Kent

He is self-taught when it comes to drawing; he redraws comic strips he likes, just like any child fascinated by comics. The book Comment on devient créateur de bandes dessinées (How to Become a Comic Book Creator), published by Marabout, proved a great help to him. He says he was influenced by Gotlib and, later, by Moebius and Tardi, all of whom offered him advice.

With Starshooter (1975–1982)

Together with three friends from secondary school, he founded the band Starshooter. He chose Kent Hutchinson as his stage name, a name with an English ring to it. He was the band’s frontman. Their career took off following a gig in Grenoble in 1977, where a concert organiser offered them the chance to support Jacques Higelin. Combining scathing provocations with touches of humour, the four musicians vented their anger on stage. In 1977 in Lyon, he was 20 years old when Starshooter became one of the new French punk bands that people were starting to talk about. That same year, he had a fateful encounter with Philippe Constantin. A debut album was released in 1978, with Étienne Robial producing the demo; he would also do the same for their second album, Loukoum scandale, in 1979. The band toured France extensively and their gigs were often wild and unrestrained. Kent Hutchinson was the band’s main lyricist. Having signed with EMI, the band came under the wing of artistic director Philippe Constantin. They made their first television appearance on 21 May 1978 on Jean-Loup Lafont’s programme Blue Jean, broadcast on Antenne 2. Starshooter came to symbolise the popular revival of French rock following the decline of progressive pop by bands such as Ange, Triangle and Atoll. They were the first punk band to emerge from the underground, combining a clean sound with calculated provocation, as evidenced by the title of the band’s second single, ‘Get Baque’, which provocatively and ostentatiously buries the myth of the Beatles. Pulled from the shelves by EMI after just one week on sale, it was ‘Betsy Party’ that caught the attention of radio programmers and was played on a loop on Europe 1, as well as their cover of Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘Poinçonneur des Lilas’, which served as a tribute. The band also tried their hand at pop music, without success. Like Bijou and Téléphone — their rivals on the same label but nonetheless friends — Starshooter, with their energetic and colourful rock, became an iconic figure for an entire young generation. After four albums, the band split up in 1982 due to exhaustion and a fear of becoming tiresome.

Early comic-book period (1978–1985)

Partout c'est la merde, a debut solo single still drawing inspiration from the Starshooter years, was released in 1982. Following the glory days of Starshooter, drawing enabled him to cope with the lean years. Kent Hutchinson then devoted himself entirely to comics. In 1978, he joined Métal hurlant, under the leadership of Jean-Pierre Dionnet. The first short stories were written by François Rivière. In 1982, he published Sales Amours with Les Humanoïdes Associés, a collection of these short stories. During this difficult period, he practised karate assiduously, a discipline that helped him get through it. Two years later, the same publisher released Ma vie est formidable. The book — interspersed with sketches — is autobiographical, recounting his life as a singer.

Between 1982 and 1986, he published six albums with Les Humanoïdes Associés and Futuropolis, all in black and white. In 1984, he produced African Night Flight, an adventure featuring Kriss Delux, his final album for Les Humanoïdes Associés. The script was written by his school friend Phil Bernalin. The reviewer for Best magazine gave the work a favourable reception, describing it as: ‘Without a doubt, the genre that suits his style: adventure. Dark. Dark like Africa, like Corto Maltese. He gets straight to the point by featuring a rock star in his first black-and-white feature-length work. Realism in the style of Jean Renoir, Micheluzzi [… ]” Preceded a few months earlier by Ciel de sable, the first instalment of Aventures de Bob l'aviateur, the second volume, L'Enfer blanc, was also included in Futuropolis’s ‘X’ collection in October 1985. Journalist Claire Paillocher of 20 Ans magazine writes: “Kent Hutchinson is a fascinating young man with two sides, or rather two faces, like the 45s he records: on one side, he draws; on the other, he sings. And the two genres are inextricably linked in his mind: […] he cannot imagine living without a microphone in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. […] The two genres sometimes overlap: one of his comic books recounted his life as a singer, and there’s always a drawing of him on his record sleeves… This is the first time that Kent the illustrator has embarked on a series featuring a hero and running stories… ’ She also mentions his long-standing desire to illustrate the adventures of an Aéropostale pilot, having been fascinated by aeroplanes, including the one used by Bob: the Couzinet, first flown by Mermoz, with his repertoire containing six or seven songs that allude to it. Mentioning the musical mini-album published by Pathé-Marconi: Embalao, and the comic mini-album in the “X” collection published by Futuropolis: L'Enfer blanc, she concludes: “Deux mini-albums maxi-intéressants !”

