So France's Elvis has joined his mentor.
www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/06/johnny-hallyday-obituary
Massive act in Francophone land; nobody elsewhere.
As with other french singers (Aznavour, Piaf etc) he sounded great on a French Juke Box bit like a baguette he seemed to lose his appeal mid channel.
What does the panel think?
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Surely both Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour had international appeal. Piaf was certainly a world class talent. Hallyday had no success at all outside France and francophone countries. He was sort of like a French, Cliff Richard, a purely local phenomenon but perhaps not quite so awful.
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> sort of like a French, Cliff Richard, a purely local phenomenon but perhaps not quite
>> so awful.
He was.
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I made the judgement not on the grounds of musical ability but simply because we didnt have to listen to him on British radio, he didn't make films about going on holiday in double decker buses with Una Stubbs , wasn't such a goody two shoes and Hallyday was covered in tatoos, dressed in black leather and smoked Gitanes incessantly.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 6 Dec 17 at 23:24
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>> Hallyday was covered in tatoos, dressed in black leather and smoked Gitanes incessantly.
Isn't a French bad boy Elvis wannabe simply the worse thing you can ever imagine?
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 6 Dec 17 at 23:29
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>> Isn't a French bad boy Elvis wannabe simply the worse thing you can ever imagine?
>>
Not by a long chalk. You are talking about someone who accompanied his wife to Heathcliff, the musical. Something that I still have nightmares about and which have tried to put out of my memory for 20 years and now you've brought it all back. b******.
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>> Heathcliff, the musical. Something that I still have nightmares about and which have tried to
>> put out of my memory for 20 years and now you've brought it all back.
>> b******.
Its my absolute pleasure to help you relive that very special moment, I bring you - YES - Withering Heights
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKUDZjVW7kg
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 7 Dec 17 at 17:59
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Do you think Cliff will get a similar send off ?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42291491
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"Do you think Cliff will get a similar send off ?"
There will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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>> Surely both Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour had international appeal. Piaf was certainly a world
>> class talent. Hallyday had no success at all outside France and francophone countries. He was
>> sort of like a French, Cliff Richard, a purely local phenomenon but perhaps not quite
>> so awful.
>>
I still chuckle at the late, great Terry Wogan referring to Charles Aznavour as "Charles 'asnovoice"
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>> I still chuckle at the late, great Terry Wogan referring to Charles Aznavour as "Charles
>> 'asnovoice"
Terry was wrong but I see where he was coming from.
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Never liked Aznavour myself, though I like Piaf's music very much.
I've never had strong opinions about Cliff Richard. He was ok, walked his own path, middle of the road music that my Grandmother really loved.
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Cliff. Well, for the first time in my life I saw "Summer Holiday" just last week. The TiVo box recorded it for me, rather than an actual choice. I knew from everything I'd ever heard it would be dire, but thought I'd plough through ten minutes just to see.
Actually, I quite enjoyed it, and watched it all the way through. Some of the numbers reminded me a lot of Umbrellas of Cherbourg in style, which is a film I like very much indeed. Very much.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Thu 7 Dec 17 at 07:35
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>> Terry was wrong but I see where he was coming from.
I don't know much about Terry Wogan but I do know that's an old Two Ronnies joke, or at least, that's where I first heard it, probably in the seventies.
As to French singers, when I launched Spotify last night it offered me a "2017 wrapped up" playlist, which turned out to be a chart of my most played songs this year.
Number 1 and 2 were French (same person), 3 was German, 4 and 5 were Japanese and I don't know what six is because I fell asleep and haven't looked.
But none will be Johnny Hallyday.
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I don't like Hallyday's take on the French "chansonnier". Patachou wrote "J'ai oublié de vivre" for him but I can't recall if she sang it the night I heard her at her nightclub in Montmartre. The only other French singers I have heard in person are Georges Brassens, at the (old) Olympe and Marcel Mouloudji at a concert hall in Strasbourg. The one I like best is Jacques Brel, not French (maybe Belgian Flemish) but I feel all his best songs are in French. I think I have them all, as well as a book of their lyrics.
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Is it Brel or Bruel? Or is that quelqu'un d'autre ...
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Pop music is Anglophonic. it doesn't really work in other languages.
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>>Pop music is Anglophonic. it doesn't really work in other languages.
It depends what you call pop music, but Shakira, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Gloria Estefan and Jennfer Lopez to name just a few might have a different opinion.
Just because its released in English for the UK market, doesn't mean its in English everywhere.
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>> Just because its released in English for the UK market, doesn't mean its in English
>> everywhere.
Indeed. The 1972 Eurovision Winning performance by Vicky Leandros (Luxembourg) sounds much better as Apres Toi then the English release as Come What May.
And French balladeers like Dan Ar Braz have a certain je ne sais quoi.
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>> Pop music is Anglophonic. it doesn't really work in other languages.
Ooo I dunno, It can be Spanglish
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMT698ArSfQ
be warned, this weekends ear worm......
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>>Is it Brel or Bruel?
Brel.
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It's Patrick Bruel I was thinking of ...
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Johnny Hallyday a Quitté la Salle - tyrednemotional
