Christophe, the French singer who was one of the most celebrated performers of the country’s chanson style of pop ballad, has died aged 74.

According to his wife, who was speaking to Agence France-Presse, he died of emphysema. Last month the French newspaper Le Parisien reported that he had been hospitalised with coronavirus, but that was not confirmed by his family or management. His family made no mention of coronavirus being involved in the cause of death.

Christophe was born Daniel Bevilacqua in 1945 in suburban Paris. He had a first flush of fame in the mid-1960s, beginning with the ballad Aline. After a hiatus, he successfully returned to pop in the 1970s, with a series of hit love songs including Les Mots Bleus, with lyrics penned by Jean-Michel Jarre.

Jarre was among those to pay tribute, writing on Twitter: “Christophe, you left tonight … We think the people we love are eternal, and they are, and you are.” French pop singer Christine and the Queens wrote “Oh non Christophe non non”, and posted artwork from three of his songs.

French culture minister Franck Riester tweeted: “His words, his melodies and his voice transported us and moved us. Without Christophe, the French chanson has lost part of its soul, but the blue bittersweetness of his songs is indelible.”

Christophe released 14 studio albums in all, the most recent, Les Vestiges du Chaos, in 2016.

He is survived by his wife Véronique, who he married in 1971, and his daughter Lucie. They credited the “unfailing devotion of his medical team” and added: “Words fail us today … and long speeches are futile.”