was the headlining act at the Bobino and the Alhambra. In 1960, he returned to the Théâtre de l'Étoile, appearing on stage for the very first time without the famous trilby hat which had for so long been part of his act. In 1963, Trenet spent 28 days in prison in Aix-en-Provence. He was charged with corrupting the morals of four young men under the age of 21 (they were 19). His chauffeur claimed that Trenet was using him as a pimp. The charges were eventually dropped, but the affair brought to public light the fact that Trenet was homosexual. He was never particularly public about the episode and spoke of it rarely. In his authorized biography of Maurice Chevalier, author David Bret claims that Chevalier and Mistinguett were the ones who first "shopped" Trenet to the police for consorting with underage boys, around 1940. Trenet never learned of their action. 1970s In 1970, Trenet flew to Japan to represent France at the Universal Exhibition in Osaka. The following year he left Columbia, his longtime record label, and recorded "Fidèle" and "Il y avait des arbres." He also made a memorable appearance at the Olympia. In 1973, Trenet, who had just celebrated his 60th birthday, recorded a new album, Chansons en liberté. The twelve songs on this album were a mix of old and new compositions. His 60th birthday was celebrated in grand style by the French media. Trenet made a surprise announcement in 1975, declaring that he was retiring from the music world. At the end of his final concert at the Olympia, he bade his audience an emotional farewell. Following the death of his mother in 1979, he shut himself away from the world for the next two years. Later career and death Nevertheless, in 1981, Trenet made a comeback with a new album devoted to sentimental memories of his childhood. Trenet then returned to his peaceful semi-retirement in Occitanie, occasionally reappearing for a special gala performance in France or abroad. After giving farewell concerts in France, Trenet was persuaded out of retirement by a French-Canadian lawyer, Gilbert Rozon, in 1983 for a farewell concert in Montreal. Rozon became Trenet's manager thereafter, and as a result Trenet performed many more concerts including a series every night for three weeks at the Palais des Congrès in Paris in 1986. On 21 May 1999, he returned to the music scene