Born on February 3rd 1947 in Senlis (near Paris) Bill (born Alain) Deraime had an uneventful childhood. As a student in a religious school he discovered Gospel music in English class which constituted his firs musical impact. At the age of 15 he discovered American music such as Ray Charles, folk music and blues. He began his studies in physical therapy and in 1968 came to Paris and lived in a "hippy" Parisian apartment with some musician friends. They played the streets of Montmartre. In 1970, they even started an underground folk club with the people from Malicorne (a French folk group of the 1970's), the harmonica player Jean-Jacques Milteau and others. In 1971, he formed the Back Door Jug Band which combed the jazz festivals with measurable success.

Besides music, this folk club served as a drug prevention centre, a free clinic. We were in the middle of the hippy era and the use of narcotics was common. He himself had experimented with certain chemical mixtures which finally led him to open his eyes. Between 1973 and 1975 he and his wife Flo became educators in an after-cure centre in the country that treated substance abusers.

But the musical adventure continued. From then on, totally turned towards blues, Bill finally sang in French to better get his message across. He performed a duo with Flo, Tandem Blues and then in a trio with Chris Lancry and in a group with the Cargo blues Band.

With Milteau he recorded his first eponymous album in 1979 which came out on the small folk label Sesame. His compositions were obviously very bluesy and at the same time the lyrics touched on life's difficulties, everyone's daily routine, rebellions and hopes.

Bill's Success

The beginning of the Eighties marked a real turning point in Bill Deraime's career. In 1980 "Plus la peine de frimer" came out on BMG records which would give him his first hit "Faut que j'me tire ailleurs". Two other albums thus followed: "Qu'est ce que tu vas faire" in 1981, which contained his other hit "Babylone tu deconne", and "Entre deux eaux" in 1982. In February 1981 he played at the Olympia in Paris for a memorable evening and at Bobino in 1982 with success. He wrote "Laisse-moi une chance" for French Rocker Johnny Hallyday. These years were pretty flourishing for Bill Deraime who was happy doing many concerts and playing before bigger and bigger crowds. In '83 he played at the Olympia in Paris for 15 days.

But the pressure from record companies may be felt as frustrating by some artists. The obligation to have hit singles ends up becoming an obsession and leads certain artists to doubt themselves. In fact after "Fauteuil piégé" in '84 and "Energie positive in '86 which hardly worked, Bill Deraime felt drained. After success, failure was bitter. So he decided to stop everything and to go off to recharge his batteries. After several monastic retreats, Bill Deraime got back into music a year later with Chris Lancry and Claude Arini as well as with Mauro Serri.

A New Start

If we don't pay much attention to "la Porte" in 1987, we find Bill in 1989 with an eponymous album of which one song is entitled "Quand y'a le tube" a sort of outlet for the pressure he underwent a few years earlier. We had to wait two years for Bill to come back with this other album (eponymous). Recorded in part in New Orleans with the Neville Brothers' rhythm band, Spencer Bohren(slide guitar) and still others…, the songs mixed blues, reggae and boogie-woogie. In June, he went on tour and this elaborated the flavours of Louisiana as he went along. He played at the Olympia on October 14th, 1991.

Bill Deraime paved his way, a bit cut off from the world of show business. In 1994 he released a new album "Tout recommençait" and came back for a series of concerts among them at the Olympia from January 24th-29th 1995. In 1998 Deraime headlined at the Paleo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland and the following year went on to release another new album "Avant la paix" (100% reggae in style). He was accompanied by the group Mystic Zebra (fronted by his old friend and musical partner Mauro Serri) who also joined him on stage when he performed at le Bataclan in Paris in November '99.

Serri and his group also joined Deraime in the studio when he recorded his album, "C'est le monde". Released in November 2000, this new album featured Deraime's usual catchy mix of reggae and blues. Deraime and his group hit the road in the spring of 2001, performing a series of concerts up and down the country. They gave a memorable performance at La Scène in Paris on June 6th and are due to play another full-on series of dates this winter.

In 2004, Bill Deraime nurtured his passion for the blues once again on "Quelque part", an album which featured a brand new version of "Babylone, tu déconnes." Shortly after the album’s release, Deraime hit the road again, embarking upon an extensive tour of France. The tour included a memorable stop-off at Le New Morning, in Paris (on 4, 5 & 6 November 2004) and a live album entitled "Live au New Morning" was released a few months later. On 26 June 2005, Deraime took to the stage with his band to celebrate 25 years in the music business with a landmark concert at the legendary Olympia, in Paris. Deraime spent a great deal of time locked away in the studio from this point on, working on a new acoustic album, but continued touring up and down France, much to the delight of his fans.

In the spring of 2008, the veteran French blues star released a new album entitled "Bill Deraime bouge encore" (Bill Deraime - still moving!) The singer had spent two and a half years working on this new production, not composing new material, but re-recording new versions of some of his earliest songs. Accompanying himself on his trusty old 12-string - the acoustic guitar he had actually launched his career with - Deraime experimented with new rhythms, rewrote certain lyrics and added new choruses to his songs here and there. His new album, recorded in what he described as a "gospel/funky blues" spirit, featured 20 tracks (15 reworkings of old songs and 5 totally new tracks), all infused with his distinctive guitar sound.

Bill Deraime performed a special one-off concert at Le New Morning, in Paris, on 14 June 2008.

August 2008

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