Jean Gabilou
| Jean Gabilou | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Gabriel Lewis Laughlin |
| Also known as | Gabilou |
| Born |
February 28, 1944 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia |
| Origin | French Polynesia |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Associated acts | Barefoot Boys |
Jean Gabilou (born Gabriel Lewis Laughlin on 28 February 1944) is a Tahitian singer. He also represented France in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest.
Born into a family of ten children, he grew up in Papeete, Tahiti until the age of 13, before moving to Faa'a with his family.
In 1963, a friend, Raoul Robert, asked him to sing a melody at the Matavai Hotel. He then interpreted two waltzes and a religious song entitled "When The Saints Go Marching In" in rock version. The same evening he received his first contract for 60 francs an hour. He first worked with the Vernaudon brothers for two years, then started performing at the Pitate Club with the Hars Brothers for another two years. Laughlin was then approached by Petiot, a guitarist for a group called The Barefoot Boys, which he joined at the age of 23. However, in 1968, Laughlin left the group.
Following his departure from the Barefoot Boys, Laughlin founded the Banjo Boys, a group formed with his friends Kitty Salmon, Jacky Bougues, Marius Charles and Michael Garcia. Their song "Little Sacred Island" was released in 1968 and sold 54,000 copies.
In 1971, he sang at the hotel Tahara'a and was noticed by a lady named Paulette Vienot who, during that year, gets Laughlin signed for a contract in Paris with Eddie Barclay compiling the song "Moi girls". Which did not meet the expected success that was hoped.
In 1979, he moved to the United States. Two years later, he was contacted to represent France in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Humanahum". He finished third with a 125-point deficit behind Germany's Lena Valaitis and the United Kingdom's Bucks Fizz, who won the contest.
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