Françoise 70 (15): Francoise au Pays-Bas
The television broadcast in which Françoise Hardy made her first appearance (well as far as we know) on Dutch television, has gained a mythical status.
Unfortunately not because of Françoise….
It was on October 12, 1963 when she received an Edison in Scheveningen. The television registration of this “Grand Gala du Disque” as it was called is still known in the minds of viewers (and those who only heard about it). That was mainly because of the presenter, writer and comedian Godfried Bomans. Not only did he look drunk (or at least tipsy), it was especially what he said to the award winners that made it legendary.
Especially the remark he made before the star of the evening Marlene Dietrich came on stage: “ Oh how I wish my wife had only one leg like that”. In the following days this became the talk of the town. People were talking about it, newspapers writing articles about what happened and even serious editorials comments appeared in the papers.
But what about Françoise?
I couldn’t find any references to whether she actually performed that night. Couldn’t find the complete show, and the papers don’t mention it, so I guess she only showed up to accept her award. I did find this picture in which she sings with the same dress, she wears in the show, but that was dated October 1964…
In his speech Bomans starts by staring at here saying: “my dad used to say that it is OK to stare”. Françoise seems to be at ease, and surprised but during the talk she seems pretty much a relaxed 19 year old girl.
After some chit chat about her name and the non pronunciation of the “H” in “Ardy, he gives her the Edison in the category youth, by saying: “And why, mademoiselle? Because you are an idol for the youth in France, but it is mainly because you had the courage not to imitate the Americans in your genre. You kept your original style; you write your own texts, compose your own melodies and you are a creative artist. That’s rare. It is for all that that I have the honour to present to you our sincere tribute”.
Here you can see the whole show (FH entering at 9:50)
The Godfried Bomans – Françoise Hardy encounter is likely to last in the annals of historic film, after the Marlene Dietrich line is forgotten – at least outside the Netherlands. It shows how superbly Françoise had adapted to fame, even by 1963. To this viewer, Bomans does not appear drunk; rather, he is very similar is his put-on style of talking to his British contemporary of the 1960s Gerard Hoffnung – a ‘gentleman wit’, a type not seen today.
I recommend a different Youtube clip, which shows just the Bomans-Hardy part of the show, followed by a video of ‘Tous les garçons et les filles’. This is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu-t1xskWBE
On that Youtube page, a reader has translated parts of Boman’s words from Dutch in to English.
Françoise did not perform at the event – there is reference to her having flown specially from Spain to receive the award. Her dress is in the classic Paris nightclub style that she dropped in 1964 as Jean-Marie Périer made her into the Sixties fashion icon that we know.
The reasons for the Dutch Music Industry award to Françoise in 1963 sound even better in French as Godfried Bomans speaks them. They ring down half a century to the achievement in the 2010s of Coeur de Pirate, perhaps Françoise’s true successor of today:
« Et pourquoi, Mademoiselle…. parce que vous êtes l’idole des jeunes gens en France [and says a word or two in Dutch] … mais c’est parce que vous avez eu le courage de ne pas imitier les americaines de votre genre. Vous avez gardé un style personnel ; vous écrivez vos textes vous-même, vous composez vos melodies ; enfin vous êtes une artiste créative – c’est rare. C’est pour tous cela que j’ai l’honneur de vous offrir notre hommage sincère »
How charming is our young François.