Thomas Dutronc’s poignant tribute to his mother Françoise Hardy, on stage

CULTURE – A concert like no other. Singer Thomas Dutronc took the stage for the first time since the death of his mother, Françoise Hardy, who died on Tuesday. Very moved, he paid him a tribute in song on the occasion of his appearance at the Jazz Opale Festival in Pas-de-Calais, Thursday June 13.

When he entered the Neufchâtel-Hardelot stage, Thomas Dutronc was encouraged by an ovation lasting several minutes. The Festival had announced the day before that its arrival would be maintained, a message immediately commented on by many fans of Françoise Hardy, performer of cult songs ” Personal message “ Or ” The time of love “providing their support to the son of the sixties icon.

“There is a lot of emotion among us” the last days, “ I tried to sing two of my mom’s songs, but my throat is tight” entrusted the singer to the public, leaving it to his musicians, Stochelo Rosenberg, Ricky Gresset and Thomas Bramerie, to interpret “ Friendship “a success by Françoise Hardy released in 1965.

Finally overcoming his grief, Thomas Dutronc then sang the words: “ Sometimes sadness slips into their eyes (…) you can go to the depths of the clouds”.

“My mother’s departure to other skies”

“In England we say “elephant in the room” (the huge subject we avoid talking about, Editor’s note) (…) We cannot translate into French but for me, my “elephant in the room” is is the departure of my mother towards other skies »he said modestly, in front of an equally moved audience.

In a packed house, many tunes sounded like farewells – such as a cover of the version of Sidney Bechet’s hit “ Little Flower ” by Henri Salvador, “ in my heart you will always bloom”.

Françoise Hardy died at the age of 80, after battling cancer that appeared in 2004. Thomas Dutronc, son of the famous couple she formed with singer Jacques Dutronc, announced the news Tuesday evening on social networks, in a sober “ Mom is gone…” accompanied by the photo below.

An emblematic figure of the sixties with an evanescent voice and melancholic airs, Françoise Hardy had conquered the Anglo-Saxon public, which made her the only Frenchwoman in the ranking of the 200 best singers of all time by the American magazine Rolling Stone in 2023 .

“This evening takes on a special character for us”underlines Véronique, a fifty-year-old who came to the concert with two friends, moved to give back “ tribute to Françoise Hardy »and saluting the “ courage ” of his son“to have honored his presence”.

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