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French pop hero Alain Bashung dies

Somewhere between Gainsbourg, Scott Walker and Gene Vincent, Alain Bashung, who has died aged 61, was a French popstar with millions of fans.

"At Mondomix we are reeling from the news of the sudden death of Alain Bashung", writes Benjamin Minimum, editor at Mondomix Paris. "He was one of the very few French artists we could truly call a national treasure. And if our international friends are well aware of the importance of Serge Gainsbourg today, they will surely appreciate the name Alain Bashung tomorrow."

Half Breton and half Kabyle, he wrote the anti-racism anthem ‘Touche pas à mon pote’ (hands off my mate), and spoke the language of rock with a heartfelt syntax. Throughout his career he paid homage to Gainsbourg, Trenet, Nino Ferrer, Christophe and Gérard Manset, and Bashung also drew his influences from the great American singers - Elvis, Hank Williams, Buddy Holly and Dylan – and he recorded some awesome covers. But when his career took off it was powered by his own compositions – like the hit Gaby and the album Roulette Russe - he was a key artist as punk rock took hold in France and during the 80s new wave.

He worked a rare intelligence and profound poetry into his songwriting, over the years developing a style of phrasing which always put expressiveness first. Less ruled by the idea of absolute authorship than Gainsbourg, Bashung knew, throughout his career, how to find alter egos to expand his universe. With the lyricists Boris Bergman and Jean Fauque, he coaxed the French language into spitting out unique images and rendered obselete the notion that Francophone artists were incapable of creating rock in their mother tongue. He inspired, or demanded, great contributions from his musicians as well. In or out of the spotlight, players such as Rodolphe Burger, Link Wray, Marc Ribot, Stéphane Belmondo, Joseph Racaille, les Valentins, Gaétan Roussel (from the band Louise Attaque) and even Gainsbourg all served the design and destiny of this immense singer, this sonic architect of grands espaces. Bashung continued to imbue his music with power and elegance, intensifying his live performances and refining his recordings, right up until the end, with his last album Bleu Patrole.

Colour-blind, he lived his life in black and white but he gave us the means to add colours to our soulful blues. Crazy, he smashed symbols and broke new ground. Wise, he helped us to bear the ‘mountains of questions which still hold her echo’ (La Nuit Je Rêve) and ‘the doubts about the notion of longevity’ (Le Secret des Banquises). Now that he is gone, we know that his name, his talent and our appreciatiion will continue to shine for many generations to come.

Benjamin MiNiMuM

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