Finding the city of Lyon boring, he left it with a bitter taste in his mouth and moved to Paris at the age of 25. His best-known comic is Les Aventures de Bob Robert l’aviateur, created in 1985. He also produced the short story L'Édifiante Génèse d'un 45 tours as well as the illustrations for Jackie Berroyer’s Tâtonnements in the special issue Rythm'n bulles of the magazine (À suivre), published by Casterman in 1986. However, with the end of Métal hurlant, the sale of Futuropolis to Gallimard and the death of Philippe Bernalin – his scriptwriter and friend since secondary school – his desire to continue working in comics faded.

Solo career

At the same time, Kent released his first LP, Amours propres, under the stage name Kent Cokenstock — a nod to Aventures de Tintin in homage to Hergé — in 1982. He then went on to release two singles: Tiny Tinto in 1983 and Tout petit doute in 1984, neither of which were successful. As a result, his record label, CBS, terminated his contract. He travelled for a few weeks in Cameroon, which inspired his second solo album, Emballao (1986), released on his new label, Barclay. Music took centre stage once more. He moved to Paris and adopted a new lifestyle. He met the composer Jacques Bastello, with whom he recorded six albums and toured extensively. It took him six years – until the release of the album À nos amours and the success of the song J'aime un pays – to gain recognition as Kent. He wrote all the lyrics for the album Une autre vie for Hervé Paul in 1989. A year later, he sang J'aime un pays (an alternative to La Marseillaise)), a track from the album À nos amours, and, in 1991, Tous les hommes. The album was acclaimed by critics. He went on to write for Calogero, Michel Fugain, Johnny Hallyday, Nolwenn Leroy, Alain Leprest, Enrico Macias, Zazie and Les Tit’ Nassels. He is regarded as:

— Ouest-France

The ‘pen’ of rock

He made his literary debut with the novel Les Nouilles froides (1988). He published his second novel, Un été pourri, a crime thriller set in Lyon, Paris, Beirut and Brussels, in January 1991. At the same time, he wrote songs for other artists, including ‘Juste quelqu'un de bien’, sung by the singer Enzo Enzo in 1994 (they performed it as a duet on the album Kent en scène in 1995). The song won the Victoire de la chanson originale award. Together, they gave two concerts. The record label Barclay believed in Kent Cokenstock and released a live album of his latest show. The recording took place over two evenings at La Cigale in October 1994. The idea was to offer something very different from the studio versions. According to Thierry Coljon, a journalist for the newspaper Le Soir: ‘“Kent homme de scène étant un tout autre homme.”’ With the album D'un autre Occident (1993), he expressed his sense of living on a continent running out of steam and dreamt of another West free from deceit. He released his third novel, Des gens imparfaits, published by Ramsay in 1995. It is the story of the encounter between a man who has turned his back on it all and a woman trapped by the dreariness of everyday life. At the end of the book, Willy, the main character, explains: ‘There is no mystery in human behaviour; there are only secrets.’ In 1996, he also released Nouba, with its Kabyle exoticism, in which, according to journalist Sophie Grassin of L'Express: “[…] il dresse l'état des lieux de notre époque rêche et délétère” and sees a connection with Léo Ferré and David Bowie. The album features the song ‘60 millions de Poulidor’, in which Kent sees France reflected in the eternal runner-up, Raymond Poulidor. In it, he evokes the Poulidor–Anquetil rivalry and explains the process by which the public feels a connection to accessible heroes. It was released as a single.

