I heard this song on the radio and it brought back a flood of memories.
Born in New Brunswick, Canada and perfectly bilingual, Roch Voisine aspired to be a professional hockey player. His musical breakthrough came with this song, Hélène, which sold three million copies and became a major hit not only in Quebec but also in France, Belgium and Switzerland.
After a highly successful European Tour in 1991, he was awarded France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, becoming the youngest artist to receive it at age 28. His second European tour culminated in Paris where he sang in front of 75,000 people. The show was broadcast live on television and reached 14 million viewers.
This clip below is from his Canadian tour. He shows remarkable sang-froid in front of the screaming mob of adoring women. Notice the absence of phones and how people can enjoy themselves without.
Juliet in Paris
I’ve always liked the name Hélène because of the symmetry of the three letters élè in the middle.
Like Thérèse.
Yes, it is a nice name. In English and in French.
On the same tour he sang “I’ll Always Be There – Je Te Serai Fidèle” another great song! This posting was a pleasant antidote from the news of pension reform turmoil which I found interesting but disturbing especially viewing protesters carrying placards reading “Black Bloc”.
Yes, for those who don’t know, the “Black Bloc” is an amorphous group of resistance militants, largely extreme-left anarchists, who infiltrate protest movements in France (and other countries). They advocate hatred of capitalism, governments, law enforcement and globalization. The movement came out of West Berlin in the 1980s.
During the “gilet jaune” protests in France a few years ago, the gilet jaune activists themselves were blamed for the violence and vandalism caused. But it wasn’t them, it was the Black Blocs.