Friday's French music break - The Toy Dolls, "Nellie the elephant"

Friday's French music break this week whisks you back a few of decades - all the way to 1982 to be precise.

And it takes you once again beyond the borders of France.

It's the Toy Dolls with their rendition of the 1956 song "Nellie the elephant".

The Toy Dolls (screenshot from Top of the Pops appearance)

Agreed there's not much French about either the group or the song,  but it was a "request" so don't shoot the messenger.

Besides, although the point of these posts is to feature artists primarily from France, there has been the occasional foray outside of the hexagon to, for example, Colombia (Shakira), Italy (Puccini) and Belgium (Stromae).

As a consequence, the "Frenchness" in the choice is sometimes more than a little tenuous and most definitely always arbitrary.

Anyway, The Toy Dolls it is.

When they formed, the first burst of Punk Rockers had reached their peak.

It was 1979, the year Sex Pistols' bass player Sid Vicious died.

Art Garfunkel's syrupy "Bright eyes" was the biggest selling single in the UK.

The likes of Blondie ("Heart of glass") and The Boomtown Rats ("I don't like Monday's) were competing with disco hits from The Village People (YMCA) and Gloria Gaynor ("I will survive") and a re-invigorated Bee Gees ("Tragedy").

The Police ("Message in a bottle") and Pink Floyd ("Another brick in the wall") both charted.

The Buggles were insisting that "Video killed the radio star". Tubeway Army were asking "Are friends electric" while Gary Numan was taking to the synthesiser with "Cars".

And Cliff Richard was...well being Cliff Richard yet again with "We don't talk anymore".

Yes, it was a classic year for pop music - in the UK at least -  in all its dubious glory.

The Toy Dolls were not your typical angry young men of Punk though. Their approach, and one that seems to have lasted down the years, was to have fun. And some of their singles have reflected this.

There was "Cheerio & toodle tip" for example in 1983 with its memorable lyrics,

"Who's a pretty boy then? Your girlfriend says when she's got you wearing a tie
You're looking like a puff and you think I've had enough
Stop and take a look at yourself for a while
And you'll know it's time to say earlier

And "James Bond lives down our street" in 1985 when they sang,

"I've seen him he catches the 32 bus
James Bond lives down our street
sometimes he sits on the back seat with us
he's got a gun strapped to his chest
you can't shoot him in a bullet proof vest
a clever lad but can be a pest sometime."

But the group's biggest...er...maybe that should be "only" UK chart hit (peaking at number four) was their 1982 remake of "Nellie the Elephant" - the sort of thing that was probably bound to appeal to Top of the Pops viewers and radio listeners alike for its sheer novelty value if nothing else.

So what happens after apparently being a  "one-hit wonder" - commercially speaking? Well groups such as the Toy Dolls don't go away.

They go on tour - constantly, it seems.

Their line-up has changed - frequently over the years. The original quartet soon became a three-piece group and they went on the road at home and abroad building up a steady and faithful following which seems to have seen them survive the years.

Michael "Olga" Algar is the only original member still with the band. He, along with Duncan "The Amazing Mr. Duncan" Redmonds and Tom "Tommy Goober" Blyth are currently on an international tour - entitled "The tour after the last one" with dates in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, USA, Slovakia, Poland and Spain.

And what's more, they also have nine - yes count them - nine appearances scheduled for May in France starting on May 14 in Bordeaux, passing through Cognac, Tarbes, Nimes, Lyon, Rouen, Caen and Saint Brieuc before giving their final show at Le Bataclan in Paris on May 24.

Anyway, here's what you've all been waiting for. No need for pretentious prattle in reviewing the performance. You either like it or you don't. Although apparently they're a lot of fun live.

If you want more info on the group, visit their official website.

For the moment though, here they are singing "Nellie the elephant" - and what's the betting that if you're British, you'll probably be able to sing along.

Paris finally gets to hear and see Martina Serafin as Tosca

It has been a long time coming, but Austrian soprano Martina Serafin has finally made her Paris debut - singing the part of Tosca in Puccini's opera of the same name.

"Tosca" is arguably one of the most popular operas around - well that's if you take a look at how often it's performed during festivals and the frequency with which the main Houses around the world slip it into their schedules.

And that's in spite of - or perhaps because of - its surely preposterous plot.

As this is the 21st century and the age of social networking sites, what better way to outline what takes place on stage than Twitter style (the other option was a Daily Mail-type headline, but dear reader, you have been spared).

