So Julien, this is the first American tour of your career. Does that make it specially significant for you?
Yes, it does. You know, the concept of my new show makes it easier to perform my material to audiences who don't necessarily know anything about my earlier work. The songs have been specially re-arranged for the new show and I find that somehow this restores a lot of their original meaning. In fact, I think that in many ways the new version of my old hits brings the songs closer to what they were when I wrote them. The new show is entirely acoustic, so this obviously places a lot of emphasis on vocal performance and the lyrics. So I feel that people in the audience who speak French, but don't actually know the songs, are in more of a position to appreciate them. What's good about the new show is that the melodies aren't hidden behind complicated arrangements, which means that people discovering my work for the first time can really get into the music. For me, this is really the ideal kind of show to take on tour abroad - it's especially suitable for American audiences who are very 'music-minded'. You know, I've been pretty surprised at the reaction of the audiences here so far. They didn't know my work at all before I came out here and yet everyone's been really, really enthusiastic about my music.

Has America always been a source of inspiration in your work?
Yes, of course. The US has had a great influence on me and not just in terms of music or lyrics, but attitude too. You know I'm very much part of the French tradition - and that's something I'm very proud of - but when I was growing up in France America was part of the dream of a whole generation. I can still remember Gilbert Bécaud talking to me about Sinatra! So, you see, American influence goes back a long way. I believe everyone who's involved in making music has a little bit of American dream somewhere in their soul. What's funny in my case is that I'd kind of lost touch with my American dream - but coming back here and the whole tour going really smoothly and everything, well it's been a really good surprise!

Talking of Bécaud and the French tradition - I saw that a local newspaper in Denver referred to you as 'a chanteur de charme who became a pop icon by maintaining the tradition of chansonniers Gilbert Becaud and Charles Aznavour ". Would you agree with that definition? Yes. I think that French chanson needs to have some kind of image attached to it - I mean, you have to admit that over here French music is in a really bad way! There's no strong recognition factor attached to it. So I think it's good that French music does have this certain aura for the Americans - like Latin music it's thought of as being a bit exotic, something with a bit of extra charm! I don't think this notion of charm is any way harmful to the image of French music - on the contrary, it helps to give it an identity here.

Do you feel comfortable with the idea of being a French 'crooner' though?
Well, I guess it's true to say that in the course of my career I've done a lot of love songs. But you know, the term crooner is a very precise, very American thing. In fact, the French idea of 'chanteur de charme' isn't the exact equivalent of the American idea of a crooner.

How do you explain the fact that so many French artists end up coming to the States to record their albums and shoot their music videos, when it's so difficult for French artists to actually perform live here?
Well, when you come over here to record an album it's different. You're paying to use American studio technicians' skills and their production expertise. When French artists come over to America, if you like, it's to get a breath of fresh air, to tune in to a different culture which can give them a new burst of creativity. I find it's really interesting to come over here and work with different producers - it gives you a bit of a culture shock and I think that's always a good thing as far as music is concerned! But, you know, when French artists come and record over here, most of the time they know very well that they're not actually going to release their album in the States. Besides, Americans have a very protectionist attitude when it comes to defending their culture.
Basically, I think a lot of people don't give a damn about discovering other cultures. But I think that's a big mistake - look at the growth of the Hispanic market in the States, for example. There's enormous potential for things that are 'different'.

Most of the time in the States French artists seem to be lumped into the 'world music' category...
Yes, I guess that's true. But maybe that's not such a bad thing, after all?

