French Music: "Ça plane pour moi" by Plastic Bertrand, 1977
The First French Punk Song: Industry pros create a pop-punk smash hit that epitomized the era
Co-written by Beligians Roger François Jouret and Francis Jean "Lou" Deprijck , “Ça plane pour moi” (“It is Gliding For Me” – it doesn’t translate so well…) was released in 1977 and contrived to be the first French-language punk song - in response to the US and UK punk invasion of the 1970s.
Using influences from The Clash, Sex Pistols, the Beach Boys or even the Four Seasons, the song was described as new wave, punk and a parody of punk rock. Deprijck’s fast-paced monotone drive was infectious, even if critics panned the song. It sold nearly 1 million copies in its first months and nearly 10 million overall, reaching top chart positions in several countries, including a number one spot in France and Top 10 in the UK, Australia, and the US.
The song continues to show up on soundtracks and movies today trying to recreate some sense of the 1980s. Even if it started as a parody, the song is now considered a kind of punk classic, but not by purists, of course.
Lou Deprijck was the true voice behind the hit, even as Plastic Bertrand released it under his own name and performed it, as you can see in the badly lip-synced performance below.
With later songs, like “Ping Pong,” you get the sense that Bertrand was not the talent behind the band.
While Plastic' Bertrand’s song was a huge hit, the backing track was repurposed from a lesser-known song, "Jet Boy Jet Girl" by Elton Motello, also released in 1977. The song had some impressively overt gay themes for the era, but made little impact. The song today is mostly known because of “Ça plane pour moi.”
The song, with lyrics, not that it helps: