JACQUES BREL

Public Address: JACQUES BREL

Jacques Brel rose to prominence before American/English pop music took off and significantly influenced modern-day songwriters. Since the 1960s, many have shown their admiration to Brel and have paid tribute to him by covering his translated songs. Brel was, first and foremost, a writer but he would later learn more about the mechanics of music theory from the classical piano player, Francoise Rauber, who also accompanied him for his earlier performances. It would stand him in good stead to become the icon he now is.

Brel was one of the first major literary songwriters who pulled from subversive material for his songs; prostitution, alcoholism, death, drug use and the bourgeoisie are just some of the taboo topics Jacques began introducing into popular culture. Although there’s a long list of artists who have covered Brel songs, one of the most popular was the American singer Scott Walker, although he wasn’t the first. Later, David Bowie took on a couple of the songs that Scott Walker did and based them on his arrangements. In the second hour of this programme we'll hear some of the standout English-language cover versions of Brel's classic material.

Written Produced and Presented by Thom McKeown © 2023