Here you are touring in a different country with a brand new kind of show - are we about to witness the birth of a new-style Julien Clerc?
Well, I think that - like all kinds of new experience - the fact of touring in a different country with a different style of show means that I'm discovering a whole new side of my profession. You know, I've never been that good at talking to the audience when I'm up on stage. And that's really changed with this type of show. You know, when you're up there on stage and you haven't got bass and drums, the emphasis really falls on the spoken word, on direct communication with the audience.
It was a very deliberate choice, you know, to invent a show which involves as few people as possible on stage. When I came up with the idea I wasn't very sure how it was going to work out, but in general I tend to go on gut reaction. I follow my instincts. And the show's ended up being more or less how I originally conceived it. The fact of taking this new show abroad has really forced me to work on talking to the audience between tracks, instead of just playing the whole thing straight through. You know, live performance has always played an essential role in my career. I've been through all the really important moments of my life up there on stage. Whenever I've had to struggle to prove something or get my career off the ground in a new way, it's always happened through my live work, even back home in France.
I think that musically speaking, the fact that we've re-worked the songs and totally rearranged the rhythm sections - so that we've kept the beat of the original song but stripped it of the clutter of bass and drums - has forced me to work in a whole new way. And that's obviously going to have a good influence on what I do in the future. It's taught me to reflect a lot more on what I do in any case. And it's been really great covering other people's songs too! So yes, in answer to your question, I think that somewhere down the line all of this is going to help me enter a new phase in my career.

You attach a lot of importance to your live work. Do you think that you'd find your work just as interesting if there wasn't a live side to it?
Well, the thing is that over the years I've become incredibly relaxed about performing live. I've always loved playing live but for many years I found the whole experience really nerve-wracking. It's taken me a long time to adjust, but now I'm really confident up on stage. It's funny, I guess fans who came to my first concerts must feel they're seeing someone totally different performing now!
In the course of my career I feel I've always had to try and keep doing different things. You know, every time I put out a new album, I'd try and make it the exact opposite of the last one. Now, with this new show I feel like I'm adding a new string to my bow. Finally, I feel like I'm moving on. You know, I guess that's what happens as you get older - you use all the experience you've built up over the years and put it all together to create something new. For me, it's a form of continuity.

Talking of doing new things and branching out in new directions - I know there was some talk of you doing a musical with Luc Plamondon. What stage is that project at right now?
Well, I don't really know. What I do know is that Luc is the only guy on the current music scene who's really capable of getting projects like that up and running. He's the only one who's really got the expertise to create successful musicals in French. But I can't really say much else on the subject right now.

But you'd be interested in getting involved with a 'group' experience?
Yes, I would. I really loved performing in a musical when I did it last time. (Ed. Julien starred in Hair in 1969). It's a completely different kind of show, of course. And I don't pretend I wouldn't be a bit apprehensive about doing it. After all, musicals aren't really a French thing, are they?

Do you pay a lot of attention to new musical trends. Are you interested in the current vogue for electronic music, for example?
Well, I hear it around me all the time!

But it doesn't necessarily have any influence on your own music?
No, I'd say it does actually. You always end up integrating different musical elements into your style. Basically, when you like something you always find a way of recycling it into your own music. I believe it's essential to go with progress, it's important to work with new techniques and new attitudes - but only if it fits in with your own music! I don't think your own style should become deformed in the process. For me, that's what making 'contemporary' music means. I'd never go out tomorrow and record a whole album of loops and samples. That would be completely ridiculous - besides nobody would be interested in hearing that from me! But I do believe it's important to be open to new attitudes. Take rap music, for example - and God knows I'm not a big fan of all types of rap music! But it's true to say that rap has taught us to listen to music in a totally new way. And we have to take that into account.

Talking of rap music, I know that a certain rapper recently sampled your hit C'est une Andalouse. How do you feel about that?
I think it's funny! And it's also a bit of an honour, in fact. There was another group who used an extract from "Yann et les Dauphins" at one point, but their single never came out. In any case, I think the idea of being sampled is great!

