From drag queens to dead marriages, Charles Aznavour was far from easy listening

Many think of him as grandma-friendly, but Aznavour’s chansons are intimate sketches of despair and domestic strifeIn the UK at least, Charles Aznavour, who has died aged 94, is largely embedded in the popular imagination as a light entertainment phenomenon. It’s the context in which he appeared on British TV in the late 60s and 70s: BBC specials called things like Love from A to Z, or spots on variety shows. His two big British hits, the syrupy The Old Fashioned Way and the impass...

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