June 30, 1998 20:03

SCOTTISH FESTIVAL SALUTE TO SERGE GAINSBOURG

[a]Belle & Sebastian[/a] and [B]NORMAN BLAKE[/B] lead the artists proclaiming 'Je t'aime Gainsbourg' at this year's Flux Festival in Edinburgh...

Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub's NORMAN BLAKE (centre right) and DUGLAS STEWART from BMX BANDITS are confirmed for the 'Je t'aime Gainsbourg' concert, part of this year's Flux Festival in Edinburgh.

The concert, at the city's Jaffa Cake venue on August 18, has been organised by Duglas Stewart and Pearlfishers member Davey Scott. Stewart had earlier organised a similar-style concert honouring Brian Wilson two years ago.

Stewart spoke to NME.com, saying the concert was well overdue because Gainsbourg's material was still under-appreciated.

"Serge Gainsbourg has a really impressive and eclectic body of work but no-one knows anything about it outside of France. He seemed a really good person to do a concert like this for. He wrote over 500 songs. I guess even I've heard only 300 of them," he said.

"It's going to be quite a wide range of work from a lot of people. And you wouldn't normally get a person from Teenage Fanclub playing with The Bathers or The Pearlfishers."

Gainsbourg died in 1991 and his funeral was attended by the most senior politicians in France, including President Mitterand. His elegant, louche pop, some of it written for female singers such as Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot, belied a wild character. The gravel-voiced Gainsbourg was renowned for his public belligerence and was an infamously heavy drinker, drug user and sexual adventurer.

Tickets for the concert cost '8.00, available form the box office at Jaffa Cake, 28 Kings Stables Road, Edinburgh.