The China Mail - Regine, disco pioneer and nightclub queen, dies at 92

Regine, born Regina Zylberberg in Belgium, opened her first club in Paris's Latin Quarter in the 1950s, replacing the juke-box, ubiquitous in dance venues at the time, with turntables and disc jockeys.

The new format, she often said, justified her claim to "the invention of the discotheque".

She famously said: "If you can't dance, you can't make love."

The new discos caught on with the jet set and Regine, who became known as the "queen of the night", opened several more venues, including "Regine's" in New York in the 1970s, and others in Miami, Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles.

"Regine left us peacefully at 11 am (0900 GMT) on this May 1," her grand-daughter Daphne Rotcajg said.

In a statement sent on behalf of Regine's family her friend, the comic Pierre Palmade said: "The queen of the night has left. Closing time following a long and great career."

Regine "had the stars of the whole world dancing in her nightclubs", he added.

At its height, Regine's disco empire comprised 22 establishments.

Her name "became synonymous with the crazy nights that lasted until the small hours", Palmade said, adding that Regine herself would "hit the dance floor until closing time".

While most famous internationally as a nightclub entrepreneur, back home Regine was always considered more for her contribution to French songwriting.

French singer Renaud called her the last historic representative of the French chanson, inspiring an entire generation of singer songwriters, including Serge Gainsbourg and Barbara.

After performing in the legendary Olympia venue in the French capital in the 1960s, Regine sang in New York's Carnegie Hall to a warm reception by an American audience, a feat that among French singers only Edith Piaf could match.

"It would make me very happy if people still listened to my songs 50 years from now," she told AFP in 2020, adding that she was "very proud" that some of them had become part of France's standard repertoire.

"My first profession was discotheques," she said. "For a long time, songs were just a hobby. But now I realise that the stage has been the most important part of my life."

She also acted in several films, including by star directors Claude Lelouch and Claude Zidi.

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