Among the thousand lives of Philippe Labro, who has just died this Wednesday at the age of 88, was the lyricist. If he wrote for Eddy Mitchell, Jane Birkin or even Gainsbourg, it was his collaboration with Johnny Hallyday who was the most fruitful.
Philippe Labro and Johnny Hallyday met in the 1960s. The beginning of a short but intense collaboration. Philippe Labro Signs for Johnny several songs, original or adapted to US titles, for the album Flagrant offensereleased in 1971.
An album committed to the singer, who evokes more political issues than in his previous records.
“The journalist looked for me, the man who looks at society, who describes his time. He abandons the Yéyé style a little, and seeks the idea of dealing with other issues, such as youth, pollution, love, rebellion, values,” he gave Philippe Labro to Swiss Radio RTS in the death of the singer in December 2017 of 2017.
“A collaboration transformed into friendship”
“I attribute a collaboration that has become friendship and that lasted life,” he added.
Among the emblematic titles he wrote for Johnny, there are Poem 7appearing in the album LifeReleased in 1970. Johnny declared a poem in the air of Beethoven’s 7th symphony.
This poem “says the astonishment of a man, in the 3000 years, who discovers that there is no more nature, there are no more birds, there are no more fields, no more rivers, nothing more than the mineral. (…) It is a cry on the environment,” the author explained in 2017.
After several songs for the album Lifeas Is written on the walls, Pollution, The light hair girl EITHER Jesus ChristThat will be forbidden on radio and television, Philippe Labro will write a complete album for Johnny.
“A great scandal”
“If there is still today, you must live in the United States […]It must smoke from Mary-Jeanne with a blue look that looms / Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is a hippie, “Johnny sings.
“He almost made us a great scandal with the church,” said Philippe Labro about the song. “I even had an interview with a archbison representative. But it went well. It was a great tube. Everything is fine.”
Philippe Labro is, therefore, the first to write the lyrics of a full album for the singer, who worked so far with multiple authors.
“We did it in London, for 15 days and 15 nights,” said Philippe Labro to TV5 World in 2023. “They left there, they told me ‘all the music, you come to do the words?’, I said ‘Of course!'”
“I left with my little writing machine, they locked me in a hotel room right next to the Olympic studies, where the Beatles generally recorded.”
Therefore, he writes songs that will become tubes and that Johnny will sing throughout his career, such as Oh! My beautiful Sarah EITHER Person of person.
“I had great moments of happiness with Johnny,” he concluded.
In February 2024, two unpublished songs from the singer were revealed, two songs signed Philippe Labro entitled Stay AND Waterloo. These were titles that had been fired from Flagrant offense.
The last song written by Labro for Johnny is PardonA song that appears on the album BloodComposed by David Hallyday for his father.
Source: BFM TV
