Anne Sylvestre is no longer here to hit the anthill of patriarchy

Nous sommes encore au mois de juillet, mais aujourd’hui il est question d’une chanteuse dont le moi doute, Anne Sylvestre.

It’s still July, but today we’re talking about a singer whose self doubts, Anne Sylvestre.

It is around her, Anne the sister, the sister of all unruly women, that we drift today. And, no doubt about it, it will be very beautiful. This song dates from a long time ago, from the end of the 70s during which the cause of women had taken a few steps forward. Giant steps, decisive and with no turning back possible. In any case, that is what we believed at the time.

And yet, 45 years later, if a song like ” Frangines ” seems to date back to yesterday, if sisterhood is still a fragile notion, often caricatured by men and even by some slightly masochistic women, it is because there is still work to be done. Unfortunately, Anne Sylvestre is no longer here to hit the anthill of patriarchy, just to make room, since November 30, 2020 when a stroke struck her down when she was due to go back on tour at 86, it is an understatement to say that her voice is missed.

This undulating voice, of a calm power, if we stick to her qualities as a singer, but also this carrying voice, sometimes grumbling, mocking too, which has never ceased, until the last breath, to fight the little cocks, and those who doubt nothing. The bastards too.

 

LISTEN at source: Anne Sylvestre | France Inter

Françoise Hardy talks Beatles from a London hotel, 1964

On 7 January 1964, Françoise Hardy was interviewed by ITN’s John Edwards in a London hotel room. Two years after being propelled to fame with her 1962 debut single Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles (All The Girls And Boys), the French singer-songwriter and fashion icon discussed the popularity of different English artists in France. Cliff Richard, whom she liked very much, was very popular, but while the French were aware of the Beatlemania phenomenon gripping the UK, the Beatles’ music was not as well-known in France. They were, however, breaking through: She Loves You was a popular track, and their upcoming gig at the Paris Olympia (which Hardy said she would be attending) was sure to raise their profile.