(Credits: Far Out / Christine and the Queens)
Thu 20 November 2025 7:30, UK
Rahim Claude Redcar, France’s beloved singer-songwriter and author of ‘Saint Claude’, wrote the song out of shame. Known to music as Christine and the Queens, his debut song became an instant hit, peaking at number four in the French charts in 2014 and later going gold in the UK.
Breaking the boundaries of pop, Redcar’s Chaleur Humaine does exactly what it says on the label: it shows human warmth to those left behind in society. Transcending the boundaries of gender and bringing the listener on a journey of R&B, hip-hop and electro-pop, he marries potent lyrics to a feeling of uncertainty and existential dread.
The Nantes-born songwriter found his inspiration for ‘Saint Claude’ during an ordinary commute. He was on a bus in Paris when he noticed an extravagant individual talking to themselves in the corner. He looked unwell, but that didn’t stop other passengers from mocking him.
“I witnessed this amazing phenomenon where people just rejoiced in mockery of someone else: pointing a finger at just one person. The whole bus seemed to be friends just like that. It was kind of scary to watch,” he told NME. “And actually, I did nothing.”
The singer became so embarrassed with his inability to act on the injustice he was witnessing that he got off the bus, and the station so happened to be called Saint Claude, in Le Marais. “This is why the song is called that. I gave him this name afterwards as a symbol. But the song was like me trying to mend something that happened – I didn’t do anything and I felt I should try to write a letter to this boy,” he continued.
Adding, “Because he was an outsider, kind of a freak, and I think I just witnessed how easily some people point fingers at freaks, you know.”
Redcar’s intimate, raw vocals reconcile with his regretful lyrics: “I carry away a devoured portrait, Pain, destiny edge to edge.” In hindsight, this portrayal of shame and otherness became an element of Redcar’s life, as he transitioned from using female pronouns in 2022. He didn’t feel fit in any of the pre-existing ‘boxes’ of trans identity, as he refused hormonal or surgical treatment: “I’ve been fighting sometimes trans people, who want me to formulate myself to be a ‘proper’ trans man. Who are we doing this for?” he told The Guardian.
‘Saint Claude’ went from niche French pop to international acclaim because of Redcar’s powerful stage presence. The song’s music video features a sort of one-man circus, with Redcar in a suit being stretched and moving around agitatedly until he’s lifted into the air. Many compared his moves to Michael Jackson, but the idea behind the choreography was more “in order to be an alien and not to conform,” he added.
The dancing that followed his many performances of the song, from Glastonbury to Coachella, marked his global image so much that Madonna admitted to stealing the choreography from the music video and brought ‘Saint Claude’ to life for her 2015 Grammy performance of ‘Living For Love’. Redcar was nothing short of flattered.
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