This Wednesday, June 30, 2004, the news fell at the premises of Vieilles Charrues in Carhaix: David Bowie, victim of a heart problem, withdrew from the thirteenth edition of the festival of which he was to be the headliner on July 23. Twenty years later, Jean-Jacques Toux has not forgotten this moment. “When we heard the news, it was a shock. We would have cried,” remembers the co-programmer of the festival, who kept the singer’s medical certificate as a souvenir.
It was the first time that we had pinned an artist of this level. A sacred monster whose arrival would inevitably push us into another dimension.
“We were so proud”
On May 8, 2004, the announcement on the front page of Le Télégramme of the British icon’s visit to Kerampuilh had the effect of a bomb. “It was five years before Springsteen! It was the first time we had singled out an artist of that level. A sacred monster whose arrival would inevitably make us switch to another dimension. All the English agents were going to look at us differently,” emphasizes Jean-Jacques Toux.
Bowie, Vieilles Charrues had been dreaming of it for a long time without really daring to believe it. “We had been working on the file for several months and, in the end, the signing happened naturally,” says Jean-Jacques Toux, who underlines the decisive role played by Alain Lahana, the artist’s agent in France. “We always had a very good relationship. He had allowed us to achieve some good “hits” like Simple Minds in 1997 or REM in 2003. Alain was close to Bowie, as he is to Iggy Pop or Patty Smith and I am sure that he had spoken to him about Vieilles Charrues, telling him in France, this is the place where you have to go.”
The agent had invited Jean-Jacques Toux to Bowie’s concert at Bercy on October 21, 2003. “A great show! Nothing but hits! He was in great shape. Six months later, he said yes. We were so proud!”
“There was panic on board”
On June 30, 2004, the disappointment therefore matched the excitement generated by this announcement. Once the shock of the star’s withdrawal had passed, the festival team set out to find a new headliner. “It was panic on board! We decided to put the entire budget for Bowie back on other projects. For a few days, nothing happened. Then, we got closer to Bowie’s other orphan festivals, notably Paléo. This joint work helped convince Texas to perform at both festivals. The band hadn’t planned to tour that summer; for us, they resumed rehearsals and put on a great concert,” says Jean-Jacques Toux. The Scottish group is not the only one to replace the English star at short notice since the organizers have decided to program The Divine Comedy and Ralph Myers on the same evening.
“A dream has passed”
Over the past twenty years, several artists have had to cancel the Vieilles Charrues (the latest earthquake being the cancellation of Céline Dion in December 2022). But no cancellation has affected Jean-Jacques Toux as much as that of David Bowie. “Following his health problems, he no longer toured. We knew that unfortunately, he would never come to Carhaix. A dream has passed.”
