Born at Honfleur, Normandie, Erik Satie was noted for his piano pieces such as Gymnopédies (1888), which combine wit and melancholy.

His orchestral work include Parade (1917), amongst whose bizarre sound effects is a typewriter.

He was the mentor of the group of composers known as Les six, although not a member.

Satie was eccentric, to say the least. After he died, the contents of the tiny Parisian room where he lived were of great interest: there were hundreds of umbrellas, many of them still in wrapping paper (Satie usually carried a brand new umbrella in public).

Satie, together with gay French playwright Jean Cocteau and Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, created Parade for gay Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev.

Since we know little of his personal life, the conclusion that Satie was gay is based on his circle of friends and acquaintances.