There was an unusual number of young female singers born in Paris in the 1940s who competed in Eurovision in the 1960s. Despite their Parisian roots, most of them did not represent France in the contest:
- Françoise Hardy (Monaco 1963)
- France Gall (Luxembourg 1965)
- Marjorie Noël (Monaco 1965)
- Madeleine Pascal (Switzerland 1966)
- Géraldine Gaulier (Switzerland 1967)
- Minouche Barelli (Monaco 1967)
Some of them became well-known in the Francophone countries and enjoyed success becoming music icons, while others were less fortunate and only had brief careers in music before fading into obscurity.
Who is Madeleine Pascal?
Madeleine Pascal (I doubt that’s her real name) was born somewhere between 1945 and 1946 in Paris, France. Before entering the contest, she had been singing since she was 13 years old:
When I was a child, whenever I found myself alone, I would sing to fill that loneliness; in this way, time would pass quickly for me, and even the fear.
Source: Car Magazine
The first time she recorded a song was in October 1965 and it was titled “Ma chanson d’amour“.
Eurovision Song Contest 1966
Four months later, on February 5th, 1966, Madeleine Pascal was chosen to represent Switzerland in Eurovision after winning the national selection. In the contest, she finished in 6th place with 12 points. That’s quite an achievement!
At that time, she was 20 years old and had been working in a necklace shop for the past two years. In addition to music, she had a passion for fashion, and her dream was to sing and own a country house!
According to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, she was terrified of snakes, had a dog named Nana, and also a pitch-black cat.
Without heels, she stood at 160 cm tall!
Disappearance
The most recent information I could find about Madeleine Pascal, whether through television, music records, or newspapers, was her appearance on the television show Au risque de vous plaire on January 28, 1967, where she performed “J’aime les oignons.”
For some reason, Madeleine Pascal’s music career came to an end. After years of chasing her dream of singing and finally starting to record songs, it lasted just a little over a year.
