“We are quite friends in life, it’s happy”

Every day, a personality invites itself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Tuesday March 12, 2024: a father and his two sons, Alain, Pierre and Charles Souchon. They will be at the gala evening for the 20th anniversary of the Alzheimer Research Foundation and then on the roads of France in concert to immerse themselves in Alain’s repertoire, from May 5.

If we played the game of seven families, we would have a good draw by asking the two sons, in the Souchon family, Charles alias Ours, Pierre, and the father, Alain. They came together to talk about music around two events. On the one hand, there is the 20th anniversary gala of the Alzheimer Research Foundation, organized by Pierre, which will take place on Monday March 18 at the Olympia. And on the other, there is the tour by Alain Souchon accompanied by Ours and Pierre Souchon, which will begin on May 5, 2024 at the Théâtre du Vésinet. They will pass through Amiens, Vaison-la-Romaine, Rennes, Saint-Brieuc, Montpellier, Roubaix, or even Le Havre, with also a stop from November 13 to 16, 2024 at the Casino de Paris.

franceinfo: What does it mean to be brought together all three in all these projects?

Pierre Souchon: In fact, it’s been a while, for six or seven years, that we’ve been working on joint projects, with the adventure of Soldier Pinkwith the album Fifties Souls. For some time, we’ve been doing little concerts like that, to help a hospital, a friends’ festival, a nursing home. We came to do pieces of my father, which are part of people’s collective memory, to have a good time together.

“People are touched by songs that evoke memories, nostalgia a little, and then family. So since it brings the two together a little bit, it motivated the three of us to do something.”

Pierre Souchon

at franceinfo

Charles Souchon alias Bear: And then we take a lot of pleasure in all of that. There is something quite simple. We’re quite “friends” in life, we’re close, we often talk on the phone, so we often find ourselves naturally with our guitars, we talk about our songs, and it’s pleasant, it’s joyful.

Alain, you passed on to them the love of music, but the love of words too. At what age did you discover words?

Alain Souchon: When I was a child, they sang songs to me that told stories: “On the steps of the palace, there is such a beautiful girl…“If there were just:”Come back darling, come back darling”, It shaved me! Whereas the songs that told stories, like those of Georges Brassens, immediately appealed to me.

These are the 20th anniversary of the Alzheimer Research Foundation. This is a pretty powerful moment for you. Pierre, was it important to be there, at that moment, as the Souchon family, as artists?

Pierre Souchon : Yes, definitely. What touches me is that the artists want to come with so much commitment. And then there was also a small escalation in donations: 15 years ago, we were around 80,000 euros for researchers, and then that gave 120, 200 until now 500,000 euros in donations for a few years. years. I tell myself that we don’t do this for nothing.

In total, I believe there were 23 million donated.

Alain Souchon: It is true that doing this led us to meet researchers. These people, who work in the laboratory to find solutions against this disease, need a lot of money.

How did you organize this concert?

Pierre Souchon : We are lucky to have a core of loyal artists made up of the three of us, with Laurent Voulzy who is also part of the family, Vincent Delerm, Sandrine Kiberlain, Carla Bruni and Nolwenn. We are truly the core of the faithful. Every year, we systematically come back. There is Pascal Obispo who returns this year, Édouard Baer for the first time, Juliette Armanet. I know that Juliette Armanet spontaneously spoke about her grandmother suffering from the disease and that she had a very musical relationship with her. So, I said to myself: we have to call artists like that who talk about that.

“Helping the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation through songs is symbolic because songs are spared by the disease. People affected may not recognize their own loved ones, but a song is indelible. We Don’t forget the songs.”

Pierre Souchon

at franceinfo

Your father has a one-man show side too!

Charles Souchon alias Bear: I realize that humor has been a big part of him since I’m ten years old. He has this slightly mocking thing for laughing, Henhouse’s Song Also, Never happy gna gna gna…

Alain Souchon: It was my dream to make people laugh. It was my dream and very quickly, I put some kind of trick to make it a little funny.

Charles Souchon alias Bear: But that is precisely what is touching, in a show, to alternate between emotion and laughter, which makes you gain a little height compared to what we have just described which is a little profound. I like it when there is this balance of smile and depth.

Alain Souchon: I’m lucky, huh, because they’re both talented and they come and play guitar for me. I’m lucky, Pierre Souchon and Ours!

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