Axel Bauer

Axel Bauer (born 7 April 1961) is a French singer, composer, guitarist, and actor, born in Paris. A figure of the French rock scene, he was discovered in 1983 with the song "Cargo". Several times awarded a gold record, he has sold three million records and performed nearly 700 concerts in France and Europe.

He submitted his demos to Philippe Missir, artistic director of Mondio Music, who accompanied him in the elaboration of the "Cargo" demo on which Michel Eli, the director of the label immediately signed Bauer. The song came out at the end of 1983 with Manu Katche on drums and Bauer on guitar. Michel Eli, who wrote the lyrics, was inspired by film Pépé le Moko with Jean Gabin. The cover of the single refers to the poster of the film Querelle by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. "Cargo" sold more than a million copies, earning a Gold record for Bauer.

Bauer chose to work with the director Jean Baptiste Mondino on a video for the song. The video was shot in black and white, populated by muscular sailors in engine rooms and a nude girl dancing, inspired by Francis Ford Coppola's film Rumble Fish and Fritz Lang's film Metropolis. "Cargo" was the first French video to be broadcast on MTV.