Author: THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.

Ye-ye girl Sylvie Vartan twists to “What’d I Say”

“Est-ce que tu le sais?”, Sylvie Vartan’s version of Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say”, was released on 12 December 1961.

The Ye-Yea girl opened for Vince Taylor at Paris Olympia for her second concert. In July she toured France with Gilbert Bécaud. In autumn 1962 she released her version of “The Loco-Motion” on EP and her first LP, Sylvie. Her next hit was “Tous mes copains”, issued on EP in 1962.

Vartan also had her first adult part in a movie with the small part of a singer in the film Un clair de lune à Maubeuge. In 1963, Paul Anka offered her the song “I’m Watching You”, which became her first international hit in Japan and Korea. She rounded out the year with four TV specials and becoming the darling of the teen magazine Salut les Copains. Six of her 31 songs released in 1962/1963 became Top-20 European hits

Barbara interview French television 1965

En ce jour de Noël 1965, la journaliste Catherine Charbon reçoit la chanteuse française Barbara pour l’émission Madame TV. En préambule, elle présente sa grande amie. Car oui, elle connaît Barbara depuis longtemps et partage avec elle une amitié exigeante et miraculeuse. Dans l’interview qui suit, l’artiste évoque sa vie de chanteuse, son public ou ses années bruxelloises ou son amour pour le piano.

On this Christmas Day 1965, journalist Catherine Charbon receives French singer Barbara for the Madame TV show. As a preamble, she introduces her great friend. Because yes, she has known Barbara for a long time and shares a demanding and miraculous friendship with her. In the following interview, the artist talks about her life as a singer, her audience or her years in Brussels or her love for the piano.