Reflector #44: Etienne Daho – “Saudade”

A favorite in French pop in the ’80s, Étienne Daho chose to leave it all behind at the close of that decade. His travels took him from Corsica to New York via Lisbon, where he spent many nights in Bairro Alto, read Pessoa, and penned most of the songs of his next album. Paris Ailleurs (Paris Elsewhere) was released in 1991 and became a resounding success, cementing his status on the French scene that he has maintained to this day. The first single off Paris Ailleurs, “Saudade,” encapsulates quite poetically his love of Lisbon — it was hinted he was also following a love interest, so it had nothing to do with a real estate interest to dodge taxes, unlike many of his compatriots nowadays…