On the big screen

That same year, he was cast in the film Un samedi sur la Terre (1996) by director Diane Bertrand. In it, he plays the role of Arnaud alongside Elsa Zylberstein and Éric Caravaca. He plays a young theatre director who goes bankrupt and writes a book about a woman he has met. According to Hélène Crié-Wiesner, a journalist at Libération, who describes him in her profile as: “[…] acteur plutôt à l'aise dans son quasi propre rôle.” He says he enjoyed the experience because he was told how to dress and found it relaxing to be someone other than himself for the duration of a role. The following year, he played a hitman in Le Silencieux (1997), a black-and-white short film by Fabrice Rendé. According to Olivier Mauraisin of Monde, he was “étonnant” in this Léon-style role.

Following this album, he continued with an electro-rock line-up for the album Métropolitain (1998), which was not well received by critics. After the album Cyclone (Barclay, 2000) and its tour, he felt the need to take a break to recharge his batteries.

Independent producer

After a two-year hiatus, he returned in fine form. Je ne suis qu'une chanson (2002) was composed on Réunion. He toured the shores of the Indian Ocean accompanied by Arnaud Méthivier on accordion, who had been playing with him since 1991. Then, the urge to return to rock music set in. His collaboration with the duo comprising Bertrand Fresel (on sound) and Fred Pallem (on guitar and arrangements) gave a new direction to the next three albums, right up to Panorama in 2009, his first independently produced album. Kent’s tenth solo album, Bienvenue au club, was released in 2005 on the AZ/Universal label. As RFI journalist David Glaser put it: “Kent’s tenth solo album is a rock interlude in a career rich in poetic lyrics and acoustic melodies. On Bienvenue au club, the songs are rock-oriented and of high quality; most of them could be chart-toppers. The contributions of talented young French artists, led by M, may well have played a significant part in this. Kent tells stories of ordinary people set to straightforward and effective instrumental arrangements.” Bruno Lesprit, a journalist for Le Monde, makes the following comparison in his music column: “But Kent is no Renaud, wallowing in self-pity or writing a song about the appearance of his first grey hair. It is with lucidity and ruthlessness, verve and optimism that he addresses the midlife crisis.”

On 17 March 2008, Kent released L'Homme de Mars, an original project combining a CD and a comic book. The book-and-CD set was published by Actes Sud BD. It is an album of songs that he composed and illustrated himself, in collaboration with Fred Pallem, a bassist and composer. The story follows the adventures of a Martian on a mission to Earth, a character who bears a striking resemblance to Kent, who admits to feeling out of place in today’s world. The album tackles a variety of themes such as violence, consumerism, relationships and the fear of death, all underpinned by rich instrumentation with a 1960s pop feel, blending strings and brass. Visually, Kent’s black-and-white style pays homage to the golden age of 1950s science-fiction comics.

It was on his conservatory that he composed his albums L’Homme de Mars and Panorama, the latter being a musical self-portrait featuring duets with friends such as Dominique A, Arthur H, Agnès Jaoui and Suzanne Vega. It was also his first independently produced album. In March 2013, the album Le Temps des âmes, his 14th solo album, hit the shelves in record shops. According to journalist Marie-Anne Georges of the Brussels daily La Libre Belgique: ‘[…] a little gem of French chanson, a classic piano-and-voice arrangement, yet so exquisitely crafted.’

On the theme of ecology

In 2005, Kent published the comic book À l'eau, la Terre ! Sauvons Tuvalu, le pays qui disparaît for the charity Alofa Tuvalu, founded by Gilliane Le Gallic following the release of her film Nuages au Paradis, which was shot in Tuvalu. The book was funded by ADEME. This promotional comic aims to raise awareness amongst young people about climate change, by describing the situation of the small Tuvalu archipelago – comprising nine islands in the South Pacific – which is threatened by rising sea levels. It features Hugo, a young European boy; Mamaua, a young Tuvaluan girl; and Sib, a little flea who acts as a guardian of good habits. It has a print run of 350,000 copies in French. It is distributed in schools and at environmental festivals and has been translated into 14 other languages, including the English version, Our planet under water, and a Tuvaluan translation – all of which can be downloaded from the Alofa Tuvalu website. In it, he demonstrates his environmental awareness. The following year, he also created an educational comic for the same agency, L'Invasion des mégapoubs - Réduisons vite nos déchets, ça déborde !, which deals with waste reduction. This 16-page comic in [PDF] format is available to download free of charge from the Bruxelles Environnement website.

