Roch Voisine celebrates the 35th anniversary of his hit “Hélène”

Every day, a personality invites itself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Thursday December 7, 2023: Canadian author, composer and performer, Roch Voisine. He will perform in concert on April 6 at the Zénith in Paris.

Roch Voisine is an author, composer, performer, actor and television host. In 1989 his song was released Helene, taken from the album of the same name, which became cult and met with immediate success. In 2024, it will celebrate 35 years ofHelenewith two concerts, April 4 at the Forest National in Brussels and April 6 at the Zénith in Paris.

franceinfo: These two concerts are very important for you because it finally shows what happened 35 years ago

Roch Voisine: Yes, it’s a step back. When I arrived in Europe, the first date I did was at the Forest National in Brussels. A big cultural shock. And then, we did two concerts at the Zénith in Paris and a date in Lyon. That’s all we did. It was the first contact with the European public and I will remember it all my life. 35 years later, we want to highlight these concerts. We’re pretty excited because for us, it’s going to be a great moment on stage and for the people in the room too.

The song Helene was born, in reality, in 1982. It was a gift that a friend wanted to give to his lover and the song would not be released until May 1989. It was going to be a tidal wave.

Yes. I remember tuning in [sélectionner une fréquence en québécois)] the stations on the radio, one behind the other and to catch the end of the song, the beginning of the song. It was real madness. It must have happened 25 times a day.

You will be propelled to the front of the stage and above all into the light. Your life, at that moment, changes to such an extent that it will almost no longer belong to you.

You can say that because at the time, I was living a normal life as a university student in the city of Ottawa. And then all of a sudden this happens and I say to myself: “I’ve been sitting at university for four years, so it would be nice to take a break”. I go to see the director of the school of physiotherapy at the university and then I ask him if I can stop for a while. He answered me, “Yes, you can stop for two years if you want, and then I will take you back into the program as soon as you come back“. And I’ve never gone back. It’s been 40 years! Suddenly, we launch into this and it’s crazy because it happens very quickly. We lose all our points of reference.

“The success of ‘Hélène’ meant that it was no longer the same life at all, it was almost another universe.”

Roch Voisine

at franceinfo

Quickly, this song will resonate in France. You’re going to be number one for nine straight weeks. Many will be convinced that Hélène is a real person, in any case that she is someone who matters in your life?

It’s true ! She wasn’t an ex-girlfriend, she was a friend’s girlfriend. He wanted to give her a gift. But it’s always a little dangerous to go and explain a song like that because people have appropriated it and then go and tell them, leaning on a sink: “Yes, I did it like that…“It’s not great, but the effect, nevertheless, was dazzling. My career took off like a rocket.

You’ve made 22 albums and what’s pretty crazy is that this song is still at the center of everything, especially in France.

“It’s true that Hélène overshadowed me a bit. In the ten years following this success, it was quite difficult to have a conversation, to come up with something new.”

Roch Voisine

at franceinfo

I have often been asked if this bothers me. Ultimately, it made me happy, but it was annoying because I had to earn my living from other things, otherwise I would have done concerts where I would have sung Helene 20 times!

Ultimately, you had several careers. One in France, one in Canada and one in the rest of the world.

The careers are a little different because they didn’t start the same way. In English Canada, I was a TV host because I spoke French and English and eventually they got to know me as a singer too because I did that. And Quebec has always been a little special. You know, if I do a concert in Vancouver and if I do a concert in Paris, 90% of the music is not the same. In Quebec, where it becomes special is that they know the English-speaking material as much as the French-speaking material. I don’t want to say that I’m a more complete artist at home, but I’ve done a lot more different things in Quebec than I have done, for example, here or in English Canada.

What place has this music occupied in your life for 40 years?

It allows me to express myself. It’s a bit like my personal diary, so it’s wonderful to have this vehicle to speak to so many people. It’s extraordinary to think that there are people who still come to see me sing.