Richard Gotainer

Richard Gotainer (born 30 March 1948) is a French singer, actor, and publicist. He writes most of the lyrics to his songs, often to music by Claude Engel.

Gotainer was a Boy Scout. He met and befriended the animator Jacky. He is of Polish Jewish descent.

Gotainer began his professional life in 1972 at the Walter-Thompson advertising agency, from which he was fired the following year for "bad spirits". In 1974, he and Jacques Gaudillat founded the advertising agency Gatkess, specializing in radio spots and soundtracks for television.

Over the years, he created advertising hits that became famous, including M-V (M, m, m comme maroquinier; V, v, v comme voyage, the collective of leather makers), Vittel (Buvez, éliminez), Infinitif (Primitif), Banga (Y'a des fruits, y'a de l'eau), Belle des champs (Tu baguenaudes dans les pâturages…), Choco BN (Il est 4 heures…), Saupiquet (Cassoulet, Couscous, Paella) ou Danette (On se lève tous pour Danette !). From 1982 to 1985, at the Gray agency, he provided the voiceover and the music for the advertising cartoons for Malabar[5] chewing gum. It was during the recording of the advertisement for Banga that he met Claude Engel, a renowned musician. Gotainer offered to work with him, doing so first in television ads and then for songs.

More than his advertisements, it was his variety songs that made him known to the general French public, from 1980 onwards. Throughout the 1980s, his dancing electronic hits, with wacky and facetious arrangements on double with a high sound rhythm and playing on alliteration, were massively broadcast on French radios.

Primitif, Poil au tableau, Le Sampa (from the film Le Maître d'école, sold 500,000 singles), La Ballade de l'obsédé, Le Mambo du décalco, Femmes à lunettes, Chipie, and Le Youki are some of his most famous songs.