The author, composer and performer Didier Barbelivien is the exceptional guest of Le Monde d’Élodie all this week. He indulges in going back in time with five of his must-have songs written for others or for himself. His last album, and ultimate as a performer, was released in October 2022.
The author, composer and performer Didier Barbelivien is the exceptional guest of Le Monde d’Élodie all this week. Since 1970 he has written and composed over 2,000 songs. His last album, Didier Barbelivien, which he presents as his ultimate album as a performer was released in October 2022. For five days, at almost 70 years old, he retraces the thread of his life by evoking his memories around some of his collaborations such as with Julien Clerc, Gérard Lenorman, Christophe or even Johnny Hallyday.
franceinfo: Very early on, you wanted to write. You were 16 when you started writing your first text?
Didier Barbelivien: It was in 1970 that I started to write clumsily. So why this choice of Julien Clerc? Because it was my beacon at the same time as that of Jean-Marc Roberts, with whom I was a high school student in Chaptal. We had in front of us Étienne Roda-Gil and Maurice Vallet, who were the authors of Julien, and we were fascinated by this writing trio.
In any case, this writing has always accompanied you. You grew up in the Oberkampf district, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris with your grandmother. Your grandmother will bring you an extremely important notion that you will keep throughout your life. It’s freedom.
I’m never wrong about this essential.
What is it to be free?
It’s not having schedules. It’s weird, me, since I was 17, I don’t know what a timetable is. I don’t know what an alarm clock is, I don’t have one. I wake up when I wake up. I get up when I have decided to get up. I go back to bed the same way. I have no compulsion.
“I don’t know what coercion is.”
Didier Barbelivienat franceinfo
What first made you want to write for others?
I saw myself more in the skin of Étienne Roda-Gil and Maurice Vallet than in that of Julien Clerc. I did not see myself performing, I did not see myself singing, not at all. I wanted to be an author, to imagine texts, songs, situations for all this fauna that presented itself to me, which corresponded to French song, whatever it was. It may seem strange to you, but I had as much passion for Aznavour, Nougaro, Ferré, Brassens as for Claude François, Hervé Vilard, Christophe, Gérard Lenorman, Julien Clerc of course. Him, I put him at the very top of the cupboard. I was thirsty for that and for this multiplicity of performers, for all this variety available to us.
>> Julien Clerc confides in the story of “Women … I love you”: “It sums up my life as a singer very well”
How did you come to meet Julien Clerc, then? Tell us about this meeting because it was so important to you!
Yes ! In 1976, in the rue du Capitaine-Ferber studios, the Ferber studios, where he recorded, I think, the album To suffer for you is not to suffer and I didn’t dare approach him, outright. I spoke with Étienne Roda-Gil, with Maurice Vallet, but never with Julien Clerc. And then, one evening, we dined with mutual friends and during this dinner, I noticed that he addressed his wife as you. And me, I attend the ping-pong game and I say to myself: it’s amazing to be in the usual way all the time. I say nothing and when I get into the car with my wife, I start to address her as you too. She tells me : “But what’s gotten into you?“I said: listen, we’re going to play Julien Clerc and Hélène Grémillon. I’m going to send you home.
When I got home, I remember, I wrote this text [À vous jusqu’à la fin du monde] and I said to myself: tomorrow morning, I’ll call Julien, I’ll see what he’s going to tell me. If so, he will tell me:But Didier, don’t even think about it. This formality, all that, is in my intimacy. I don’t really want to make a song out of it“. He called me back within the hour saying: “Look, I think that’s great. Can I come to your house tomorrow morning? I want to sing you your song Yours until the end of the world“. I ask him if he has started, he replies: “No, I’m done” and the next morning Julien Clerc would come by the house and play it on my rotten piano. It was the first time he played on it.
There’s another song that sticks to Julien Clerc’s skin, it’s Miss.
I, who know everything about Julien Clerc, of course, am inclined to look for new subjects for him. And I wonder: what hasn’t Julien touched on since all these performers necessarily have intimate things to say, especially when they’re not writing? And the idea of paying tribute to the teaching staff suited him well.
“Julien Clerc was very moved when he read the text of ‘Mademoiselle’.”
Didier Barbelivienat franceinfo
It’s a nod to a teacher.
He tells me : “It’s true that we all had a young lady like that, in our hearts, to whom we owe everything and to whom we never tell“. Or a male teacher. In fact, it’s true that all our trainers, we owe them a lot and unfortunately, we were able to forget them.