the festival nevertheless still lives on and gives Verfeil its "lively" reputation.
Lots of videos and recordings on Dailymotion (sorry no links).
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