The singer, composer and guitarist Louis Bertignac is the exceptional guest, all this week, of the Elodie’s World. Musician, lyricist, singer, guitarist, producer, the co-founder of the rock group Telephone or Visitors began a solo career in 1986. He took advantage of the pandemic to write, in collaboration with Guy Carlier, his autobiography nice little story published by Cherche-Midi. This book allows him to look back on the highlights of his life. From his musical sessions with Telephone and the Rolling Stones to his tumultuous stories with Corine Marienneau and Carla Bruni. Louis Bertignac recounts his whole life without filters.
franceinfo: What does this nice little story what is your career?
Louis Bertignac: It’s not just my career, it’s my life. The whole of my life is a pretty story. Lots of ups, a few downs, a few little shouting matches from time to time, which I don’t forget, I tell them. But above all there are a lot of smiles and a lot of great moments.
What does music mean to you then?
Music has been my most effective way of expressing myself.
Louis Bertignacat franceinfo
I’m not a big talker. I’m not going to start discussion topics, even with my buddies. And my best way to express myself is to pick up a guitar and play it.
You have really been a pillar in this whole career, for you and for the others also within the groups Telephone, Les Visiteurs, for Joyce Jonathan, Carla Bruni. The latter allowed you to come out of the shadows after the colossal successes you had had before and above all to want to relaunch yourself in a solo career, to continue your solo albums.
Yes, she also comforted me in the idea that I could do like Visconti, like Ezrin, extraordinary guys that I had met, that I could be a record producer.
There is something that also defines you and we discover it in this book. It’s because you’ve always had this need for independence, that is to say, you are first and foremost a free artist. Has this freedom always been part of you?
Yeah, sure I like to do what I want and it’s always been that way. When I started, I decided to do rock, guitar and since then, no one forces me at all. Besides, I haven’t even had a manager for years and years because I’m not nice to managers. They try to be directive.
Me, I don’t like being directed, I like to go with the wind like a butterfly. Rather than being on a 60-date tour, I’d rather be on stage a bit all the time, but not every day.
Louis Bertignacat franceinfo
So much so that you founded your label Let it bleed music. A big nod to the Stones, who made you want to go on stage. That’s what it’s all about first, before wanting to make albums: was that the Holy Grail, the goal of going on stage and sharing?
Yes of course. The goal already was to play the guitar correctly. Then the goal was to play guitar with other people. The ultimate goal is to play guitar with other people, in front of an audience. So it’s been a long time since I achieved the ultimate goal and I continue to achieve it.
There was the double live album power trio in 2006, Grizzly (that’s really me) in 2011, Follow me (2014). There was Les Insus which allowed you to say hello, finally, to your fans that you had left and who have remained sad since the separation of Telephone.
Yes, because we hadn’t warned them. They were like, “Well, we’re going to see them this year, we’re happy” Where “I will be able to go see them for the first time“. No luck with the news, they announce: “Phone separates“and it’s true that we don’t tell them:”Goodbye“At that time. And we did that with the Insus. I had met my friends again, we had jammed, we wanted to please our former manager who was sick. Then I said to myself: ok, no only you play with a sublime drummer like Richard, you play with an extraordinary singer and showman like Jean-Louis. And besides, you don’t even have a song to learn, you know them all by heart and people are going to be there. It was just happiness!
The love of the public has always been there. The proof is that at some point you surprised everyone. You will agree to be in The Voicethen in The Voice Kids, where you experienced two extraordinary adventures. The audience really supported you. He also liked your outspokenness. A lot of candidates wanted to go on your team for your rock ‘n’ roll side, for what you embody. Is it fun?
Of course it’s nice and mom was super proud because she saw her son well dressed, every Saturday on TV. It was a great moment for her! Yes, it was nice and I was back at the top of the bill. There were huge posters in Paris and it reminded me of Telephone, because we were three guys and a girl!
I wanted us to come back to a song, it’s I’m playing, from the album A long time, a commercial success, written by Carla Bruni. It’s kind of the story of your life. When you were a child, you had passed a competition and you had come across a teacher who had said to you: “We don’t play with the music“. And you, you have always considered that the purpose of the game was to play and that ‘to play’ was the strongest word that can exist in the French language.
Yes. Kid, I had only one desire, it was to play. So I could play with a tin can, I would play with whatever came my way and then I played guitar, I played music and that was always my life.
Finally, happy with this life, this journey?
Yes, right away, I’m signing again!
Louis Bertignac will be in concert on July 8 in Divonne les Bains, on July 29 at the Festival du son in Civray and on September 10 at the Lysfestival in Comines.