Why this tribute show, preceded by an eponymous album released two years ago, dedicated to Michel Berger?
“I've always been a huge fan. Even when I was very little, he was my idol; I don't remember a time when I didn't like it. I love nostalgia, melancholy, love songs; Michel Berger is the climax of it all. The desire to pay tribute to him, who died in 1992, had been nagging me for a long time. »
What was holding you back?
“Michel Berger may have considered himself a poor pianist, no doubt compared to his mother (a professional classical artist), he was incomparably better than I am. I was self-conscious. Then, Covid and confinement arrive: we cancel a hundred dates for Fatals Picards. Stuck at home, I started practicing the piano like crazy. The album and then the show were thus able to be born: I was finally able to realize this dream that I had always had.
The funny thing is that I realized that Michel Berger had a particular technique: he must have dreamed of being a drummer, you can see it in his way of playing… and as a result, it was simpler for me, above all a drummer , to apprehend. »
How did you choose the songs that you play and perform on stage from this important repertoire, especially since Michel Berger has composed a lot for others, starting with Johnny Hallyday?
“I sing, but the common thread is that I also tell his life, his encounters, through his songs, but also those of others. In this sense, certain songs were essential. Some were also essential, like The pianist's groupie , A few words of love. The show often lasts more than two hours, but you're right, we had to do a lot of sorting! »
“This artist has left an indelible mark on us”
What is the public reception like?
” Tremendous ! I've played the show 35 times already, and only two or three dates haven't sold out completely. I am also more and more in demand, since the creation, in Paris, last year, and plan to continue touring for a long time in France, but also in Switzerland (Editor's note: it will notably be in Geneva in February) and in Belgium. The only constraint, but also an opportunity: I can only play on weekdays, or on Sundays, because I have to play with the Fatals Picards.
Often people, even fans, did not realize everything that Michel Berger had achieved, especially in his youth, many discovered a little-known part of his talents. For others, it's about immersing yourself in a story, there are moments of terrible nostalgia. I think with songs like Message personnel like the tubes of Starmania this artist has left an indelible mark on us. He was also, all the fans I meet tell me, a man of great sensitivity and kindness. »
I guess I'm asking you to choose between your children, but what's your favorite song?
« Will you be there? In this song, he expresses his melancholy, his doubts, his fear of absence, his sensitivity. Michel Berger is there, completely. »
France
