Mais non, this ain’t the actor Philippe Leroy, famous for his roles in Le Trou or Milano Calibro 9. According to this YouTube video, we can gather that French singer Philippe Leroy bleached his mane somewhere along the way and transformed into an artist with a quite particular clothing style, peculiar behaviour, and a haircut that tells stories from a trailer park only the boldest coiffeurs would dare to enter. Before Philippe went there, he looked (see right) pretty much like the guy who stole my sister’s bra at the youth hostel in Antibes as a souvenir, and recorded the French version of The Rubettes’ smash hit Tonight. Some people actually had sex while listening to it.

Philippe Leroy – Ce soir

The Rubettes original, also from 1974, remains a charming bubblegum-meets-glam gem. Twenty-five years later, British intellectuals The Auteurs paid tribute to The Rubettes with one of the finest pop songs of the 90s.

Rubettes – Tonight

Auteurs – The Rubettes