“I was at that point”: what Laurent Voulzy did not dare to do because of his skin color

Laurent Voulzy is an artist who needs no introduction. He has a long career behind him and is very popular with his audience. However, he did not have an easy childhood and he did not hesitate to confide in France Inter on June 19. He first explained that he kept from “great memories“. To which the reporter asked him: “What kid were you, rather a band leader, rather shy? A question to which the principal concerned answered, in complete transparency: “I was very shy although I could be a bit of a bandleader but I was very shy. A little complexed by my color, I was sensitive to that”, he said before adding: “I had people throwing jokes at me.” An unexpected confidence to which Thomas Sotto immediately bounced back. “Was it very present? Is it something nagging or some idiots throwing shit at you from time to time?”, he launched to his guest. “It was not daily. It was once in a while, people stares“, remembered Laurent Voulzy, always very touched.

Originally from Guadeloupe, Laurent Voulzy grew up in Nogent-sur-Marne in the suburbs of Paris. A place where he was the victim of many racist remarks. “A neighbor in my building, I was ten years old, who said to me: “Here, there are the Negroes who take down the garbage cans”. It all struck me.” he first assured. Subsequently, the artist clarified that he did not dare “not at all, even teenager, sit in the subway so that we don’t say: ”He is not white, he takes the place of white people”, he continues. “I was at that point,” he adds before ensuring that this did not prevent him from concentrating on what he really liked. “I was still a Guitar Hero at school. From the moment I learned the guitar, I played in a band”, did he declare. This new passion diverted him from his schooling and he never got his baccalaureate. Today, Laurent Voulzy has a long career and the racist remarks from his childhood are a bad memory.

Laurent Voulzy: why did he recently have to move away from the stage?

Last March, Laurent Voulzy went through a bad period. The singer had to move away from the stage in order to be operated. “This year, I can’t sing because I’m coming out of an operation. It’s also impossible for me to carry a guitar. But an appointment is made for next year when I intend to finally be able to perform here on stage“, had explained to Here Paris. Subsequently, he had provided details concerning this intervention: “An intervention to treat my cervical osteoarthritis. They made several incisions in my neck. I’m recovering“, he continued. No doubt he is eager to return to the stage, just like his fans.