Incredible but true.
The eternal young man Plastic Bertrand is 70 years old.
“
And time is running out...
”
Roger Marie François Jouret, his real name, was born on February 24, 1954. The singer of “ ça plane sur moi ” is a singing star: brilliant, sparkling and shooting.
From glory to setbacks, Plastic Bertrand remembered his career in 2012 on Thierry Ardisson's show, “Everybody talked about it” - available on the INA ArdiTube channel.
It all started at the age of 9 when he participated in his first group, Bison Scout Band, which specialized in Stones covers.
Later, his other group, Passing the time, was spotted by Radio Caroline, a pirate radio station.
It will tour in all the bars on the Belgian and Dutch coast.
“
I attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels.
But punk caught me: you couldn't earn money, you couldn't think you were a star, etc.
“, he explains.
Except that the star system notices him.
In 1975, producer Lou Deprijck spotted him.
In 1977, two songs were recorded.
On side A, “Pogo pogo”;
on side B, “It’s Hanging Over Me.”
Vogue, which distributes the record in France, reverses the sides.
It's the jackpot.
15 gold records, five platinum, galas, TV.
“
People saw that I had fun with the camera, that I knew how to move.
Everything has become easier.
I was taking the Concorde to go to the United States, just to party.
It seemed normal to me.
»
“It was Madonna to the power of 15”
His life changes.
“
I lived like a rock star.
It was Madonna to the power of 15, he laughs.
The coke, the b****s, total rock'n'roll.
Everything is fake.
» Because reality catches up with him.
“
One evening, I came home, my children were watching a video of me.
I came home from tour shattered.
They didn't get up, they continued to watch me on TV.
I said to myself
“basta”” The long crossing of the desert begins.
“
I signed a very bad contract.
It was my producers who made a lot of money, not me
,” he says.
Worse, Lou Deprijck explains that it's not Plastic Bertrand who sings.
Coluche will add in a witticism: “
It seems that Plastic is not the one who dances…
” The singer “
drinks
” a lot and gains a lot of weight.
“
I’m becoming Elvis Presley at the end of my career.
» In 1987, he represented Luxembourg at Eurovision.
He finishes second to last.
“
I’m going to do TV or cinema.
You have to do things to bring in money
,” he admits.
The power of the tube - of formidable efficiency - will still save him and leave him in everyone's memory.
Nostalgia is coming.
Is he nostalgic for him?
“
No
,” he swears, conceding that it happened “
too early
” for him.
An extract to discover: