cuisine – something patently lacking in the wirtschafts-wonderful Germany of the
50s and 60s (not to mention the United Kingdom). Songs sung in French were
not only pleasant to the ear, they promised a better, more luxurious life. Even
chansons laced with melancholy hinted at a certain lightness of heart.
Some artists – or their record labels – simply wanted to see if they could make
an impression on the French market, singers like Roy Black, Mary Roos, Peter
Kraus or Freddy Quinn, as well as British stars such as Dusty Springfield and
Sandy Shaw. Others, notably Reinhard / Frédérik Mey, Caterina Valente, Vicky
Leandros, were genuine Francophiles and released entire albums in the French
language. For some - Manfred Krug, Alexandra, Marianne Faithful or Ireen
Sheer, for example - it was more a question of having a bit of fun singing one or
two French numbers to include on their LPs.
The majority of them may have struggled to perfect their French accent, but the
near misses are perhaps the most charming of all. Whilst some of the German
performers get very close indeed, with Marlene Dietrich and Manfred Krug
earning particular recognition from their French counterparts, the British singers
just cannot roll their Rs or accentuate the E at the end of a word. Elsewhere,
Alexandra sounds like an exiled East Prussian and Lys Assia gets her tenses in a
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