This January 5 on France 2, the 82-year-old singer spoke to Frédéric Lopez, during a new episode ofA Sunday in the countryside, in particular evoking a period of low point in his career.
In three seasons on France 2, A Sunday in the countryside has become THE unmissable meeting place for personalities of all kinds. With each broadcast, Frédéric Lopez’s magazine allows three of them to leave the hustle and bustle of the city to go green for a weekend. With his natural kindness, the 57-year-old presenter collects the confidences of his guests who thus share very often unknown parts of their lives to the many viewers. This is particularly what happened on January 5, 2025. The producer of Meet in unknown land hosted the Olympic fencing champion Manon Apithy-Brunet, the YouTuber Major Mouvement and the singer Michel Fugain.
“We will have to leave the house” : Michel Fugain looks back on his years of hardship in A Sunday in the countryside
During the show, the singer of the hit A beautiful story looked back on his sixty-year career, full of successes, but also struggles. Indeed, in the mid-1980s, the artist experienced a five-year low period. “I have nothing! No plan”remembered the artist. “I lived in a mill and it costs money. I tell myself that I will find myself with two suitcases and my children in front of the gate. We will have to leave the house“he continued. Fortunately, a man will come to his aid. “There is a guy – a Nicolas I don’t know how – who says to me: ‘I can make you have parties’. And there begins an extraordinary period. I do all the weddings feuj [juif, NDLR] from Paris. You make one and the people in the wedding were ordering me for theirs.”remembered Michel Fugain. But his joy and enthusiasm are not to everyone’s taste. “You tell that to singers who think they are what they are not and they say: ‘He did that?! Damn, it’s not prestigious’. No ! I am an acrobat. I have never been so rich in my life”he then defended himself against criticism from his peers.
Michel Fugain reveals a comment from Johnny Hallyday on his career that he did not appreciate in A Sunday in the countryside
A prosperous period for Michel Fugain. “I can do what I want, when I want, if I need to and I don’t depend on anyone”he assured. “Except there comes a time when you have to get serious again. When you haven’t made any records for five years, guys don’t rush to take you on”nuanced the singer before sharing a remark from Johnny Hallyday on his career. “He said: ‘Fugain, he is dead’. Asshole! I’ll be dead when I have no more ears or hands“he got carried away. In 1985, Michel Fugain signed with the music label Tréma and published the album Dreams and the wind on which the title appears Live lifewhich allows him to return to success. Some time later, Jean-Claude Camus, Johnny’s producer, attended one of his shows. “He comes into the dressing room and says to me: ‘You don’t have the space you should have. We’re going to get it through shows’. And from there, it traced”remembered Michel Fugain. A career in ups and downs is also the life of an artist.
