Marc Lavoine - "Pour Une Biguine Avec Toi" (1983)

In his early 20’s, Marc Lavoine embarked on a career as an actor, mostly landing roles in serial television. In the early- to mid-80’s he scored a few back-to-back hits on the pop music charts (sometimes writing his own material) and quickly attained much more success as a musician than he’d tasted as an actor. His telegenic looks didn’t hurt this transition, which, of course, coincided with the mushrooming global popularity of music videos.

The eerie Rick Springfield comparisons end right there, however. Marc Lavoine most certainly does not reside in a dusty “Where Is He Now?” file of unremembered 80’s video-hit wonders. In fact, as I write this entry, 2009’s “Volume Ten,” Lavoine’s tenth studio album (not counting live albums and compilations) remains ensconced in the French Top Ten Album Charts (nudged out of the highest spots only by the likes of worldwide phenoms Lady Gaga, Michael Bublé, and the Black Eyed Peas). The only time Rick Springfield has ever shared anything with Lady Gaga or the Black Eyed Peas has been in this sentence.

Ok, so having established that Lavoine remains a relevant, pop music elder statesman in France, one who continues to sell lots of records, let me again bounce back to those early days. I had wanted to write about something from “Volume Ten,” but I kept getting sucked into Lavoine’s earliest hits, particularly 1983’s “Pour Une Biguine Avec Toi,” in which Lavoine delivers an absolute classic—on only his second single.

From a 2010 vantage point, “Biguine” is pure 80’s sonic nostalgia: Lavoine’s earnest, growly vocals channel the dude from Simple Minds, the reverb-drenched guitar presages “Boys of Summer,” each chorus explodes with Psychedelic Furs-style keyboard-as-xylophone. Meanwhile, the heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics tally a list of all the things the singer would readily give up for a shot at the girl he’s got his eye on (possibly worrisome for said girl: his toothbrush made the list). Close your eyes, though, and you can see Molly Ringwald doing her library detention dance during Lavoine’s “Doo do-doot doo doo” vocal break after the chorus. Marc Lavoine: Where Is He Now? At the top of the charts, right where he’s always been…

click the image below to listen to song previews or buy the album: