Plastic Bertrand

by Steve Huey
Plastic Bertrand was the alias of new wave prankster Roger Jouret, a native of Belgium who appropriated the sound and style of the new wave movement in order to give it a gently satirical poke in the ribs, while scoring several European hits in the process. Jouret began his musical career as a drummer for the Belgian punk trio Hubble Bubble, which recorded one unsuccessful album. When Jouret met producer/songwriter Lou Deprijck, the two struck up a recording partnership; Jouret emphasized his pretty-boy looks and punkish fashion sense. Their first effort, Ça Plane Pour Moi (This Lifes for Me), is widely regarded as a New Wave classic for its gleefully deranged stupidity, with Jouret singing French nonsense lyrics in a cartoonish voice over basic three-chord rock & roll complete with saxophones and a falsetto vocal hook straight out of the Beach Boys or Four Seasons. The song was a smash in Europe and became a cult favorite in America; Plastic Bertrand continued to release records in Europe, including a U.K. hit remake of the Small Faces Sha-La-La-La-Lee. Bertrand experimented with seemingly every new wave fashion, including spacy electronics, disco, bubblegum pop, reggae, and spoken word raps, all with the same naggingly entertaining stupidity. He remained popular on the European continent and in Canada for several years, where audiences were more attuned to his largely French lyrics, but the novelty eventually wore off, and nothing was heard from Bertrand after 1982. Plastic Bertrand released several albums, all of which are difficult to find; a greatest-hits collection is also floating around.