The music scene in France is amazing. From hip hop to prog rock, chanson and folk, it's a huge worl that is largely ignored by the media this side of the channel. Time to do something to redress the balance.
Despite having the idea some time ago, I kept putting it off, but I got a bit of a reminder today about the need for this kind of thing. Jean Ferrat, one of the last giants of French chanson, died at the weekend, and despite being one of the most significant voices in france, he remained unknown outwith a small audience in the UK.
A Communist sympathiser who was praised by President Sarkozy for his "unyielding conception of French song", Ferrat's career from the 60s onwards put him up with the likes of Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens. Some songs were banned for their politics, (Potempkine, Ma France) others - such as his adaptations of the work of Louis Aragon (Aimer à perdre la raison) - amongst the finest examples poetry and song together in the French language.
As French TV legend Michel Drucker said: "A whole part of France, a whole generation is mourning today,"
"There were Brel, Brassens, (Leo) Ferré and then there was Jean. He was the last of the Mohicans."
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