Louis Bertignac: Hallelujah

A magnificent live version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah performed by Louis Bertignac.

Bertignac dedicates it simply: "For Paris and France."

It, of course, recalls the version of the song recorded at the Bataclan club by Jeff Buckley, from his 1995 EP.

Bertignac has been playing solo shows as part of the tour following the release of his solo album Suis-Moi last year,  and he's also played a few shows with two fellow Téléphone veterans under the name Les Insus, to huge demand.

Téléphone  are enjoying a higher profile than ever, with a raft of re-issues and re-packages on the market, along with a new various artists tribute CD.

 Bertignac has a show scheduled at La Cigale in Paris on December 3.

Superbus: Un autre monde

The cover of the Téléphone classic Un autre monde by Superbus emerged at the beginning  of last
month, and now the clip for the track has been revealed.

It comes alongside the release of more information about the new Téléphone tribute CD  entitled Ça, c'est vraiment toi, featuring 15 tracks originally by the 80s stars re-interpreted by contemporary French acts.

Among those on the track listing are Gaëtan Roussel, Olivia Ruiz, Skip the Use, Zaz and Plastiscines.

Tracks on the compilation include La bombe humaine, New York avec toi, Argent trop cher, Cendrillon and Hygiaphone.

Jean-Louis Aubert, Louis Bertignac and  Richard Kolinka from Téléphone have been playing live, albeit under a different name  with shows so far in Paris, Lille and Lyon.

A deluge of Téléphone reissues are also in the pipeline, all marking the group's 30th anniversary.

Whether there's more on line or if the return of Téléphone will be cut off remains to be seen, but for the moment the sound of the Téléphone will certainly  be ringing out around France.

Téléphone - Les Insus - Live in Paris

An unprecedented gig in Paris tonight, as a (more or less) reformed Téléphone take to the stage.

Former Téléphone  bass player  Corine Marienneau isn't part of the band, which is why Jean-Louis Aubert, Richard Kolinka and Louis Bertignac are having to perform under the pseudonym Les Insus when they take to the stage at the Point Ephemere.

It's a tiny venue for such a historic appearance, given that there were rumours that a reformed Téléphone would play shows at the Stade de France just a couple of years ago.

What the appearance means is uncertain, however, another show has been added in Lille for September 15.

What is sure is that in forthcoming months a whole batch of Téléphone  reissues are scheduled, along with a various artists tribute CD that's already seen a version of Un Autre Monde by Superbus released.

Will France's new wave legends be back for long? The Point Ephemere's website makes it clear that if there's one concert not to miss this year, it's this one.

We'll see where it goes from here.

Superbus: Un Autre Monde - Téléphone tribute CD

An interesting new various-artists tribute CD due out later this year, with contemporary acts
performing tracks by French new wave legends Téléphone.

Téléphone were one of the most successful French acts of the late 70s and 80s, with a  style that bridged punk and pop with a modern take on rock 'n' roll.

Their influence was massive . They set a standard against which all other French rock acts could be compared, with a back catalogue full of classic songs.  All the more surprising considering that they only released five proper albums.

The collection, entitled Ça c'est vraiment nous, Téléphone Tribute, marks the 40th anniversary of the band and coincides with reissues of Téléphone back catalogue with unissued material.

The first track to emerge is a version of the track Un Autre Monde, by Superbus. It was the title track of Téléphone's 1984 album, and Jean-Louis Aubert also memorably performed the track at the Victoires de la Musique 2015.

There have been rumours of possible reformations of Téléphone many times since they split, and occasional low profile appearances by the members together.

Later this month they are, however, finally playing together.  Three of the members of Téléphone - Jean-Louis Aubert, Louis Bertignac and Richard Kolinka playing a show at a tiny venue in Paris this month.

Bass player Corine Marienneau isn't expected to be part of the group, which is why the band are listed on the Point Ephemere venue's website under the pseudonyme Les Insus.

The only comment being "If there's one rock concert not to miss this year, it's this one..."

Rétro: Téléphone - New York Avec Toi

With a mention of Louis Bertignac earlier this week in light of his winning a Globes de Cristal award for his album Grizzly, I realised that I've never featured the band Téléphone, one of the greatest French bands in recent decades.

They were unquestionably one of France's finest, and although coming from the punk scene they proved both longer lasting and achieved a genuine popularity that eluded most of France's punk bands.

Their commercial success could be compared to acts like Blondie or The Pretenders, but although they did have a female member in bass player and singer Corine Marienneau she was never just a figurehead and Téléphone were always a band rather than a girl with backing musicians that the other acts became.

They released five album from '1977 until their eventual demise.

This track - New York Avec Toi - came from their final album, Un Autre Monde, released in 1984.

Both guitarist Louis Bertignac and Jean-Louis Aubert have had successful solo careers in the years after Téléphone, Corine Marienneau remaining active having released a solo album in 2002 and an acting career. Drummer Richard Kolinka has worked with man of the biggest names in French music in subsequent years - including Aubert again - and appeared with Alice Cooper on his 1983 DaDa album.

While Téléphone had plenty of great songs, many of them big hits, I've always liked this one for its simplicity and for being just a great rock 'n' roll song. Were it not in French you could imagine a band like the Stones - who they supported in Paris and in North America - covering it.

Globes de Cristal Art et Culture: Louis Bertignac & Izia

Another award ceremony in Paris last night, this time it was the Globes de Cristal Art et Culture awards.

While the film awards get the most attention - this year the film Intouchables won Best Film and Best actor award for Omar Sy, the awards recognise achievement cross the artistic spectrum, with thearre, literature, music, TV and exhibitions recognise.

There were two music awards, one for male and one for female performance, this year being won by Téléphone and Shakin' Street veteran guitarist Louis Bertignac for his 2011 album Grizzly and the female award for rock singer Izia - daughter of Jacques Higelin - for So Much Trouble.

Both also feature in the long list of artists who released great material in 2011 but I didn't get round to featuring on the blog. Hopefully this year fewer releases will slip through my critical net.

The female shortlist also featured Brigitte, Camille, Nolwenn Leroy and Catherin Ringer, the male shortlist featured Thomas Dutronc, Cascadeur, Julien Doré and Joey Starr.

The ceremony was broadcast on France 3, a shortlist of five being drawn up in the 12 categories by a group of journalists presided over by a president, which this year was broadcaster and Libération director Nicolas Demorand.

The awards have been running since 2006. Previous music category winners include Thomas Dutronc, Anaïs and Julien Doré. Last year's winners were Yael Naïm and Ben l'Oncle Soul.

The French awards season continues with the César cinema awards later this month and the Victoires de la Musique ceremony on March 3.