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ABIGAIL
Je t'aime (I Love You) (Serge Gainsbourg) Australia 1973 #5 Sydney #8 Melbourne #24 Brisbane #4 Adelaide Produced by Martin Erdman with the addition of vocals in the chorus by a well-known Australian female vocalist. Abigail: British-born sexpot soapie star, full name Abigail Rogan, famous in Australia as Bev Houghton in Number 96. Further reading: Abigail entry at Wikipedia.
SOUNDS NICE
Love At First Sight (Je t'aime moi non plus) (Serge Gainsbourg) UK 1969 #18 UK #6 Melbourne British studio band apparently named from Paul McCartney's remark on hearing the single. (The Impossible Discographies website; now offline, October 2004.) Easy listening instrumental version of Serge Gainsbourg's Je t'aime... moi non plus. Love at first sight is an alternative English title, not a translation of the French title (see below).
JANE BIRKIN AND SERGE GAINSBOURG
Je t'aime moi non plus (Serge Gainsbourg) France 1969 Original vocal version #1 UK 1968 rerecording of withheld 1967 track with Brigitte Bardot. Jane Birkin: English actor working in France, married to Serge Gainsbourg from 1968. Serge Gainsbourg: occasionally outrageous French composer, producer and performer (1928-1991). See, for example, the biography at Francevision. This soft instrumental with make-out dialogue was controversial at the time. It had already charted at #2 in the UK when the original British label Fontana dropped it, but it went to #1 on another label, Major Minor. The title is a bit of French whimsy that seems to translate as "I love you, neither do I". The idea that the title comes from a comment by Salvador Dali about Pablo Picasso is false, at least according to Universal Music's French website, which says that Serge was unaware of Dali's words when he wrote the song. (Dali: Picasso est Espagnol, moi aussi - Picasso est un genie, moi aussi - Picasso est communiste, moi non plus.) 
BRIGITTE BARDOT AND SERGE GAINSBOURG
Je t'aime moi non plus (Serge Gainsbourg) France 1967 Original unreleased vocal version. Withheld at Brigitte Bardot's request and rerecorded with Jane Birkin. Finally released in 1986 on Philips label. Brigitte Bardot, sometime lover of Serge Gainsbourg, recorded several of his songs, including Harley Davidson and Bonnie and Clyde. Serge's own recording Initials B.B. is his tribute to her.
"LES COEURS VERTS" SOUNDTRACK
Scene de bal (Serge Gainsbourg) France 1966 Original version: soundtrack The melody that became Je t'aime moi non plus. Soundtrack to the Edouard Luntz film Les Coeurs Verts (1966).
JUDGE DREAD
Je t'aime (Serge Gainsbourg) UK 1975 #9 UK British reggae/ska artist and deejay, real name Alex Hughes (1945-1998), whose records were routinely banned for radio play in Britain. See The Judge Dread Memorial Site. This comic variation of Serge's dialogue is a bit, well, rude. See lyrics at Jamaica Lyrics.
KYLIE MINOGUE
Love At First Sight (Gallagher - Harrington - Howes - Minogue - Stannard) UK 2002 Red herring #2 UK #2 Sydney #3 Melbourne Same title as alternative English title but not the same song as "Je t'aime..." by Abigail. On the 2001 album Fever. There seems to be another Kylie Minogue song called Love At First Sight, on her 1988 debut album Kylie, written by Aitken-Stock-Waterman. Corrections or comments? Contact the writer. |