You're off to tour Asia in May, which will be a very different kind of experience. Do you ever adapt your shows for different audiences?
No, never! I'm going to do exactly the same show in Asia as I'm doing now. OK, I guess I did make a few very minor changes in the show to bring it to the States. I took out a couple of songs, replacing a Ferré cover with a famous Piaf song for example. I felt that the Piaf number would be more meaningful to American audiences listening to French chanson for two hours! You have to put in a few things they know, after all. But apart from that it's exactly the same show I did in France. And no, I'm not thinking of changing it in any way for the next leg of the tour. Besides, I don't know enough about Chinese culture to make any pertinent changes! I'm going in there with my eyes closed really - we'll just have to see how things turn out!

You do a lot of covers in your new show. But there seems to be one famous French singer missing from your cover list - Serge Gainsbourg...
Yes, well I don't know if I'd do Gainsbourg very well really. I did do a cover of Elisa a few years ago actually. But, in fact, there's a lot of French singers missing from the list. When I decided what I was going to put in the show I chose artists from one particular generation of French singers. I could have included Yves Montand, for example. My mother was a huge Montand fan, you know. My mother didn't actually bring me up so I only saw her at weekends and I remember she always had Yves Montand playing away on the record-player when I went over!
When I was choosing what to put into the show, I didn't base my choice on the songs alone. The songs were chosen because they each have special significance for me. They're attached to some particular memory and that memory comes flooding back to me when I perform them each night. When I cover Gilbert Bécaud, for example, I always think of the tours we did together. It's a real trip down memory lane!

Your American tour has been organised by the 'Alliances françaises', the French cultural institutes which play an essential role in teaching French abroad. Do you feel that you're a kind of 'ambassador' for the French language when you come and perform abroad?
Yes, I do really. Maxime Le Forestier once wrote the song A mon âge et à l'heure qu'il est ("By Now At My Age") for me! And I think that by now at my age, I can consider myself as a kind of ambassador because I've got a few years experience behind me now! I'm proud to be an ambassador for French music, because all my life I've fought to get French music heard. In fact, I've been fighting for that in my own way throughout my entire career. Today I don't have any problems with my identity. I've fully accepted the fact that I'm a 'French singer' with all that that entails - even if at times in the past I've sometimes diverged a bit by recording stuff in English! But I honestly believe that singers are never better than when they're doing what they know how to do and singing in their own language! And when you've understood that, believe me you stick to what you know! I once did an album in English, you know, but I felt fundamentally uncomfortable with it. It left me with a funny taste in my mouth, because you have to put on a special accent and it just doesn't sound natural. I remember this English singer coming up to me at the time and saying I was really brave to sing in a different language. I didn't really understand what she meant at the time, but now I know she was right. Now I know I'm French - and, what's more, I'm proud to be French!

On this particular tour most of your audiences obviously don't speak French and don't understand your lyrics. Do you think that, in spite of the language barrier, you still get some kind of emotional message across?
Yes, I do. Not all my songs make it through the language barrier. But the strongest ones do I think. When you listen to Vinicius de Moraes, for example, you end up getting real goose bumps, you know, even though you haven't understood a single word!

This interview is being posted on RFI's website... What do you think about the Internet. Do you use the Net at all?
No, I don't, but I think it's really amazing! I must admit I'm a bit behind with the whole Internet thing. And coming to the States has made me even more aware of that! Here the Internet's everywhere, in conversations, in the papers, just everywhere...

Do you share record companies' concern about the Internet making music freely available and therefore infringing on artists' copyright?
Yes, but what can you do about it? Everyone's got to work these problems out in their own way. I have to admit that I've never really looked after anything like that. I've always been the 'artist' taking care of the creative side of things and trying to get the people around me to deal with practical things. Basically, I delegate a lot! You can't do everything in this business - well, I don't seem to be able to manage to anyway! Actually, I think French songwriters and composers are the best protected in the world! I mean, if you're ever lucky - or unlucky enough - to score a hit in the States, I've heard it's a complete nightmare trying to claim your copyright dues. But there are people who do it very well for you!

One final question - are you enjoying your tour so far?
Yes, I'm having a brilliant time! I've always enjoyed touring - and the concept behind this new show makes it particularly enjoyable to perform.