Songs performers are not always singers
By topffer
@topffer (42156)
France
December 5, 2017 7:54am CST
They might be actors as well. I thought at that today when I posted a link to a Youtube clip of an old rock’n roll. The performers on the clip are not singers, only actors, the sound is from a 1956 vinyl, but the clip is good, and it would be impossible to tell for somebody not knowing the song.
Thinking at it again, I suppose that a good example would be Plastic Bertrand. He is mainly known for a 1977 song «ça plane pour moi», adapted to English by Elton Motello («Jet Boy, Jet Girl»). 6 millions single sold through the world, it is a major hit for a punk-new wave song. It can be heard in many ads and movies, («127 hours», «The Wolf of Wall Street», and in the last Guillaume Canet movie (2017)among others).
It was composed by Lou Deprijck who searched for a performer having the right look for his song, that would be called «Plastic Bertrand» (a kind of joke, Bertrand was the name of a Belgian columnist writing on punk music). He found another Belgian, Roger Marie François Jouret, who was playing drums in a little punk group, «Hubble Bubble» under the name «Roger Junior». The bass player of the group had died in a car accident, and Junior was looking for another band.
Jouret accepted to be the performer of the song and signed a contract as performer, offering him only 0.5% of the income to come. It seems weird to accept so low wages, isn’t it ? There was a good reason : Roger Junior had the right look to become «Plastic Bertrand», but he was a drums player, not a singer. The real singer heard on the clip linked is Lou Deprijck himself. When he tried later to tell that he was the singer, Plastic Bertrand started a trial against him, showing his contract to the judges, who admitted that he was the performer, because... it was written on the contract (typical judicial logic). It was in 2006.
Then an expert did a digital analysis of the voice and discovered that some words were pronounced, not with the accent of Brussels, the Belgian capital where was born Plastic Bertrand, but with a country accent from Picardy, the native area of Deprijck. Worst, the same accent was present in the four first albums of Plastic Bertrand. It was in 2010, and he finally admitted that Deprijck was the singer.
Plastic Bertrand continues to «perform» though, he had 60 concerts this year. So, if you did not knew, you do not need to sing to be known as a famous singer.
I hope that this discussion opened new opportunities to those of you dreaming to be a singer, and not knowing how to sing.
11 people like this
9 responses
@Alian123 (549)
• Philippines
5 Dec 17
Lol there really are a lot of singers who are not actually "singers" a lot of celebrities here in our country are like that, launching their album, even though it is very obvious that they cannot sing. That is the power of lip syncing and voice editing
4 people like this
@much2say (53942)
• Los Angeles, California
5 Dec 17
Lip syncing! Oh the flip side, there are some amazing singers around who lack stage presence - "actors" would do a much better performance job. As I do not know much about Plastic Bertrand, how does he do with his live concerts (has he actually done his own singing?)? Are his fans still his fans after the controversy came out?
So I still have a chance at becoming a singing sensation ! I've been lip syncing all my life . . . that part I know I can do !
2 people like this
@much2say (53942)
• Los Angeles, California
6 Dec 17
@topffer He is a success story, I guess. Lucky for him! Maybe he has discovered his singing voice and perhaps the fans like it or are at least used to it by now. Or maybe they just like him - is/was he considered to be hot stuff?
Oh, but I do have a voice . . . um, but for singing, that is debatable .
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
5 Dec 17
Sincerely I do not know if he really sings today or if a record is played. Since 1977 he might have learned to sing, I give him the benefit of the doubt. Difficult to believe, but when it has been known, it has not dissuaded his fans to go to his concerts. He has gray hair now.
Indeed you can become a celeb singer, you just need to recruit a voice.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
5 Dec 17
It was also my case, I thought to start this discussion when I saw a song clip done by some actors, and Plastic Bertrand came to my mind... Lip syncing would have been a good thing for some silent cinema actors who have been unable to adapt to talking cinema.
1 person likes this
@misunderstood_zombie (8142)
• United States
5 Dec 17
Wow, I had no idea he wasn't the real singer. This reminds me of Milli Vanilli back in the 90's. I think the same thing happened to them--the actual singer came forth and told the truth. It's a sad situation for everyone.
2 people like this
@much2say (53942)
• Los Angeles, California
5 Dec 17
@misunderstood_zombie It was shocking when that all came out! They were cute and had the image, but not the voices. It bit them in the butt and for one of them it did not end well.
2 people like this
@misunderstood_zombie (8142)
• United States
5 Dec 17
@topffer For sure, there's a big 33 year time difference between the two of them. I know Milli Vanilli scammed everyone, but I always felt kind of sorry for them and now for Plastic Bertrand.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
5 Dec 17
I had not heard it since several years when I thought at it for this post, and for a song from the 70's it is aging well. The decor behind him is horrible though, typically from the 1970's. I have had something similar in a flat that I was renting. It would give me nightmares today.
You just need to do like him and you have a chance to become famous.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
5 Dec 17
I once had Ca Plane Pour Moi on 45. I loved that song.
1 person likes this