Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer and actor considered a master of the modern chanson. He recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, and was known for his thoughtful, theatrical, and often melancholy songs. Highly popular in Belgium and France during his early career, he soon achieved international fame and came to be regarded as a major influence on English-speaking songwriters. Born into a well-to-do bourgeois family in Brussels, he received a typical upbringing for boys of his stature. Even though he was intelligent and creative, he was never inclined towards academics and performed poorly in school. He began playing the guitar as a teenager and formed his own theatre group with friends and began writing plays. After serving in the military for a short while, he started giving public performances. A radio performance followed and soon he moved to France in search of better career prospects. In France he became a singing sensational and earned himself a devoted following of fans. It did not take long for him to attain international stardom and soon he was performing in countries like Canada, the U.S., Djibouti, Finland and the USSR as well. With time he also ventured into acting and became a well-known actor in French-speaking countries.