Biography
Édouard Ruault (26 January 1921 – 13 May 2005), better known as Eddie Barclay, was a French music producer who worked with artists such as Jacques Brel, Dalida, and Charles Aznavour. He founded the record label Barclay.
Born in Paris to a café waiter and a post office employee, Ruault spent much of his early childhood with his grandmother in Taverny (now part of Val-d'Oise). During his childhood, his parents purchased the Café de la Poste bar in central Paris, and at age 15 he left school to work there. Although he did not enjoy formal education, he taught himself music and piano. He had a particular fondness for American jazz, especially the work of Fats Waller, and frequently visited the Hot Club de France to hear Stéphane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt's quintet.
Ruault played piano at "L'Étape" club on rue Godot-de-Mauroy, Paris, sharing the stage with a young Louis de Funès early in their careers. When the German occupation banned jazz, he hosted gatherings with fellow zazous at his home to listen to jazz records and illegal radio broadcasts. He was employed as a pianist by Pierre-Louis Guérin at Guérin's first nightclub, "Le Club."
After World War II, Édouard Ruault adopted the name Eddie Barclay and opened "Eddie's Club" in Paris. In 1947, he formed a band featuring his wife Nicole on vocals under the stage name Eve Williams. Barclay and his wife launched "Blue Star Records," storing 78 rpm discs in their apartment, with Barclay personally delivering them. The label included musicians like Don Byas and Eddie Constantine. Barclay co-wrote songs with Charles Aznavour and Boris Vian, and collaborated with Vian on editing Jazz magazine.
In 1952, Alan Morrison, a visitor to Barclay's club, invited him to the United States to explore new recording technologies that enabled 45 rpm singles and LPs. By 1955, Barclay had agreed to manufacture and distribute Mercury Records in Europe. He took 60 masters to the Pathé-Marconi factory in Paris and began promoting the microgroove format in France. Alongside releasing American records by artists such as Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Sammy Davis Jr., and Duke Ellington, Barclay hired German sound engineer Gerhard Lehner to produce original recordings at Avenue Hoche in Paris. After selling 1.5 million copies of the Platters' "Only You," Barclay Records became France’s leading music production company, earning Barclay the nickname "empereur du microsillon" (king of microgroove).
Among his francophone discoveries were singers Hugues Aufray, Michel Delpech, Dalida (whom he launched in 1956), Mireille Mathieu, Claude Nougaro, and Eddy Mitchell. His artists appreciated the artistic freedom and trust he offered them.
