Friday's French music break - Bubblies, "Papier mâché"

Friday's French music break this week remains in the realms of...well music.

Now there's a novelty given some of the recent offerings.

But there's also a proverbial "twist in the tale" as will soon become clearer.

First up the song.

It's "Papier mâché" from an EP released in 2001 by the Toulouse-based indie group "Bubblies".

No, the name of the group probably isn't that well known, after all they're not the sort of band that regularly rocks the airwaves.

And the track is possibly just as unfamiliar as it was neither a commercial success, nor did it feature on any national radio playlist at the time of its release.

Still the four-piece group have been around for quite a few years - since 1991 to be exact - making music and building up a loyal if small(ish) following.

But their very existence was threatened by King, the creators of the online game "Candy Crush Saga" (can anyone out there explain the rules? On second thoughts, don't bother).

In June last year, King claimed that the group's name somehow "overshadowed" that of another game the company released in 2012 and wanted to relaunch in April 2014 as "Bubble Witch Saga 2". 

And with big bucks on their side, King threatened to begin legal proceedings against the band, claiming trademark infringement.

The group had everything to lose, including the video games they create on their official site (probably the real reason for King's move in the first place)  and called on their fans via their website and Facebook for support.

"We need your help to prevent a large multinational from 'wiping its feet' on a small rock group," the band wrote.

And the message was heard.

Not just by fans as they mobilised on both Facebook and Twitter, and the media as it picked up on what appeared to be a musical "David" pitted against an online "Goliath".

But also by King itself which abandoned its demand for the group to find another name or face a court battle.

All right, the music might not be...um...the very best of French rock (whatever that might be) has to offer, but it's good to see the "little guy" win occasionally isn't it?

And reason enough to make "Papier mâché" this week's Friday's French music break.

Bon weekend.

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.

Fashion and French politics: Ségolène Royal's cleavage ban

There are two undeniable certainties in (French) politics.

Firstly, any woman attempting to climb the proverbial greasy pole will be judged as much on how she looks and what she wears as she will be on what she says and does.

And secondly, when Ségolène Royal is around, the world of French politics is going to be a damn sight more interesting.

So put the two together and, regardless of the veracity of the story, it's going to make the headlines.

Such was the case recently when the weekly news magazine Le Point, reported that since taking over at the environment ministry at the beginning of April, Royal had put into effect a series of...let's call them "behavioural measures"... for want of a better term.

Others have called them "draconian".

First up is a so-called "co-working" scheme whereby each office at the ministry has to be occupied by at least two people. Revolutionary huh?

Then there's the ban on smoking in the garden of the ministry building - at least when Royal is around and, when she's tucking into her midday meal, her advisors have been requested to use another corridor so that they don't "disturb" her.

Fair makes the mind boggle doesn't it?

Determined also to show who's boss, Royal also apparently wants staff to stand up (to attention?) whenever she passes (or does her rounds perhaps).

But the measure which has had the French media chattering most is the reported ban on women wearing low cut tops at work.

In other words presumably, they're being asked not to show too much cleavage.

The story (or rumour, if you like) quickly made the headlines.

Le Figaro,  BFM TV and of course Closer (all right, so that's a little like quoting the Daily Mail on steroids, but every angle should be convered, don't you think?) were just a few of the many media outlets that had something to say.

And even after Royal took to Twitter, initially to call the accusations "ridiculous" and later to insist more firmly that the only rules that had been laid down were those "to ensure that public funds were used correctly and in a manner the French would expect", the story had become one of those typical media phenomena, created out of rumour and sustained by its own existence

Producers at Le Grand Journal on Canal + showed that they had indeed missed the class on ethics at journalism school by sending a reporter to the ministry armed with a hidden camera and microphone to ask women working there whether there was any truth to the story.

There was apparently.

And Le Point, not to be outdone and insistent on giving its own "exclusive" report more legs, filed a follow-up, asking other female ministers what they felt about the subject.

A good idea, thought the rest of the media and so the story continued to "evolve".

Too bad that when interviewed on BFM TV, the person who you would probably expect to have most to say on the issue, the minister for women's rights, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, could only come up with the feeble response that she "wasn't really sure what was meant by the term 'cleavage'."

Now, in case you think this is just a Segger's "one off", think again.

As L'Express, another weekly news magazine reported before the story in Le Point broke, "the Iron lady" as she's now being called (no need to ask where the French media picked up that expression) has also banned all that kissy-kissy "bise" nonsense preferring "staff to greet her with a more formal handshake".

Ah, welcome back Seggers. You've been missed.