Born on February 24: Plastic Bertrand, in the hearts of an entire generation.

On February 24, 1954, Roger Marie François Jouret, who would come to be known by the mythical name Plastic Bertrand, was born in the center of the Belgian capital. 

The fruit of a love story worthy of the greatest films, he was the son of a Ukrainian mother and a French father who fell in love in a concentration camp during the Second World War. Shortly before liberation, his parents fled by bicycle to Brussels, unaware that their future son would become one of the Plat Pays' biggest stars. 

Like many Belgian children, Plastic Bertrand joined the scouts, where he and his friends formed the “Bison scout band” at the age of just 9. As a self-respecting singer-drummer, he slowly discovered the life of a rock star, going from one party to the next. Their specialty? Rolling Stones covers!

He followed this up with small groups, “Les Pélicans” and then “Pass In The Time”, who were spotted by “Radio Caroline”, a pirate radio station at the time, which opened the doors to all the bars on the Belgian and Dutch coast. It was a small foretaste of the dazzling success that awaited Belgium's funniest singer. 

At the age of 19, he entered the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, where he studied percussion, music theory and music history. Although he was initially mostly interested in contemporary music, he was soon swept away by punk. He went on to form the band “Hubble Bubble”, the perfect embodiment of the punk spirit: playing in crappy venues, with no great pretensions and no great resources either. They quickly became a hit with audiences in the cafés and bars where they played, and soon went on to become a huge hit with their debut album, which began to put Plastic Bertrand on the map. 

In 1977, he began his solo career, which took off immediately with his first single, “Ca plane pour moi”, which became a staple of the new wave punk world and the darling of an entire generation. For years, he was embroiled in a legal battle with Lou Deprojck, his producer at the time, who in a long-delayed ruling was finally declared to be the true interpreter of the iconic song. “Ca plane pour moi” nonetheless took the artist to stages all over the world, starting with Europe and going as far as Australia and Japan. 

Although “Ca plane pour moi” will forever remain his biggest hit, the four albums he followed it up with were just as successful, with titles such as “Tout petit la planète”, “Sentimentale-moi”, “Stop ou encore” and even quirky covers of “Bambino” (popularized by Dalida). As if his musical success wasn't enough, Plastic Bertrand also wore many hats as a radio and TV host, composer, producer and even co-owner of an art gallery. This formidable artist, adored by all, will remain forever engraved in the world of punk and in the hearts of an entire generation.

(Larisa Lungu— Tr.: MH -  Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Portrait of Plastic Bertrand in Brussels (Belgium), July 1987