Coming from a long line of singers, since his father, his grandfather and even his great-grandfather were known for their musical talents, Barthélémy was born in 1956. He grew up between the Tuamotu and his district of Outumaoro, in Tahiti. The boy learned to write songs from his father, in the Paumotu language of Hao. At nineteen, he went to France for the first time with the army. The success of his first song recorded in the studio, On my return from metropolis, opened the world to him. He was thus able to travel in Europe and the United States, performing on various stages. At the time of kaina albums, this prolific colossus was for a long time the only singer to make a decent living from his royalties in French Polynesia.

Summary for official catalogues