| Ça plane pour moi | |
| Cover: | Plastic Bertrand - Ça plane pour moi.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Plastic Bertrand |
| Album: | An 1 |
| B-Side: | Pogo Pogo |
| Released: | December 1977 |
| Recorded: | 1977 |
| Length: | 2:57 |
| Label: | RKM (Belgium) Vogue (France) |
| Producer: | Lou Deprijck |
| Prev Title: | New Promotion |
| Prev Year: | 1975 |
| Next Title: | Bambino |
| Next Year: | 1978 |
"Ça plane pour moi" (pronounced as /fr/) is a 1977 song by Belgian musician Plastic Bertrand.[1] The music is also used in the song "Jet Boy, Jet Girl" by Elton Motello.[2]
The song has been covered by many artists, though the original recording was the most successful, reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1978.[3] While mainly regarded as a punk rock song, "Ça plane pour moi" has also been described as new wave[1] and as a parody of punk rock.[4] The title is a French idiom that is best translated as "this works for me" (literally: "it is gliding for me").[5]
Producer Lou Deprijck always maintained that he performed the vocals on the original recording, and the question remains controversial. In 2006 the Brussels court of appeal, upholding the decision of a lower court, found that Bertrand was the sole interpreter of the song.[6] In 2010 an expert opinion produced for another case suggested the 1977 vocalist had a picard accent, like Deprijck's. This did not, however, alter the 2006 ruling, and media statements by Deprijk to the effect that his claim to be the singer had been "recognised by the justice system"[7] were ill-founded. (All of the proceedings between 2006 and 2010 arose from disputes between the record company AMC, which owned the catalogue of Plastic Bertrand's Belgian label RKM, and Deprijck, whom it believed to be making inappropriate use of the material. Deprijck never took the question of who sang what to court himself.)[8]
In an interview prompted by the 2010 episode, Bertrand appeared to admit that he was not the vocalist,[9] but in a follow-up interview the next day he denied this, saying he was being ironic and had been trapped, and threatening legal action.[10] This echoed a similar incident in the 1990s when Bertrand seemed to tell journalist Gilles Verlant that he was not the singer before quickly retracting.[11] Since 2010, Bertrand has consistently said that he is the performer on the original recording, and this remains the position in law.[12]
"Ça plane pour moi" was written by Lou Deprijck and Yvan Lacomblez. It was conceived as a comic pastiche of the punk movement.[13] Deprijck explained:[13]
The music was recorded by Mike Butcher (guitar), John Valcke (bass guitar) and Bob Dartsch (drums), and the song was released as a B-side to "Pogo-Pogo", which was chosen to launch the solo career of Plastic Bertrand. However, following the success of "Ça plane pour moi", the two sides were switched when the single was re-pressed.[14] The session to record both songs took only two hours.[13] [15]
"Ça plane pour moi" is a three-chord rock song based on a twelve-bar blues progression[16] that features nonsensical French lyrics with occasional lines in English.[16] Lou Deprijck states that "the lyrics are a sequence of unconnected things, that a guy, who is stoned, thinks he sees".[17] Steve Huey of AllMusic describes the song's melody as a "four-note hook which sounds like something straight out of an early Beach Boys or Four Seasons song",[16] accompanied by "... mildly distorted guitars, plus a steadily pumping rhythm section and an old-time rock & roll-style saxophone."[16] Huey also describes Deprijck's voice as "cartoonish...[staying] in a monotone as he recites all the lyrics."[16]
The song was praised by Joe Strummer of The Clash: "Plastic Bertrand compressed into that three minutes a bloody good record that will get any comatose person toe-tapping, you know what I mean? By purist rules, it's not allowed to even mention Plastic Bertrand. Yet, this record was probably a lot better than a lot of so-called punk records."[18]
In a review of the song for AllMusic, Steve Huey praised its "simple, inspired stupidity".
