Stephan Eicher (born 17 August 1960) is a Swiss singer. He sings in a variety of languages, including French, German, English, Italian, Swiss German and Romansh, sometimes using different languages in the same song.
Eicher's success started in German-speaking countries in the 1980s when, as part of the band Grauzone, he had a hit single, Eisbär. With hit songs such as Combien de Temps and Oh Ironie, his popularity spread across Europe with albums, tours and chart success in France and Switzerland.
Stephan Eicher was born in the rural municipality of Münchenbuchsee not far from Bern.His mother is Alsatian and his father is Yeniche. His father is also a musician.
Eicher was educated at the Ecole d'Humanité, an international boarding school in Switzerland, and musically trained at the academy of art in Zürich, where he learned how to use the computer for composing music.
He released his first single Eisbär, together with his brother Martin, on the album Grauzone in 1980. He became interested in French songs by Jacques Dutronc, Georges Brassens and Serge Gainsbourg, and these influences led to the album Les Chansons bleues. This album is also inspired by the American singers he listened to during his youth, such as Patti Smith, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.
His two subsequent albums began to establish his reputation. The album, I Tell This Night, and the single Two People in a Room were released in 1985. It peaked on the Swiss charts at number ten and stayed twelve weeks. Two y…