Richard Anthony

Richard Anthony, born Ricardo Anthony Btesh (13 January 1938 – 19 April 2015), was a French pop singer, born in Egypt, who had his greatest success in the 1960s and 1970s.

He was born in Cairo, Egypt, to a family of prominent industrialists and diplomats. As a child he lived in Egypt and Argentina, as well as studying at Brighton College in England. From 1951, he studied at Lycée Janson-de-Sailly and settled in Paris. He started studying law, but after his father's sudden death in 1956 became a door-to-door salesman to help support his family. He also began playing saxophone in Paris nightclubs.

In 1958, as Richard Anthony, he made his first recordings as a singer, initially recording French language versions of American pop hits. These included "Tu m'étais destinée" ("You Are My Destiny"), "Peggy Sue", and "Nouvelle vague" ("Three Cool Cats") which became successful in France. In the early 1960s he became one of the biggest French pop stars, with other hits including "Let's Twist Again", "C’est ma fête" ("It's My Party"), and "Et j'entends siffler le train" ("500 Miles"). He started recording at the Abbey Road Studios in England, and reached the British charts with the English-language songs "Walking Alone" (#37, 1963) and "If I Loved You" (#18, 1964). One of his songs, "I Don't Know What To Do", arranged by Ivor Raymonde, was released in the US in 1965 by Motown Records on the V.I.P. label, making Anthony the first European artist to appear for that company.