"Ça plane pour moi" became a hit in several European countries, peaking at No. 19 in Austria, No. 12 in Sweden, No. 11 in Bertrand's native Belgium, No. 8 in the U.K., No. 6 in West Germany, No. 4 in Ireland, No. 2 in the Netherlands, No. 7 in New Zealand and No. 2 in Australia.[19] It also topped the Swiss charts for one week and the French charts for two consecutive weeks.
In the U.S., the single peaked at No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, a strong performance for a French-language song; only "Dominique" by The Singing Nun and "Je t'aime... moi non plus" by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin[15] had performed as well previously.[15] [20] It also peaked at No. 58 in Canada.
The single has sold over 900,000 copies around the world[21] and is regarded as a "punk-new wave-pop classic."[15] [22]
"Ça plane pour moi" is featured in the 1985 film National Lampoon's European Vacation, 2001's Winning London starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the 2004 comedy Eurotrip, Danny Boyle's 2010 film 127 Hours, the opening scene of 2011's Jackass 3.5, the 2012 film Ruby Sparks, the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, the 2017 film Freak Show, and the trailer for the 2018 film Super Troopers 2. The song is also used as the soundtrack for a commercial spot for Time Warner Cable in the United States (April 2011). A cover version is featured in the video game Just Dance 2019.
| Chart (1977–1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] | 2 |
| France (IFOP)[24] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[25] | 47 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[26] | 57 |
| Chart (1978) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[28] | 93 | |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[29] | 40 | |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] | 39 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] | 27 | |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] | 20 |
| Ça plane pour moi | |
| Cover: | Leila K-Ça plane pour moi.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Leila K |
| Album: | Carousel |
| B-Side: | Check The Dan |
| Released: | 1993 |
| Genre: | Electropop[34] |
| Length: | 3:23 |
| Label: |
|
| Producer: |
|
| Prev Title: | Open Sesame |
| Prev Year: | 1992 |
| Next Title: | Slow Motion |
| Next Year: | 1993 |
Swedish singer and former rapper Leila K covered "Ça plane pour moi" in 1993. It was released by Mega Records as the second single from her first solo album, Carousel (1993). The song was produced by Denniz Pop and Douglas Carr, and achieved moderate success on the charts in many European countries. It peaked at No. 6 in Finland, No. 8 in Austria and Denmark, No. 13 in Germany, No. 16 in Belgium and No. 17 in Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Ça plane pour moi" reached No. 21 in May 1993.
Simon Price from Melody Maker called the song "a bizarre Moroder-ised version [...] on which she gets away with calling someone a fat c*** because it's in French, and adds, unbelievably, I am the Queen of the Divan."[35] Pan-European magazine Music & Media remarked that here, the Plastic Bertrand French-language punk classic had been "re-styled in an electronic dance fashion à la Billy Idol. Très bien!" Head of music Peter Kricek at Czech Republic's Bonton Radio/Prague said that the original from 1978 was known in his country in the communist days, but it was more of an underground thing. He said, "The people here are absolutely mad about Leila's cover, which is a powerplay at our station. Every four hours we play it."[36]
Alan Jones from Music Week gave it three out of five, stating that the song "is transformed into technopunk by the self-proclaimed 'queen of the divan' who, although better known as a rapper is in singing mode here." He also added that the Felix mixes on the CD and 12-inch "take it into trance territory. An odd combination, but likely to do well."[37] Sylvia Patterson of Smash Hits praised Leila K's version, giving it five out of five and naming it Best New Single. She declared it "brilliant", saying, "Phew! Ruck and Rool!! (Or whatever it is in French). A delirious synth whirl which hollers and spits and pouts not unlike EMF in a Electrolux spin-cycle without their guitars."[38]
| Chart (1993) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI)[39] | 8 | |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[40] | 21 | |
| Europe (European Dance Radio)[41] | 4 | |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[42] | 6 | |
| UK Airplay (ERA)[43] | 93 | |
| UK Dance (Music Week)[44] | 38 |
| Chart (1993) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[45] | 95 | |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[46] | 49 |
