Alain Lapointe and Ludovick Bourgeois | Eternal lovers of the BB universe

“I’m in top shape,” assures Alain Lapointe, which, in his case, is not a trivial statement. In 2021, the keyboardist lost the use of his right eye after falling against the corner of his bedside table. But last April and June, the sole survivor of the BBs returned to the stage for two songs with Ludovick Bourgeois, during his tour celebrating the indelible repertoire of his late father’s band, taken by cancer in 2017. On the occasion of a rare joint interview, they recount here, in their own words, their affection and admiration for the man who will never know how much he was loved.

Alain Lapointe: I remember when we were recording the third album [en 1994]we were at Patrick’s in Rosemère, and Ludo was very small. When his mother left to run errands, I was the one who took care of him.

Ludovick Bourgeois: As far back as I can remember, Alain has always been in my life.

AL: Patrick spoke a lot about Ludo, he was very proud of him. When I heard the album they made together [en 2015]I was always wondering: is that Patrick’s voice or Ludo’s? They sounded so much alike. When Patrick invited him to sing with the BBs, everyone welcomed him with open arms.

LB: The first real show I did was at the Francos in 2015, on the big stage. I was just supposed to be a backing singer, but like Damien Robitaille, who sang Be careful on the covers album that had just come out, couldn’t be there, my father asked me to do it with him. That was my baptism: singing in front of 50,000 people. I learned at high speed.

AL: In the first shows, Ludo had his feet a little on the concrete. With my wireless guitar, I went to see him to give him a little nudge, wanting to say: “Send it, you can do it.” I knew he could.

The joy of first times

LB: What I have noticed since the beginning of the tour is that the BB songs do not belong to me or to Alain, they belong to the world. You were telling us earlier, Dominic, that the BB is your first show ever, and that is the testimony I receive the most. People want to relive their first show, their first record bought with their own money, their first love.

AL: Jean-Pierre Issac [réalisateur du premier album des BB, mort en février 2024] was the perfect partner for Patrick. He was a tech whiz and a good arranger, with good sounds. The snare sound in Loulou And Be carefulhe was the one who did it with his machines. He knew how to structure a song and when Patrick understood the pattern, he wrote the first album [1989] in record time. Every time I went to Jean-Pierre’s semi-basement where we were recording, on the corner of Saint-André and Ontario, I couldn’t believe how good it was. We tried not to get our hopes up, but deep down, we knew it was going to work.

LB: Good songs that last over time are something that all artists want to achieve, but to get there is exceptional. The BBs have a huge catalog. We don’t realize how well-known and loved these songs are.

A deep friendship

AL: Patrick and I complemented each other in many ways. He was a guy with a great personality, incredible charisma. When Patrick walks into a room, with the stature he has, the hair and the face he has, everyone knows it. You see, I talk about him in the present tense, because it’s as if he were still there.

LB: These days, thanks to the show, I am reminded of my father every night. Few people have the chance to be spoken about their father with such admiration. I often have the reflex to want to call him. I wonder what decision he would make and I know that what he would do, I would do the opposite. [rires].

AL: Patrick is in my dreams all the time. I often dream that we are doing shows and that it is not going well. My keyboards are all crooked, I can’t get them into the trunk of my car. I think it’s because Patrick asked a lot, a lot, a lot of me.

With him, I had to be on the ball all the time, but he knew he could be demanding, because I was capable of delivering the goods. And I asked a lot of him too. Since I have a more classical background, I often made him start his vocal tracks again. He called me a bit of if and that, but five minutes later, we were laughing about it. We loved each other, without saying it.

LB: At the end of his life, when he knew he was ill, we were touring together and he insisted that we share a room. [rires]. I had just won. The voiceI didn’t want to sleep in the same room as my father. But it was very important to him and it was unforgettable. For several years, I lived with my mother, without seeing him often enough, and it was as if we were making up for lost time. It was very beneficial for the future. When he died, these memories softened the frustrations I had towards him.

“What wrinkled »

AL: Ludo invited me to do two songs in Repentigny [les 25 et 26 avril, ainsi que le 24 juin dernier] and the reaction of the audience when he introduced me touched me enormously. It stressed me out, because it had been a long time, and because I had to relearn how to play without my eye. The love between the audience and an artist, there is nothing to support that. It is so fulfilling. I returned home in bliss. I think I have never played so well You will never know And Give me a chance.

LB: I’ve done the show over 50 times. [il vient d’ailleurs tout juste de recevoir un billet d’or, pour 50 000 billets vendus]and seeing all the emotions that these songs bring to people makes me realize how great it is what Alain, François and my father have managed to accomplish.

AL: During one of the last shows we did together, before he left, I saw in Patrick’s eyes that he loved me. He would never have told me, that’s for sure, because he wasn’t able to talk about his emotions. But that night, he didn’t need to talk. He gave me a look like I’d never seen before. A look filled with love. He had an aura around his head.

It was like he was saying to me, “Hey, man, what a wrinkled we lived together.” Gratitude was not one of his greatest qualities, but there, all the gratitude in the world was in his eyes. And I was crying in my heart.

The BBs by Ludovick Bourgeoison August 16 at the SuperFrancoFête and on August 18 at the International Balloon Festival.

Check out the other dates of Ludovick Bourgeois’ BB tour