This Friday, September 20, Manu Chao is making his big comeback with a fifth album. But where does the very discreet 63-year-old artist who has refused all interviews for over 15 years live?
He is one of those very discreet artists. Manu Chao is back with a fifth solo album, the first in 17 years. And for the occasion, he agreed to participate in festivals and perform in small venues, as he will do again this Tuesday, September 17 in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne). The discreet Manu Chao refuses to give interviews. But then where does he live? The singer of Clandestino is based in Barcelona, in the Poblenou district. It is in this district, one of those in the Sant Martí district of the Catalan capital, that Le Parisien went on his trail.
“In front of us, an iron door, a mailbox, but no doorbell,” our colleagues say, as they arrive at noon in the neighborhood of the 63-year-old artist. After insisting, they finally see the singer appear. “I don’t give any interviews. If I talk to you, I’ll have to talk to everyone… They’ll fall on me,” he reminds us. For 15 years, this French singer who is so popular abroad has stuck to it, he no longer gives interviews. And even if his new album comes out this Friday, September 20, he does not intend to break the rule. So it will be without promotion.
Manu Chao: a “discreet” man back on his Spanish lands
He will simply tell Le Parisien that he “worked all night” and sticks to his guns. What about his friends? They also seem to have been briefed. No question of saying a word. Martha, his manager, “Lucky” his guitarist and even his son Kira Chao, all refused the media’s interview requests. We simply know that the artist has lived in Barcelona since the 1990s, after leaving Sèvres. Of Spanish origin through his mother, Felisa, and Basque through his father, he finally returned to his land, where in this lively neighborhood he meets many passing musicians.
Manu Chao: his neighbor in Barcelona tells us a little more about the star singer
In Barcelona, he lived for a while in the Gothic Quarter. A place where a bar serves as the “Manu Chao” bar and above all a place of pilgrimage for his many fans. As for the only people who have met him and who agree to say a few words about him, they seem unanimous: he is a good guy, far from being a rock star and everywhere he goes it is party time. “He’s a great friend, a very nice person. When we see each other, we don’t talk about his career. He’s a very discreet person, he lives his life in the neighborhood, he always gets around by bike…”, his neighbor across the street will say. And if he could accept big fees to play in places on the other side of the world, that’s not the case. Tonight, Manu Chao will be in Vitry. And the party too.
