Igor Gavrilov about the music of Jane Birkin

The name Jane Birkin is mentioned most often next to the name of Serge Gainsbourg, but her first husband was the composer John Barry, the author of the main theme for Bond films. She married him when she was 19 years old, even before Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up. The age difference between them was smaller than between Birkin and Gainsbourg, but thanks to the James Bond films, Barry had become a “living classic” earlier, and Birkin was a social celebrity. This marriage was born Kate Barry, who acted in films with both Birkin and her next husband Gainsbourg, and later became a sought-after photographer. In 2013, Kate Barry committed suicide by throwing herself from the window of her Paris apartment. Jane Birkin dedicated her latest album Oh! Pardon tu dormais…” (“Oh, I’m sorry I woke you up”; 2020). It was a family tragedy that forced Birkin to stop the series of remakes and remixes of old songs and create new material. The popular French author and performer Etienne Dao became a partner in this work.

Jane Birkin’s first album was released in 1973. All songs belonged to the authorship of Serge Gainsbourg, he also took an active part in the creation of the next five albums. Gainsbourg wrote for her almost until his death in 1991. The musical alliance of Birkin and Gainsbourg lasted longer than the family one: they parted ways in 1980. And only in the late 1990s, Birkin allowed herself to look for new co-authors. Naturally, the best lined up in line – Alain Chamfort, Francoise Hardy, Alain Souchon and the number one French rapper MC Solar. After a successful first experience (“A la legere”; 1998) and a noisy premiere of the concert program “Arabesque” (2002), Birkin embarked on experiments with musicians from all over the world.

The real breakthrough in her career was the album “Rendezvous” (2004), which was created by Bryan Ferry, Caetano Veloso, Leslie Feist, Manu Chao, Paolo Conte, Brigitte Fontaine, Beth Gibbons (Portishead), Benjamin Biolei, Brian Molko (Placebo) and Mickey 3D. In response to an album of songs written for her by the best songwriters of the era, Birkin released a collection of cover versions of “Fictions” (2006), which included compositions by Tom Waits, Neil Young, Kate Bush, and “Rendez-vous” member Beth Gibbons and Chilly Gonzales. The place of Serge Gainsbourg in the life of the Birkin singer was taken by the collective Gainsbourg, consisting of the best authors of the generation.

With a concert in support of “Rendez-vous” (2004), Jane Birkin first came to Moscow. She was persuaded for a long time, but she refused, as she was a consistent opponent of the war in Chechnya. She agreed only when the voice of “Memorial” joined the requests of the promoters (today it was included in the register of foreign agents, liquidated by a court decision). The concert was held in the now closed club “B2”. Fans of Birkin and Gainsbourg crowded into the concert hall so tightly that it was impossible to see the heroine, and it was also impossible to breathe. But the fact itself was important – the legend of the 1960s-1970s, the voice of the most erotic song in history “Je t`aime … Moi non plus”, the lady, who unexpectedly entered the phase of a triumphant comeback, honored the country with her visit.

Human rights activism for Jane Birkin was as important as recording songs and film roles, and in the last years of her life, perhaps even more important. She perfectly understood that she would not surprise anyone with her gentle vocals or her huge eyes. But there is a legend. And all these young musicians who dream of touching the legend, like fashionistas with her famous handbag, can be the conductors of the ideas that she shared.

For many years, Birkin collaborated with Amnesty International – she rescued political prisoners in different countries. She was aware that, say, the audience in the Moscow Rai club (on one of her subsequent visits to Russia) is unlikely to say anything about the name of the Burmese oppositionist Aung San Suu Kyi, who was actively defended by, for example, Bono from U2. Most likely, Birkin was well aware that songs, in principle, had not yet saved anyone. And still she remained in the ranks of those colleagues who saw a special mission in their musical and activist trips around the world.