“A great artist is leaving us”, “we will never forget your voice”: a shower of tributes flooded social networks on Wednesday, after the announcement of the death of Cowboys Fringants singer Karl Tremblay. The latter, who was 47 years old, revealed in 2022 that he was fighting prostate cancer.
Under the group’s Instagram post announcing the news, Internet users mourned the disappearance of the artist. “You rocked my adolescence, you lit a flame in me that I did not suspect,” said one of them. Since the first choruses written by Karl Tremblay and guitarist Jean-François Pauzé in 1995, the group has carved out a special place in the hearts of the Quebec public.
“Karl, you have influenced more than three generations of Quebecers. Today, Quebec and the whole world are “At half mast”, wrote another, in reference to one of the successes of Cowboys Fringants published on the album Union breakin 2002.
Many artists added their voices to these tributes. Rapper Koriass added on the same platform by emphasizing that Quebec was losing “one of its greats”. “Our brief moments of collaboration are to this day among the most beautiful moments I have spent on stage. » “My condolences, enormous sadness,” said Coeur de pirate (Béatrice Martin).
The political class pays its respects to the singer
Quebec Prime Minister François Legault said on the social network X that all of Quebec was mourning the news. “A big star, a beautiful star. A shooting star. Karl Tremblay has left us,” he lamented.
The Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe, published a long message expressing his sadness at saying goodbye to the singer. “His voice has accompanied so many significant moments in my life and those of millions of Quebecers. The voice of what is, in my opinion today, the most significant and influential group in the history of Quebec. »
???? I am heartbroken to learn of the death of Karl Tremblay, singer of Cowboys Fringants. Phew. How to say? Karl, with the Cowboys, not only marked the history of Quebec, but he was also the voice of so many people, of so many struggles. He also has… pic.twitter.com/CcqVDYMk3k
— Mathieu Lacombe (@lacombemathieu) November 15, 2023
“Montreal is crying,” wrote the mayor of the metropolis, Valérie Plante, on the social network X. The voice and songs of Karl Tremblay will resonate “in our hearts for a long time,” she added.
The PQ leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, affirmed that he lacked the words “to express all the pain” he felt. “Everyone can relate to one of the Cowboys songs. Including my 5-year-old daughter, to whom it will be difficult to break the news. »
The co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, stressed that it was the voice of “an entire generation that is passing away.” “His star will forever shine in the firmament of the greatest legends of Quebec music. »
Mr. Tremblay fought a “courageous fight” against cancer, said interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay. “The group’s last shows will remain particularly engraved in our memories, testimonies of the singer’s strength in the face of adversity. »
The Cowboys Fringants concert presented as part of the last Quebec Summer Festival was emotional.