Blur pay tribute to collaborator Françoise Hardy: “The definition of chic, understated charisma”
Blur have paid tribute to their former collaborator Françoise Hardy, who has died at the age of 80.
The French singer-songwriter, actor and model’s death was confirmed by her son Thomas Dutronc on Tuesday (June 11).
A cause of death has yet to be disclosed. However, Hardy shared in 2021 that she had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 2018 following a lymphoma diagnosis in 2004, and said she felt “close to the end” of her life.
Hardy worked with Blur in 1995 on a reworked version of the band’s single ‘To The End’ – the original of which appeared on their third studio album, 1994’s ‘Parklife’.
The team-up ultimately became a duet, ‘To the End (La Comedie)’, and it was subsequently serviced as a single in France. Additionally, the song was released as a B-side to ‘Country House’ and appeared on French editions of Blur’s 1995 album ‘The Great Escape’.
Blur and Hardy’s collaboration was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. Yesterday (June 12), the Britpop group shared some black-and-white archive footage of themselves and Hardy working on the track.
In the caption, frontman Damon Albarn paid tribute by writing: “Françoise Hardy was our introduction to French culture and she was hugely important to us.
“It was a real privilege to spend time with her and to visit her amazing, entirely black house, an experience which has stayed with me all my life. She was the definition of chic, understated charisma.”
They also shared a photograph of the band posing in the studio with Hardy on their Instagram Stories feed. You can see both posts below.
Farewell, Francoise. Nice to have known you for just a little while.x pic.twitter.com/1ocBBhJbZY
— graham coxon (@grahamcoxon) June 12, 2024
Elsewhere, Blur guitarist Graham Coxon posted a photo of Hardy on his X/Twitter account. “Farewell, Francoise,” he wrote as the caption “Nice to have known you for just a little while. x.”
In other news, Blur recently announced their new ‘Live At Wembley Stadium’ album. The collection will accompany Albarn and co’s forthcoming documentary and concert film about their 2023 reunion and huge comeback gigs at Wembley Stadium.
NME attended the first show, and hailed its “stadium-sized eruptions of pure, utter joy” in a five-star review: “This two-hour performance shows that Blur have soundtracked the audience’s lives with real emotional impact.”
Blur played at both editions of Coachella 2024 in April. During the second set, Albarn told the audience that it was “probably [their] last gig” together. Last December, he said it was “time to wrap up” the band again.
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Tom Skinner
NME
