French idol

The name Claude François may not ring a bell with many readers. Yet under his nickname Cloclo, François sold millions of records. In France today the singer, who died in 1978, has practically been elevated to the status of demigod. The uninitiated might recognize the numbers by American artists which François covered, such as Frank Sinatra’s My Way or Elvis Presley’s My Boy. For fans and anyone who is curious, the Heerenstraat cinema is organizing a French afternoon on Sunday 30 September. There will be music by the folk-pop ensemble Novakoski, which draws inspiration from the French chanson, and French snacks will be served. The highpoint of the afternoon will be the screening of the new biopic about François’s life: Cloclo. His life story reads almost like a script. Born in Egypt, he moved to Paris to make his career as a chansonnier. His personal relationships were stormy, especially the difficult relationship with his father. At the peak of his fame he met a sudden and tragic end, aged 39. He was electrocuted in the bath when he tried to set a light fitting straight. Someone should write a melancholic chanson about that.