After more than 15 years of absence, Renaud finally reunites with his Quebec audience for a series of shows that will take him from Gatineau to Quebec, via Montreal and Trois-Rivières. This enfant terrible of French song always felt that a “relationship of love and complicity” united him with Quebec. So much so that he suggests that he could establish himself here in the event of the election of Marine Le Pen as President of the French Republic in 2027.
The man who turns 72 on Saturday is undoubtedly no longer the fiery singer of his beginnings, when he always wore a leather jacket with a red bandana tied around his neck. Her angelic face gave way to a face with features hardened by years of abuse. Her long blonde hair has turned gray. But he remains this left-wing artist, perpetually indignant. “More and more, even,” he confides, desperate by rampant economic injustices and “all the harm we are doing to the planet.”
Needless to say, therefore, that the rise of the far right in France, credited with nearly 40% of the votes in the polls for the first round of the next presidential election, worries him. Because he fought the ideas of Le Pen all his life, father and daughter alike. ” It worries me. But what reassures me is that I will always be able to go and live in Quebec,” says Renaud, reached by telephone at his home in Paris, a few days before his departure for Quebec.
Is he serious when he says he could go into exile or is it a joke? Difficult to know. On the other end of the receiver, the interpreter winner Mistral seems elusive. His answers are often short and evasive. It is sometimes difficult to hear what he says because of his hoarse voice, the result of his well-publicized drinking problems. “It ate up 15 years of my life,” mutters the man who is today trying, as best he can, to make up for lost time with his two children.
Unwavering audience
No matter if his voice is shaky, no one goes to see Renaud in concert thinking of witnessing a great singing tour. His (many) admirers rush there to experience a pure moment of communion with this rebellious artist with a tender heart, who has always been forgiven for his excesses.
Many times the media have proclaimed the end of his career. Each time he came back stronger. As in 2002, with his duo Manhattan-Kabul with Axelle Red, a post-September 11 pacifist anthem which was crowned song of the year in France. Then in 2016, during the release of his eponymous album, the best-selling record in France that year.
How can we explain this unconditional love that the public has had for him for almost 50 years? On the one hand, terribly catchy melodies. On the other, prose which draws on Parisian slang, apparently simple, but in which we detect a real poetic, sometimes political, research. Renaud’s songs are sometimes engaged, like Miss Maggie And Hexagon ; sometimes more sensitive, let us only mention Morgana from you, Manu or Knocked up, his favorite of all. The hits are numerous, and Renaud’s admirers often know them by heart.
The extracts from his last concerts in France which leaked on social networks show a weakened man, who sings seated, but who can count each time on his horde of admirers to sing his songs. “When I lose my voice, the public finishes them for me,” he says. We bet that it will be the same during his series of five concerts on Quebec soil, which begins Tuesday in Gatineau.
“I am in the best period of my life. This tour is my favorite,” confides the singer-songwriter, who is accompanied on stage by an ensemble of string musicians.
Renaud new
In interview at Duty, the singer with 20 million albums sold during his career swears not to have drunk a drop of alcohol for three years. He even stopped smoking and started vaping. Love has changed him, you have to believe, he who got married for the third time a few days ago.
He is not at all in the same state as during his perilous visit to Quebec in 2001, when he appeared heavily intoxicated on stage, to the point of having difficulty singing. It’s a new Renaud who is visiting us these days. On stage, he promises to play several of his greatest hits, but also to showcase lesser-known titles from his repertoire. He also intends to present a resumption of On my shoulder des Cowboys Fringants, a group which has often cited Renaud as one of the main influences.
“I’ve already met them. I love them ! I even introduced them to my new wife,” he says with sudden enthusiasm. Renaud says he was charmed by the musical Royal Pub, which was presented a few weeks ago in Paris. “It’s a group that makes music that knows how to speak to people’s hearts,” says this sacred monster of French song to explain the resounding success of the Cowboys.
No doubt we could return the compliment.