Fun at the Red Rose
()NE of the gayest phenomena of a gay city is to be found these days in the smoky cellar of a cafe on the left bank of the Seine. The smoky cafe is called the Red Rose, and the phenomenon is a clutch of vocal clowns called Les Fréres Jacques (see cover), But the brothers Jacques are not brothers, and their common name is not common. It is all truly Parisian. The facts, briefly, are these. None of the four performers is named Jacques, and only twWo are brothers. These are André Bellec, the stentorian-voiced leader, and Georges, the smallest, whose act consists mainly of caricaturing his companions. The others are Paul TouTaine and Francois Soubeyran. Paul sometimes plucks the ghitar, and Francois, the bass, has been given one note to sing-the lowest. The chief stock-in-trade of Les Fréres Jacques consists of a repertoire of humorous action songs and a uniform consisting of two-tone tights.. This latter is based on the costume of the wrestlers of the Golden Age, and is justified on -~--
the grounds that "the public likes an artist to be dressed as they themselves would wish to be." The secret of their success is said to reside in the mirror before which they habitually perform. They become so fascinated by their own antics they cannot stop singing. Formed in 1948 after André and Georges tired of the strain of performing as a vocal quartet on Toulouse Radio, Les Fréres Jacques were an immediate hit. Where once it was possible to visit the Rose Rouge every night it is now necessary to join a queue seven days long. President Auriol, who demanded two encores when he saw them, is said to have wept with laughter. Listeners to ZB stations will be able to judge the "brothers" eccentric ensemble for themselves. Les Fréres" Jacques figure frequently in Paris Star Time, a series of 30 cabaret programmes from the French Broadcasting System of Canada, which the Commercial stations are broadcasting on Sundays at the following times: 1ZB, 2.0 p.m.; 2ZB, 2.30 p.m., 3ZB, 4.0 p.m.; 4ZB, 11.0 a.m.; and 2ZA, 10.0 a.m.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19540219.2.47
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 761, 19 February 1954, Page 21
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357Fun at the Red Rose New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 761, 19 February 1954, Page 21
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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