b. Jean-Jacques Pascal, 31 March 1944, Danel, France. Pascal absconded from his boarding school to join a circus as a trainee tightrope walker for which purpose he assumed his professional name. With various troupes, he toured Europe extensively until an accident while performing necessitated two months in hospital where he began writing songs. His residual injuries prevented a return to the high wire and he spent a period as a repertory actor before becoming a full-time composer and performance artist. Success was not immediate but after infiltrating the French hit parade with "Je M’en Fous" in 1962, further entries such as "La Plage Aux Romantiques" and "Hop La Tu As Vu" demonstrated a gift for melody - though the quality of his lyrics was erratic. The climax of his chart run was with "Les Neiges Du Kilimandjaro," a major hit throughout continental Europe. This provided Danel with a firm basis for a continued life as a travelling entertainer which, if low-key, was devoid of serious personal traumas and adverse publicity. Pascal Danel died on July 25, 2024 at the age of 80.