It was a disappearance that marked her. On May 17, 2021, Arielle Dombasle lost more than a friend, while Nicolas Ker died, aged only 50. These two artists had collaborated more than once and had forged unbreakable ties. Two days after his disappearance, the companion of Bernard-Henri Lévy shared his sadness on Twitter with a meaningful message. “Nicolas Ker died. Nicolas is gone. The dark angel in a rage to live. The incandescent dandy with a golden voice, a Dionysian laugh, a torn heart… We still mourn you”, she wrote about her friend. On Saturday July 2, 2022, the singer with such a unique voice again mentioned Nicolas Ker, revealing the causes of his death.
It was at Jordan de Luxe that Arielle Dombasle spoke about the tragic disappearance of this “genius“, in his words.”Too much alcohol, everyday alcohol“, she told her interviewer. For her, little room for doubt concerning the cause of his death, the old demons of Nicolas Ker finally caught up with him. And the journalist to be easily convinced by his guesses.”It’s true that when we received him, we have to be honest, he was in all his states each time and we felt great suffering in him. It was amazing to see you with it, it felt like you took him under your wing“, he outbid.
She never abandoned her “last rocker” friend
Known for his life of excess – portrayed in the documentary Drunk in the House of Lords -, Nicolas Ker had also composed film music for BHL, his friend’s companion. In all, Arielle and Nicolas have produced two albums, including Empire released in June 2020 and the movie Crystal Palace, crazy musical tragedy. The singer has never abandoned her friend, despite his demons. While he died, Nicolas Ker was again preparing a piece for Arielle Dombasle. “We were composing and recording, he was writing a new piece for me, based on a Bach prelude, it was so beautiful…“, she confided.
“Nicolas was the last of the rockers with the golden voice (…) He had written my last two albums, written and acted in my last film Alien Crystal Palace. He had just finished the music for Bernard-Henri Lévy’s next film, Another idea of the world. He was the very figure of the rocker with a torn heart, of the incandescent poet, he had a Dionysian grace, a rare fine and beautiful being, we mourn him“, had lamented Arielle Dombasle to AFP, at the announcement of her disappearance, very affected. Since her death, the artist who has never been a mother has more than once paid tribute to her friend. April 8, 2022, she had created the surprise by going to the Père-Lachaise cemetery (Paris), where the body of her friend rests, and sharing a video of her walking around near the grave of Nicolas Ker.