Now, astute fans will be thinking that the 5,000-place Zénith is a million miles from the tiny 250-seater Européen – and they'd be right! That's why the imaginative Monsieur Clerc has been rehearsing two very different shows, promising fans a return to his "rock’n roll" roots at the Zénith and a quieter acoustic mood at other venues. The shows will have something in common, though, both of them including ten "absolute classics" besides 13 or 14 "individually-tailored" songs. And fans can expect at least half of the songs on Julien's latest album Si j’étais elle (released on Virgin in the winter of 2000) to feature somewhere down the line too!

So, Julien, here you are about to embark on another highly original tour. What gave you the idea for the format of the new shows? Am I right in assuming that the acoustic tour you did back in '99 set you thinking along new lines?
Performing an acoustic tour like that certainly opened my eyes to a lot of new things – and I must say that's a great experience for someone who's just turned 50! That tour really made me see my profession in a totally new way. It opened up a space where I was able to begin questioning the arrangements and production techniques I'd used up until now. With the acoustic tour I only had two musicians up on stage with me, which meant I had to come up with totally new ways of performing my songs. That made me realise that there was a hell of a lot you could do with the originals without losing the essential 'soul' of the songs.

How did you go about choosing which 40 songs you were going to play at the new shows?
Well, I sat down with a boxed set of my complete works and read through the list of titles on the album sleeves. I started thinking about which songs I hadn't performed in a while, which songs I really felt like doing and which 'absolutely must-play classic' could be replaced by which other 'absolutely must-play classic.' Putting things together this way meant I could keep audiences satisfied with a balance of old ground and new territory. Because, despite what anyone says, everyone likes to go to a concert and hear the songs they know!
Anyway, once I'd drawn up a rough draft of my own selection I got in touch with a couple of friends whose judgement I really trust and asked them to make a list of their own suggestions. That way I got some idea of what new songs or old favourites people felt like hearing. After that I sat down, compared lists and amalgamated everyone's ideas. Then I set to work rehearsing the songs, practising a few more than I thought would be necessary – just in case! Besides taking songs from the lists I also tried to take other things into account, like how individual songs would work within the overall logic of the show and which ones would sound good following on from another musically. And, I have to admit, things didn't always turn out as I'd imagined them on paper!

Is it harder preparing two totally different shows than working on a single tour concept?
No, not at all. And you can imagine the endless changes and permutations you can play with when you've decided to use 40 songs overall…

Will the show at Le Zénith be the one you take on national tour afterwards?
Essentially, yes it will. But there are bound to be songs from the acoustic show which I enjoy doing and which I'd be frustrated not to fit in somewhere. There's another important thing that counts when it comes to live performances and that's the personality of the musicians you work with. That's the reason I like to change my musical 'team' on a regular basis. This is the first time I've worked with someone like Yves d’Angelo, for instance, and I must say he's really brought a lot of his own input.

Do you still go about songwriting the same way?
Well, you obviously evolve as you get more experience behind you. And sometimes, I must admit, I listen to some of my old songs and think "That's funny, how did I end up writing that?" But on another, deeper level I'd say I write my songs today the way I always have.

But do you always use a particular method?
I always write my songs on the piano – it's an old Yamaha I've had for over 30 years now! I bought it when I moved into my first home in the country and then I had it moved up to Paris. What happens is, I sit down and play a few basic chords and sing along with them, you know, "la,la,la". That's the way I invent my melodies, by singing them and jotting them down as I go along. As for the rhythm section that's something I work on afterwards – although a lot of the time the rhythm's already there in what I've written really! I've always used this approach and that's one of the reasons I enjoy co-writing so much. Generally, what I like to do is keep the melody part for myself and then get someone else on board who'll bring me something different in terms of rhythm or harmony.
Collaborating with a guitarist was a completely new experience for me and it was great because it really made me work differently. On my last album I co-wrote Tu t’es en allée with Hervé Brault. It's a sort of waltz number based on lyrics by David McNeil. And it's amazing, I'd never have come up with that harmony on my own. It's a real guitarist thing. I mean, in theory, you could come up with the harmony on the piano, I suppose – but it's not something that would have come naturally! The way we ended up working on the three songs I co-wrote with Hervé was he'd come round with piles of demo CDs featuring a selection of rhythms and harmonies he'd worked into a sort of 'pre-arrangement'. And I'd run through them and pick out musical 'themes' which gave me ideas for melodies. I believe that rare, timeless things only happen when you don't impose any sort of constraint, be it rhythm or anything else.
I'm moving away from a situation where people know my songs off by heart and giving them the chance to discover something new. But the new versions of my songs - where it's just me alone at the piano - don't lose any of the original emotion. That's something I put into the songs no matter what! That's what I know I'm good at!

Do you realise that most people would be completely incapable of singing a Julien Clerc number, because technically your songs are actually very difficult?
Yes, I do realise that. It's something I think about all the time, in fact, but that doesn't stop me writing songs like that! Of course, it's something I'm aware of - people are always coming up to me and saying "Your songs are really tricky to sing!" But there are just times when you can't do things differently. You just can't conceive of the song any other way. There's a logic in the music and that's that! I have to admit it's something that over the last few years I've debated long and hard about with myself. But before I barely gave it a second thought!

Interview: Bertrand Dicale
Translation: Julie Street

Concert dates: Le Bataclan (15-19 January), Le Casino de Paris (21, 22, 28 and 29 January), Le Zénith (24 and 25 January, 1 and 2 February), L’Européen (5-9 February).