BREAKING NEWS: International icon who ‘invented discotheque’ dies aged 92

Iconic Belgian singer and actress Regine, recognised as the woman who ‘invented discotheque’ dies in Paris aged 92

Regine, the internationally renowned nightclub owner, singer, and actress, recognised globally as the person who ‘invented discotheque’, is confirmed to have passed away today, Sunday, May 1. star died peacefully at 11am local time her granddaughter Daphne Rotcajg told AFP.

A statement from her great friend, the French actor and comedian Pierre Palmade, reported that she died aged 92 at her home in Paris. No cause of death was given.

“The queen of the night has left. Closing time following a long and great career”, wrote Palmade. Regine’s name “became synonymous with the crazy nights that lasted until the small hours”, added the comic, telling how she would personally “hit the dance floor until closing time”.

This enterprising businesswoman owned an empire of 22 nightclubs across the globe, in major cities including Kuala Lumpur, Rio de Janeiro, and New York. That is a far cry from ‘Chez Regine’, her first-ever Paris nightspot which she opened in the 1950s in the Latin Quarter of the French capital city.

At a time when other nightclubs only offered their customers a jukebox, Regine’s venue featured real DJ’s with turntables. This idea of course soon caught on in clubs all over the world, but she pioneered it.

Twitter was awash with tributes to the late icon, who, after being born in the Belgian city of Etterbeek, spent the best part of her childhood years in France, hiding from the Nazis. When the war finished, Regine became a torch singer, eventually managing her first nightclub in 1953.

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