Alain Kan

Alain Kan
Born	(1944-09-14)14 September 1944 Paris, France
Disappeared	April 14, 1990 (aged 45)
Years active	1963–1990

Alain Kan (born 14 September 1944, disappeared 14 April 1990) is a French singer.

Early life

Alain Kan was born Alain Michel Zisa in Paris, France, on 14 September 1944. He was raised by his mother and his stepfather, and grew up with his stepsister Véronique, seven years older than him. "Kan" is the surname of his stepfather, Kan never knew his biological father.

Music career

In the spring of 1963, at the age of eighteen, Kan released his first 45 rpm at Pathé-Marconi, "Si l'amore" (written by Bob du Pac and Jean-Louis Chauby) on the A-side, and "Quand tu reviendras" (written by Michel Jourdan and Danyel Gérard) on the B-side. The following year, in 1964, he released three 4-track EPs from Decca, mostly consisting of covers of American and Canadian singers, including Paul Anka.

Glam rock period

In the 1970s, Alain Kan travelled to London, England, where he developed an interest in the music of Lou Reed, T. Rex, and David Bowie, who would go on to be an enormous influence on him, and met Marie France. Inspired by the glam rock music of these musicians, Kan made a foray into glam rock with the album "Et Gary Cooper s'eloigna dans le désert..." (1975), followed by "Heureusement en France on ne se drogue pas" (1976). While recording the latter at the Château d'Hérouville, in Hérouville, Val-d'Oise, he met David Bowie. Kan said of this meeting: "In Hérouville, I met Bowie, who took me away for ten days in his black Mercedes. Since then I have not missed my discoloration ... There have been lots of photos in the press and since then there has been a kind of respect for me".

Disappearance

Alain Kan disappeared on 14 April 1990.

Personal life

In 1971, Alain Kan became the brother-in-law of singer Christophe, when Christophe married Kan's sister, Véronique.