Salut!

Cats on Trees: when French music travels - or deserves to

 

 

 

Concert debout, it said on the printout of the ticket. I saw that only after I had booked. The realisation that it would be standing room only for the Cats on Trees concert in Puget-sur-Argens, just back from the Mediterranean resort of Frejus, came too late to have second thoughts. I am glad it did.

The era of masks, the passe sanitaire - a QR code proving vaccination status - and now social distancing are behind us, even if Covid itself is not. Far too old to act like groupies or teenypop super-fans, we nevertheless avoided the claustrophobia of standing in the middle of a big audience at the Mas d'Hiver and stood within easy infection distance, directly in front of the quartet on stage. Again, I am glad - pending any positive test - that we did.

 

 

 

A great son of Ulster: Neil Johnston RIP

Today I was going to forget about Lord Leveson, Mitt Romney and the Mormons and write a jolly little piece about the sudden congestion of French presidents on holiday in the Var.

François Hollande is taking the air - and keeping an eye on Valérie's tweeting - on the seafront of my own Le Lavandou, Nicolas Sarkozy is next door in Cap Nègre at Chateau Bruni and old Jacques Chirac is back supping his favourite apéritif, le Tomate (generous on the Pernod), to wash down shrimps, foie gras and salmon amuses gueules in Saint-Tropez.

This would all have amused Neil Johnston, about whom I have decided to write instead.

Olivia Ruiz: beach girl giving French pop a good name?

Through a cloud of smoke over coffee (mine may have been a beer) at the Lutetia hotel, once home to the Gestapo, Benjamin Biolay, a sort of latter-day Serge Gainsbourg, gave me the lowdown on French pop: "Mostly, it's just crap."

Monsieur les Beatles: (2) meeting Paul and Ringo

Here, as promised, is the second part of Salut!'s interview with Eric Kasker, a father-of-five who took advantage of France's generous provisions for big families to produce important books* on the Beatles ...

Do you have a favourite Beatle?


Well, I always considered that John Lennon was the most interesting personality of the group, firstly because his songs are more personal, introspective and authentic. He really had a versatile talent as a song writer. He could as well compose great rock ’n’ roll songs such as I Call Your Name and Hey Bulldog, and creating unforgettable pop numbers such as It Won’t Be Long, I Should Have Known Better, Nowhere Man or Don’t Let Me Down. His surrealistic style is also outstanding and brilliant in songs such as I’m Only Sleeping, Strawberry Fields Forever, Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite or I Am The Walrus. Secondly, I am very sensitive to his sharp wit and his offbeat sense of humour. His attitude was also the one of a rebel who quickly took a minimum of distance with the show-business and star-system (while also using it sometimes). For instance, he was able to stand back as early as 1964, while Beatlemania was increasing everyday and, although rich and famous, he was already conscious that the Beatles had lost a part of their authenticity and freshness, and from then on simply were to promote their own same 11 or 12 hits at every show.

Monsieur les Beatles: (1) he loves you ouais, ouais, ouais

The world has an abiding fascination with the Beatles. And when you want to know something about the band, especially the early days, you can do a lot worse than turn to Eric Krasker. And why not? The first name has an Anglo-Saxon feel, the surname gives little away. But Eric is French. I first interviewed him in Paris five years ago but he's been hard at it, as a recognised authority on the Beatles, for a lot longer. On the publication, in English, of The Beatles – Fact and Fiction 1960-1962, an updated, extended version of his first book, which originally appeared only in French, Salut! decided to fire some questions at him ...

Remind me of how you managed to find time to research and write the book

When I was still a student preparing my master diploma in history, I decided that my future research would be a combination of my two interests in life: music and history. And as the Beatles were my favorite band since 1972, it was natural that I would go in for this particular subject, especially because up to a recent time, there were very few academic studies dealing with the Fab Four. And now that the Beatles’ career belongs more to history than to present, I thought it was time to go to the nitty gritty and debunk some old legends and myths once and for all. So, in the early Nineties, as a father of five children and thanks to the French system of les familles nombreuses (big families), I had the possibility to take a long off-work period (twelve years) during which I made a thorough research dedicated to the beginnings of the Beatles in Hamburg (1960-1962). Of course, during this special time off I had a family allowance of around £457 per month, but the main income was provided from my wife who is a scientific researcher in philosophy.