"Tosca - passion, sex and jealousy in 1800 Rome. 4 main characters belt out Puccini's great score before, one by one, popping their clogs."

How many characters is that?

If you would like more info then scoot over to those nice folk at Wikipedia or try this site for starters.

Anyway "Tosca" is back at Opéra Bastille - a sure fire hit with the public as it's...well, such an accessible piece.

Besides this is opera - darlings - and with tickets at premium prices, it must be good.

Right?

Well almost.

Perhaps it's something of a shame that the current version has had nothing spared on it in terms of set design...apart from money and imagination.

Very early 19th century Rome it is not. Still at least audiences  aren't distracted from the singing, the voices and the wonderful music.

And what of those performances?

Under the direction of Paolo Carignani, the Orchestre National de Paris gets the whole thing started of course, although there's the odd occasion when you have to strain to hear some of the voices above the music.

Sergey Murzaev as the police chief Scarpia, will give you the spooks.

Calin Bratescu does a fine job as the artist/lover Mario Cavaradossi and dies exceedlingly well in front of the firing squad.

And there's no faulting Nicolas Testé as Cesare Angelotti the political prisoner on-the-run, probably because he's dead (suicide) by the middle of the second act having been last heard singing at the end of the first act.

Martina Serafin (screenshot from Verona performance of Tosca)

The star - in all senses of the word though - apart from Puccini's magnificent score - has to be (Floria) Tosca herself, performed by Martina Serafin.

It's a role the Austrian-born Soprano has very much made her trademark, if you will, in recent years, having sung it in London, Rome, Vienna, Berlin, Verona and Milan.

But this is her first time in Paris - hurrah and a definite operatic "bravo" - as she brings a stage presence that combines acting...yes opera singers do that now...with a great voice.

And then there's THAT aria...

Well take a listen to this clip of her performing "Vissi d'arte" in Verona this summer.



Tosca runs until November 20 and will be replaced by another couple of crackers - Rossini's "La Cenerentola" and another pack 'em in without trying kind of opera, Bizet's "Carmen".

And Serafin? Well she'll be back in Paris in February singing the part of Sieglinde in Wagner's "Die Walküre" ("The Valkyrie") , the second part of "Der Ring des Nibelungen" ("The Ring of the Nibelung").

Hug your Éric Bompard "irresistable cashmere"

Ah commercials.

They've very much been part of our lives for decades now, haven't they.

Some people love 'em; so much so that they insist on arriving early at the cinema to enjoy sitting through them before the real reason for being there - er, the film - begins.

And when it comes to TV, well don't make too much noise during the break otherwise you might just incur their wrath as they gaze in open-mouthed wonderment at the small screen.

All right so the bottom line is surely that commercials are made to sell a service or a product you might not necessarily want or need.

On principal maybe you reject the very nature of what they represent.

But - and there's no getting away from it, even for the most cynical - some of them are ruddy clever.

Such is the case surely of "The hug", the latest offering from Éric Bompard.

"The hug" (screenshot from Èric Bompard commercial)

The company, founded in 1986, specialises in ready-to-wear cashmere clothing and accessories for men, women and children: pricey perhaps, but you get what you pay for.

It's one of those luxury goods lines, if you will, at which the French seem to excel.

If you need proof then just pick up the latest copy of the weekly magazine, Elle, in which the country's former first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy gives an exclusive interview for the first time since she and her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy (just in case you needed reminding) left the Elysée palace.

As well as talking about the unlikelihood of husband making another bid for office, giving advice to the current first lady, girlfriend or whatever you want to call her, Valérie Trierweiler, to tie the knot with François Hollande and enthusing about her upcoming fourth album, Bruni-Sarkozy is also pictured alongside the interview and on the front cover, looking seductively radiant - or should that be radiantly seductive - wearing an Èric Bompard...Pull V oversize ultrafin.

Très glamour.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (Elle magazine cover)

So that's the seal of approval from a former top model handily following the recent launch of "The hug".

It's part of the company's "L'étreinte" or "embrace" campaign and quite frankly, it's a delightful spot whose timing couldn't be better.

There has been a sudden and dramatic drop in temperatures over the past couple of days in France and, as we're likely to be reminded ad nauseam over the next upcoming weeks, Christmas isn't that far away.

To top off the whole warm, fuzzy feeling, there's that music to accompany, the aria "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot".

It couldn't get much better.

Enjoy.