Pascal Periz, co-founder of the vocal group Pow Wow, dies at 62

The artist, central figure of the group which enjoyed great success in the 90s with the song “Le Chat”, ended his life on Sunday, his producer announced Monday morning.

Those over thirty certainly remember Pow Wow, a male group full of energy playing mainly in four voices and a cappella, and a mega hit, Cat. Pascal Periz, one of its founders, died at the age of 62, we learned Monday, December 11 from his producer. “Pascal Periz, singer of the group Pow Wow, left us yesterday (Sunday, in Caen, editor’s note). The singer (soloist) of Cat will have had 7 lives too, he could no longer bear the last one”, can we read in a press release from the group.

Pascal Periz suffered from depression

Questioned by AFP, show producer Pierre-Nicolas Cléré specified that the artist, depressed for several years and spent in a rest home, ended his life. “We will miss his voice, his talent, his humor, we have lost a brother, a brother of singing, a brother of laughter, of dreams, of hope and of sleepless nights,” deplores the group’s press release.

Pascal Periz was the lead singer of the hit Cat, released in 1992. The three other members, Alain Chennevière, Bertrand Pierre and Ahmed Mouici, provided backing vocals on this piece at the time. The song was written and composed by the members of the group. Crowned with a Victoire de la Musique in 1993 (Original Song category), it appears in their first album, Return to the plainsreleased the same year.

In this album, we find another huge success from the Pow Wow repertoire, The lion is dead tonight, a cover of a popular South African song by Solomon Linda popularized in the 1960s by Gloria Lasso then Henri Salvador. The group Pow Wow recorded a few more albums, then, from the 2000s, it gradually lost notoriety.