Serge Gainsbourg’s house, rue de Verneuil, has today become a museum dedicated to his memory and his work. Madelen invites you to discover or rediscover it, at the time when he lived there with Jane Birkin, and a baby named Charlotte, at the time of his first appearance on screen. These images were filmed in 1973 for the TV show À bout blank. For the duration of a sequence, he acts as a guide by describing to Michel Lancelot the decor of a living room where a piano sits, where he spent days, and often nights, working with extreme meticulousness, each note of melodies which have stood the test of time. What some call his genius was exercised in particular from three o’clock in the morning. Regularly accompanied home from a Parisian nightclub by police officers who had become friends, it was under the influence of the haze of alcohol that he composed until the early hours of the morning some of his most beautiful music.
During the visit, he guides the cameras to a bathroom where he ensures he goes as infrequently as possible. He swears it’s the truth! He is not yet “Gainsbarre” but already displays an art of provocation which he will make his brand image. The future character begins to take shape in filigrees…
When Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin opened the doors of rue de Verneuil…
In this report, he evokes, among other things, young years essentially devoted to his first passion, painting. A student at the Académie Montmartre, he learned its secrets thanks to the advice of a prestigious professor, Fernand Léger. He then created more than 400 paintings which remained in his workshop until the day when, he says, he decided to burn them. After careful consideration, he indeed felt that they were worthless, since they were not perfect. This is how he decided to devote himself to his other passion, music. At six years old, when his name was still Lucien, his father gave him his first piano lessons. He teaches him the basics of music theory and teaches him to decipher and play Rhapsody in blue and some other classics. Very quickly, the child chose to turn to other rhythms, starting with jazz. In 1958, he was hired at Milord l’Arsouille, a cabaret near the Palais Royal. He is responsible for ensuring the musical atmosphere between two mini-recitals, and if necessary, for accompanying artists on the bill. This is the case, one evening, of Boris Vian, who came to perform five songs. The two men hit it off and began a long conversation on the art of putting together verses and choruses. Serge then realizes that music could be the ideal means of expression to express his artistic tastes. He immediately locked himself up at home and created, in a week, around ten songs, including Le poinçonneur des Lilas, an extract of which he performed in À bout blank.
Today it has become cult, however, it was not a success, when its first record was released in 1958. Despite a few appearances on the television channel alone, it did not manage to reach the general public. . He was nevertheless noticed by some critics, but also by Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, who became his first unconditional fans. They advised him not to be discouraged. It was obvious to their eyes and ears that one day he would become a star. He finally presents a dog that he particularly likes. This is the first and last appearance on television for this all-white doggie. He died some time later of cirrhosis of the liver. Like Master like dog.