Guesch Patti has just died at the age of 80. The singer, who swapped her dancing shoes for crowns of thorns, caused a real outcry with her song “Etienne” in the 80s. Her marriage, her censored music video, her role as “big sister” of a huge star… Secrets of the most Rock’n’Roll of the former ballerinas.
Guesch Patti died on the night of June 20 to 21 at the age of 80, following a “long illness” according to a press release from her agent. The one who considered that the bloody feet of the ballerinas were at least as Rock’n’Roll as the guitarists who broke their instruments on stage, hit the headlines on numerous occasions with her songs with daring lyrics and clips. But who was she really?
Guesch Patti: was that her real name?
The dancer and singer, who enjoyed international success with her erotic-rock title, Etienneperformed in 2014 on the stage of the Ménagerie de Verre, in Paris, in Reviewa theater-dance show. Since then, Guesch Patti had disappeared from the radar, but not from people’s minds! But how did Patricia Porrasse choose her stage name? It’s quite simple: “Patti” is the nickname of “Patricia”, her real first name, while “Guesch” is the nickname of Basque origin given to her by her grandfather!
Was Guesch Patti in a relationship?
Born March 16, 1946 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Guesch Patti, real name Patricia Porrasse, was the daughter of the impresario and artistic director Jean Porrasse, and goddaughter of the actor Bernard Blier. In 1955, when she was only 9 years old, Guesch Patti became a little Opera Rat and was hired by the choreographer Roland Petit, at the age of 15, at the Paris Opera. Eight years later, she finally moved towards contemporary dance.
In February 1964, she said “yes” to pianist Yves Gilbert. Their marriage took place in Deauville… but ended in divorce in January 1974. Together, they recorded four 45s under the name of Yves and Patricia in 1964 and 1965.
Guesch Patti: why did his title attract attention?
In 1987, Guesch Patti achieved real recognition thanks to his title Etiennewhich went gold in France and achieved considerable success among our European neighbors, from Germany to Italy, via Austria. Thanks to the song and its album LabyrinthGuesch Patti won the award for Female Revelation of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique in 1987, against… Vanessa Paradis and Maurane!
Two rival producers fought over the rights to this track for decades. One accused the other of having defrauded him, with the complicity of Guesch Patti. It must be said that the singer had signed in turn with the Italian producer Cesare Rancilio, then with Marc Britan.
In thirty years of litigation, one of the two producers went abroad, and around forty court decisions, including eight from the Court of Cassation, were handed down. It was in 2011, 24 years after the release of the title, that Cesare Rancilio was able to recover his producer rights, facing Marc Britan, who admitted to having backdated his contract with Guesch Patti to the time of the release of the song.
Against all expectations, the famous Etienne of the song is a manager friend of Guesch Patti… but their relationship was purely platonic. “He blushed when he heard the title“, she confided in a TV show.
Guesch Patti: his friendship with Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Paradis and Guesch Patti established a strong friendship and helped each other in the ruthless world of showbiz, especially when the blonde Lolita suffered much criticism from the public with her title Joe The Taxi.
Vanessa Paradis even confided in her biography Divine Idolby Thierry Cadet: “The only one, apart from my mother and my uncle, who came to defend me, was Guesch Patti. She was there. And we never lost sight of each other after that. Guesch represented, in a way, my big sister in this environment in which I arrived“.
