I’ve posted before about France Gall, the French yé-yé singer who, in the late 1960s, was a strong contender for the title of Cutest Woman Alive. Gallic cuteness + the ugly genius of Serge Gainsbourg = pop heaven.

Perhaps Gall’s most famous song is the Serge-penned “Laisse Tomber Les Filles.” It’s been covered by a bunch of acts over the years. Herewith, as many versions as I could find in 10 concentrated minutes of Googling:

First, the video of France Gall’s original:

Second, a cover by Mareva Galanter, a Tahitian-born ex-Miss France who now has a sort of ukulele-heavy yé-yé revivalist act. If the video seems a bit stilted and boring, that’s because it’s consciously modeled on old ’60s Scopitones:

Third, a punky (and sloppy) live version by the all-female French rock band Violett:

Fourth, a nice (audio-only) version by Fabienne Delsol, a French expat in the U.K. and ex-leader of The Bristols. It’s a little more full-bodied.

MP3 here.

Fifth, “Chick Habit,” the English-language version by April March, the delicious Francophile-animator-turned-chanteuse. Oh, April March, you temptress! Most of her catalog (which is well worth seeking out) is in French, but this translates Serge’s words in to “Hang up the chick habit / Hang it up, daddy / A girl’s not a tonic or a pill.”

MP3 here.

Sixth — and bringing us to two ukulele references in this post — is this live version (Dec. 19, 2002) by The Kelele Brothers. It’s actually a cover of the April March version. Quoth their web site: “The Kelele Brothers, by day, are a mild-mannered group of world-travelling superstars who, at night, armed with ukeleles and beer, turn into a ridiculous bunch of yahoos.” They’re actually Canadian songwriter Ron Sexsmith and his touring band.

MP3 here.

16 November 2006

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