Friends from the start of their respective musical careers, Laurent Voulzy remembered an unfortunate falling out with Alain Souchon in the 1980s. Shortly after experiencing success in the 7th art in the film The killer summer released in 1983, the performer of the title Sentimental Crowd had felt neglected by Laurent Voulzy who seemed to have no more time to devote to him.
Working on his album Bopper in tears, Laurent Voulzy had effectively postponed his work with Alain Souchon on numerous occasions, for lack of time. Interviewed in the documentary Alain Souchon: the soundtrack of his life broadcast on September 30, 2022 on France 3, the dad of Julien, Nicolas, Cliff and Quentin recounted this dispute which had marked him a lot at the time.
He got carried away
“I had made a commitment with him. He told me: ‘We have to write songs’. I said ‘Oui, Alain’ and the recording never ended. (…) Then one day, he said to me: ‘Laurent, I’ve been waiting for months to make songs together. I told him: ‘I haven’t finished my recording’. And there, he lost his temper for ten seconds and we hung up on each other“ confides the singer who adds, amused: “I think it’s the only time in our life.” Describing Alain Souchon’s annoyance as a “shock“, He pursues : “Thirty seconds later, I called Alain back. I told him, ‘We can’t argue about this“. A falling out quickly settled and which led to a lot more conversation “gentlebetween the two artists.
As a reminder, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon met in 1974. After a friendly love at first sight, they immediately collaborated on the title I’m ten years old, enormous success of the French song. Emblematic titles likee Bidon, Hello mom bobo, Never happy, There’s rumba in the air. Their sons also became friends since Julien Voulzy formed the group The Noon Seekers with Pierre Souchon, eldest son of Alain Souchon.