On the radio

During the second half of summer 2013, Kent hosted the programme Vibrato on France Inter, at the request of Philippe Val, then director of the French radio station. In it, he humorously dissects the process of creating a song, from writing to performing on stage. He had kept the notes from his segments on the programme and, building on this, went on to write the story Dans la tête d'un chanteur, published in the “Castor music” collection by Le Castor astral. In the book, the author seeks to provide an overview of the songwriting process, drawing on his own experience and bringing a modern perspective to it. He attempts to answer the questions that artists are regularly asked. The foreword is written by Didier Varrod. According to Marie-Anne Georges herself: “The tone is at times academic, but ultimately the content proves enjoyable, with certain examples possessing the charm of sepia-toned photographs.” He will also be among the European artists, as a member of the Guild of Music Artists (GAM), to demand fairer remuneration from streaming sites from Members of the European Parliament in May. Also in 2015, the complete collection of his 14 studio albums was released. In the booklet, Pierre Mikaïloff introduces each album, briefly placing it in its historical context. On this occasion, Kent laments the fact that, unlike actors who can easily switch roles, singers are often confined to a single genre. He has always refused to choose between rock and socially conscious songs, considering himself – on listening to his remastered records – to have been an ‘“indiscipliné”’ artist since his early days.

La Grande Illusion

His 18th album, La Grande Illusion, produced in-house, was released in 2016. The album emerged from his collaboration with Tahiti Boy, blending chanson with electro-rock and drawing on the influences of the Stooges, Jacques Brel and David Bowie. According to Philippe Martinot of Figaro: ‘“Un disque charnière, point d'orgue d'une carrière exigeante et créative.”’ He no longer performs at the Olympia or La Cigale, but instead takes to the stage at the Centquatre or on *Le Flow*, a barge in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, where he showcases the songs from La Grande Illusion with his Martin-style baritone voice. The live album La Grande Effusion is praised by journalist Éric Tandy of La Vie, who writes: ‘[…] it is clear that the singer from Lyon, who has been gracing the stage for over 40 years now, has lost none of his dynamism or vocal verve, and that he is still capable of bringing incisive lyrics to life with spontaneity (“Les Vrais Gens”), moving (‘Notre amour’) or joyful (‘Congas et Maracas’, taken from the repertoire of his first band, Starshooter). A lively, convivial and inspiring retrospective of his career.”

*Peine perdue*, the sixth novel

He has taken up his pen once more and delivered his sixth novel, Peine perdue, published by Le Dilettante in 2018. It centres on Vincent Delporte, a musician in his fifties, as he comes to terms with the loss of his partner Karen, a street artist. Without being utterly devastated, Vincent endures the ordeal without showing any sign of this ‘“peine perdue”’. A compelling work, according to Lyon Capitale magazine. Described as a loving and endearing introspective work, it features in L'Express’s literary selections. Thierry Clermont writes in Le Figaro: “A highly fluid narrative with a gallery of vivid portraits, far removed from stereotypes and clichés.” Laura Boisset concludes her review in the magazine Sur la même longueur d'ondes with these words: ‘[…] the former frontman of Starshooter succeeds in tackling a subject in an unconventional way, surprising the reader from the very first pages and holding their attention.’

Tribute to Hubert Mounier

In 2019, Kent took part in the Place Hubert Mounier project in tribute to his friend Hubert Mounier, founder of L’Affaire Louis’ Trio, alongside a collective of musicians from Lyon including Les Chics Types, Stan Mathis, Joe Bel, Carmen Maria Vega, Frédéric Bobin, Buridane, Billie, Denis Rivet, the band Khaban, Nikolas K, Le Voyage de Noz and They Call Me Rico.

