Martin Stevens (musician)

Roger Prud'homme^[1] (October 3, 1953 – July 5, 2023), better known by his stage name Martin Stevens, was a Canadian pop singer prominent in the disco era.^[2] He was most noted as a two-time Juno Award nominee for Best Selling Single, receiving nominations at the Juno Awards of 1979 for "Love Is in the Air"^[3] and at the Juno Awards of 1980 for "Midnight Music".^[4]

Martin Stevens
Born	Roger Prud'homme (1953-10-03)October 3, 1953 Verdun, Quebec, Canada
Died	July 5, 2023(2023-07-05) (aged 69)
Occupation	Pop singer

Life and career

A francophone from Verdun, Quebec, he recorded a number of French-language singles in the 1970s, including "J’aime la musique (Comme un fou)" and "Sans ton amour".^[5] His self-titled debut album, released in 1978, consisted entirely of French material except for his cover of Vanda & Young's "Love Is in the Air". His version of the song debuted on the Canadian charts in July 1978,^[6] and had already reached #21 by September 9,^[7] the week the more internationally familiar version by John Paul Young debuted.^[8] The two versions appear to have cut into each other's chart performance; Stevens' version immediately stalled, peaking only at #19 a few weeks later before beginning to decline,^[9] while Young's peaked at #26 two weeks later.^[10]

Stevens' second album, Midnight Music, was released in 1979 and consisted entirely of English-language songs.^[11] The title track was a hit in Quebec, but did not perform strongly on the English Canadian charts, reaching number 50.^[12] Stevens was a Prix Félix finalist for Male Artist of the Year in 1979, but did not win.

Stevens published an autobiography, Sexe, drogue et disco, in 2007.^[13]

Martin Stevens died on July 5, 2023, at the age of 69.^[14]