Biography

Fabienne Demal (born 15 February 1968), better known by her stage name Axelle Red, is a Belgian singer-songwriter. She has released 11 albums, including Sans plus attendre, À Tâtons, Toujours Moi and Jardin Secret; she is best known for her 1993 single "Sensualité", a hit in France in 1994.

In 1983, aged 14, Fabienne Demal produced her first single, "Little Girls", using the artist name Fabby. In 1986, she chose the artist name Axelle Red in tribute to the singer of group Guns N'Roses called Axl Rose. She graduated from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) as a lawyer in 1993; in the same year her first album Sans Plus Attendre was released which immediately resulted in her artistic break out in France, Switzerland, Canada and Belgium, where sales alone amounted to more than 200,000.

Since 1997, Axelle has been an ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) standing up for the rights of children and women in war-torn regions and developing countries. That same year she devoted herself to the Ottawa Convention against land mines and in the poverty-stricken Haiti.

In 1998, Axelle married Filip Vanes (still her husband and manager at Music & Roses). She also sang the official hymn, "La Cour des Grands", with Youssou N'Dour at the opening ceremony of the Football World Cup in the Stade de France outside Paris, before a television audience of over a billion people.

Seven months pregnant with her daughter, Janelle, in her shows devoted to soul and rhythm and blues she was joined by her heroes, Wilson Pickett, Sam Moore, Eddy Floyd, Percy Sledge and Ann Peebles. Axelle supported Amnesty International's grand benefit concert in Paris although, under doctor's orders, 7 months pregnant, she was advised not to perform herself. That same year saw the release of her Spanish album, Con Solo Pensarlo.

In 1999, Axelle received the most important music award in France for female artist of the year, the Victoire de la Musique, while her third studio album, Toujours Moi, was also released, written and produced by herself. It sold more than 800,000 albums.

In 2002, her fourth studio album, Face A / Face B, was released. The title refers to the vinyl records from the sixties labelled "fast and slow" side (an up-tempo side for dancing and a ballad side for slows). It was a co-production with producer Al Stone.

In 2003, her second daughter, Gloria, was born. A CD box was also released comprising three CDs with numerous previously unreleased tracks such as duets with Charles Aznavour, Francis Cabrel, Stephan Eicher, Sylvie Vartan, Arno and Tom Barman. Her duet with Renaud, "Manhattan-Kaboul", had the most airplay in France that year and notched up sales of more than 800,000 singles, for which Axelle and Renaud received an NRJ music award at Midem in Cannes.