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HF Thiéfaine
Still Going Strong At Fifty!
15/12/1998 -
Organising a mega-concert at Paris's giant Bercy stadium is not exactly a quiet, intimate way of celebrating your 50th birthday. But then Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine - H.F.T. to fans and friends - has spent his entire career surprising us with unexpected twists and turns! Ever since his first album, "Tout Corps Vivant Branché sur le Secteur Étant Appelé à S'émouvoir" (released in 1978), Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine has escaped critics' attempts at pinning him down and refused to let anyone pigeon-hole him into a neat little musical category. And today H.F.T. is proud to remain an Unidentified Singing Object revolving in his own musical universe! Fans have remained loyal to the singer, despite - or maybe because of - his weird and wonderful ways. And more than 17,000 H.F.T. followers turned out to celebrate the singer's 50th birthday at Bercy, applauding Thiéfaine's 20 years in showbiz which have spawned almost as many albums (some of them brilliant, some of them not quite so good!)
There aren't many French music stars who are capable of packing out Bercy stadium, a.k.a. the hallowed temple of French rock. In fact, there are so few you can count them on one hand - Johnny Hallyday, Michel Sardou, Jacques Higelin and that's about it! Yet last week Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine, who does not have Hallyday's media hype, Higelin's 'showman' reputation nor Sardou's hordes of middle-aged groupies, managed to fill Bercy with a capacity audience and bring the house down with a mega mega-show.
On this grand occasion Thiéfaine - who is normally a rather solitary performer - invited a couple of star guitarists from his earlier tours (namely Rocky Demelester and Claude Mairet) to add a few special musical effects. And halfway through his mega-show (which lasted a full three and a half hours!) HFT leapt down from the stage and threw himself into the audience Hallyday-style, launching into a rendition of his famous hit "Mathématiques Souterraines". The crowd went wild, singing along with the bizarrely surreal chorus : "Il pleut toujours sur ta valise et t'as mal aux oneilles". After making his way back to the stage, where his rock guitarists and two black backing singers were waiting for him, Thiéfaine continued on a nostalgic note, launching into two songs dedicated to his sons, Hugo ("Septembre Rose") and Lucas ("Tita Dong Dong Song"). This burst of paternal love and pride was accompanied by the image of Thiéfaine's cute-looking sons which were projected onto a giant screen at the back of the stage. The audience smiled along throughout, although they looked a tiny bit embarrassed at being excluded from the singer's touching display of family tenderness and affection.
Then it was time for a rousing chorus of "Je t'en Remet au Vent" and a burst of the legendary Thiéfaine hit "La Fille du Coupeur de Joint". The audience went wild as H.F.T. launched into his grand finale, leaping to their feet to give the singer a standing ovation. Then, exhausted but happy, they made their way out of the stadium, trailing their kids behind them as they clamoured to buy a copy of H.F.T.'s new single "Dernières Balises (avant mutation)" on the way out. One over-excited girl was even heard asking : "Mummy, what exactly are "Oneilles" anyway?". Looks like Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine's got a whole new generation of fans ready to rush out and buy his next album when they grow up!
Le Bonheur de la Tentation (Tristar/Sony Music)
Best of 78/98 (Tristar / Sony Music)
Frédéric Garat
21/10/2005 -
01/04/1998 -