The Elvis Biography

In September of the same year, he teamed up with Patrick Mahé to write a graphic novel biography of Elvis Presley entitled Elvis, ombre et lumière, published jointly by Éditions du Seuil and Delcourt. The book was well received by both the general and specialist press. According to David Taugis, a columnist for the ActuaBD website: “Here he presents black-and-white panels, sometimes tinted with blue or pink, in a very French style, with touches of American style. Marc Malès appears to be the artist most closely associated with this style. The highly varied layout offers some lovely surprises, lending the narrative a particularly pleasing rhythm.” Philippe Martinot, a journalist at Monde, notes: ‘Kent, in the manner of medieval scribes, begins each of the five chapters (the number of letters in the star’s first name) with a richly illuminated initial, from E as in ‘Epitaph’ to S as in ‘Suspicious Minds’, Elvis’s final single.’ He goes on to explain that, regarding the album’s visual design: “Only certain panels are enhanced with solid patches of magenta and cyan, which serve as chronological markers within the narrative. The rare use of yellow helps to highlight certain elements of the story, such as the logo of Sam Phillips’ famous Sun label[…]”. The author explains in La Nouvelle République that the work was originally a commission and that he is not a member of the fan club, but that over the two years it took to complete, he grew attached to the man, feeling compelled to draw him, tell his story and sing his praises.

His farewell to the stage

In 2020, a documentary film, *Kent, auteur de BD, entre ombre et lumière* (Kent, auteur de BD, entre ombre et lumière), was streamed online; produced and directed by Benjamin Herzberg for GASP! Editions and Jérôme Weibel, the interview was conducted by journalist Laurent Jaoui. The lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic gave him the opportunity to pick up his guitar again to set old lyrics to music and write new songs, which make up a new album, Scherzando (2022), which he wanted to record in a decidedly pop style, with a duo of close musical collaborators, Alice Animal and Marc Haussmann, at the small Audioscope studio in Paris. Scherzando – a musical term meaning ‘lightness’ – is an intimate album serving as a retrospective for the 65-year-old singer. It is with tenderness and clarity that he reflects on love, life and freedom. In this album, he pays tribute to the city of Lyon.

In February 2022, Kent agreed to take part in a programme for Studio 3 – a series of short filmed musical segments – for the regional entertainment programme on France 3 Rhône-Alpes Auvergne, where he is paired with singer Frédéric Bobin and performs various tracks from his albums as a duet with him. This programme is normally aimed at young, unknown or up-and-coming artists on the music scene, whereas Kent already enjoys a certain degree of fame. A music video for Frédéric Bobin’s track ‘Tant qu'il y aura des hommes’ is produced, filmed on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse in Lyon. In September, he announced that he would be embarking on his final tour. He brought his ‘Scherzando’ tour to a close in the main auditorium of the Radiant in Caluire, near Lyon, in February 2024. The live album Le Radiant was released in 2025.

On Johnny Hallyday

In 2018, Kent appeared as a contributor in the documentary Johnny made in France, speaking of his affection for Johnny Hallyday, who had recently passed away. In another documentary on Johnny Hallyday’s musical inspiration, he confided: “For me, the reason I opened up to Anglo-Saxon rock was because I had a guide, a translator, a teacher. ” C’est Ici/FR3 is producing the documentary Kent, les métamorphoses du papillon (de nuit), to be broadcast on 12 June 2025 on France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and France Télévisions.

In painting

His painting Hommage au facteur Cheval, created in 2008, is on display at the Palais Idéal. It depicts Postman Cheval and the Three Giants. He exhibited his work as part of the *Révision* exhibition at the Adel Gallery in Lyon in 2013.

Other activities

In addition, Kent is also the author of a collection of sonnets and two children’s books with the illustrator Stéphane Girel, published by Éditions du Rouergue. He also produced a book and CD based on texts by the singer-songwriter Pierre Jouishomme, L'Analphabète, for Éditions Lugdivine in 2011.