He may be 87, but don’t suggest to French crooner and veritable national monument Charles Aznavour that his forthcoming tour is a goodbye. “I have never, ever used the word farewell,” he quickly points out.
The legendary singer-songwriter pleased fans the world over when he announced plans for a month-long residency at Paris’ landmark Olympia theatre starting from today, followed by a nationwide tour.
Mr Aznavour’s stint in the capital is a return to the stage that launched his career 55 years ago. Close to 1,000 songs and some 60 films later, there is – once again – speculation that he may choose the moment to announce his retirement.
“Some of the press say anything!” he said. “I said that I was going to do one of my last tours. But when (US director) Martin Scorsese presents his latest film, you don’t say he’s not going to make another.”
The performer of such hits as She, re-recorded by Elvis Costello for the Julia Roberts-Hugh Grant comedy Notting Hill, and Yesterday When I Was Young said he is embarking on his new tour without first-night nerves – but a bit of anxiety.
“I used to get nervous, at the start, when the audience hadn’t come to see me but from the moment they did, it stopped,” he said.
Anxiety, on the other hand, “it’s about the set, the songs. Was I right to do this tour? Should I have stopped before?” he said.
Born in Paris in 1924 to Armenian origin parents, Aznavour – originally Aznavourian – grew up in the city’s poorer neighbourhoods before finding a home on the stage.
Starting out in cabaret, he later teamed up with young songwriter and composer Pierre Roche and the iconic Edith Piaf, who would take him to America and a solo career.
In 1954 he rose to prominence with his live renditions of Sur Ma Vie, followed by one of his biggest hits Je m’voyais déjà in 1960 – the same year he starred on screen in François Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player, which catapulted him to fame abroad.
A couple of years later he took New York’s Carnegie Hall by storm before touring the world and seeing his songs sung by stars from Ray Charles (La Mamma) to Liza Minnelli and Fred Astaire.
Mr Aznavour – sometimes referred to as the French Frank Sinatra – is not only one of France’s most popular singers but the first French performer to have a recording that went platinum in Europe. He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
In 1998 he was named Entertainer of the Century by CNN and Time Online.
The octogenarian is aware he may not be able to carry off performances as he once did, and may have to make concessions to his years.
“If I need to sit down, I’m going to sit down, if I need to sing while standing, I’ll sing standing,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean I’m helpless, but you have to know your age.
“My memory is getting worse and worse, so I’m just going to tell the audience the truth: I will probably have an autocue at some point,” the singer said.
“I don’t complicate things, because the audience isn’t complicated. I have told them everything until now, including when I had a hair transplant,” he laughed.
From a generation of French chanson masters where lyrics are king and the tune a prop, the album is pure Aznavour with story-songs on the passing of time, on war, love and desire.
“I’m often asked if I am thinking about a woman as I write,” he said. “No, I think about the beauty of the words first then the subject follows by itself.”