"Of course I'm nostalgic! Anyone who says they don't have the 60s nostalgia are liars! I was having a lot more fun at 25 than I was at 78, that's for sure! My first great voyageI did it when I was 16. It was with my father who, as I wasn't doing anything at school, took me to Rome on the set of FelliniCabiria Nights, with him and Giulietta Massina in the lead roles. It was mind-blowing; the noise, the lights, the meeting with Fellini, everything... It was from there that everything came together. I was introduced to Daniel Filipacchi, who had a jazz magazine and who asked me " you want to go on tour with Ella Fitzgerald ? "And then, at the age of 16, I found myself at the Juan-les-Pins festival with Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis.
A little later, at the age of 22, it was the Salut les Copains adventure where I had no limits, either in terms of means or imagination. I did the round the world I don't know how many times I've taken artists to America, India, the Middle East and Asia. Morocco or Denmark... That's how I came to meet the Beatlesthe Rolling Stones, James Brown and all the others in a real madness. It really was a different era. I actually knew the Super Constellationwith the hostesses greeting you at the bottom of the gangway. Or flights with just me as a passenger and eight stewardesses at my disposal. Now, sure, planes are comfortable, but provided you travel in business. Because in the background, it's not the same music. And it's the same for the airports Too many people, too many crowds, too many searches...
I've never travelled as a tourist. I travel to work, that's what I enjoy.
I know the United States. I even lived there for 10 years, between Los Angeles and New Yorkmaking advertising films. But there are plenty of countries where I haven't seen anything. L'India for example, with Jacques Dutronc I've seen nothing of India, all I've seen is Dutronc. Extraordinary! This man is completely mad. It's quite simple, he arrives somewhere and two hours later the whole place has gone mad. Similarly, the Rolling Stones tour in 1969, criss-crossing the United States in their private plane, with Keith Richards never having the slightest idea of where he was.
I've never travelled as a tourist. I travel to workThat's what amuses me. I think you only really know a country when you work there, not when you visit it and photograph everything and anything and forget to look at it. It was different for me, I only took staged photos. The rest of the time I spent with the artists, living their daily lives so that I could understand them better and work with them more effectively.
I have abhorrence of luxury. For me, luxury is everything, except restaurants where they serve you a kind of Mondrian with two leeks and three dashes of vinegar and wish you good luck. The same goes for hotels; no palaces, especially no palacesWith people carrying your suitcases as soon as you walk three metres. It drives me crazy. I much prefer remote places, places you can only find with the Routard guide. I love the Guide du Routard. Even if I'm a bit embarrassed by the word. Backpacker! It's not really my thing.
