Jane Birkin -

Jane Birkin (Dec. 14, 1946 – July 13, 2023) was a French-based chanson-pop singer and actress, originally from England.

She scored an international hit with her 1969 debut single “Je t’aime… moi non plus,” written by her longtime partner and musical mentor Serge Gainsbourg, who wrote her 1973–78 Fontana albums Di Doo Dah, Lolita Go Home, and Ex fan des Sixties. After their split, he continued as her writer on the 1983–90 albums Baby Alone in Babylone, Lost Song, and Amours des Feintes, which applied chamber arrangements to art songs and classical adaptations.

Background

Jane Birkin was born Jane Mallory Birkin on December 14, 1946, in Marylebone, London, England. Her father, David Leslie Birkin, served as a Royal Navy lieutenant commander and worked with the French Resistance during World War II. Her mother, Judy Campbell, acted on the English stage and became associated with Noël Coward. Her elder brother Andrew Birkin later worked as a screenwriter and director.

Birkin grew up in Chelsea and attended Miss Ironside’s School in Kensington and Upper Chine School on the Isle of Wight. At 17, she made her stage debut in Graham Greene’s Carving a Statue. In 1965, John Barry cast her in the musical Passion Flower Hotel, where her early singing remained part of a theatre role. That autumn, she married Barry.

Birkin entered film in 1965 with an uncredited role in Richard Lester’s mod comedy The Knack …and How to Get It. She followed with screen roles in Kaleidoscope and Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup, a 1966 murder mystery set in Swining London. In 1968, she played Penny Lane in Joe Massot’s Wonderwall, a psychedelic film with music by George Harrison.

Meanwhile, Birkin gave birth to a daughter, Kate Barry, but soon divorced John. She went to France in 1968 for Pierre Grimblat’s Slogan, a film that paired her with Serge Gainsbourg, a veteran song-and-screen man nineteen years her senior. Birkin played Évelyne opposite Gainsbourg and sang with him on the film theme “La Chanson de Slogan.” Gainsbourg then asked Birkin to record a new version of “Je t’aime… moi non plus,” a song he had cut with Brigitte Bardot the previous year.

Philips issued the Slogan-related “La Chanson de Slogan” single (b/w “Évelyne”) in October 1969, after the release of her first album.

Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg

Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg released their collaborative album in June 1969 on Fontana.

The album pairs Birkin’s high-register French vocals with Gainsbourg’s low-register spoken-sung delivery across orchestra-led chanson, film-song material, and chamber-scaled rhythm tracks. Gainsbourg wrote nine titles and co-wrote “Élisa” with Michel Colombier. He adapted Frédéric Chopin’s Prelude No. 4 in E minor for “Jane B.” Arthur Greenslade arranged and directed the orchestra.

“Je T’aime… moi non plus” glides over organ and soft strings as Birkin answers Gainsbourg’s near-spoken lines with breathy rises and staged sighs. “L’anamour” loosens into a freewheeling title line with a bright upward close. “Orang-outan” toys with a wavering Birkin lead against ornate, thick backing. “Sous le soleil exactement” floats Birkin’s high replies against Gainsbourg’s close low delivery.

“18-39” steps through music-hall figures and clipped text placement. “69 Année érotique” smolders through shuddering piano, thumping bass, and Gainsbourg’s intimate delivery. “Jane B.” sets Birkin’s fragile lead against a minor line heightened by violin. “Elisa” races through tack-piano dance flourishes. “Les Sucettes” coats Gainsbourg’s third-person vocal in wah-wah guitar. “Manon” broods under a dark orchestral swell.

A1. “Je t’aime… moi non plus” [“I Love You… Me Neither”] (4:23)
A2. “L’Anamour” [“The Unlove”] (2:17)
A3. “Orang-outan” [“Orangutan”] (2:28)
A4. “Sous le soleil exactement” [“Exactly Under the Sun”] (2:52)
A5. “18-39” (2:39)
A6. “69 Année érotique” [“69 Erotic Year”] (3:21)

B1. “Jane B.” (3:09) – Gainsbourg, Chopin
B2. “Élisa” (2:31) – Gainsbourg, Colombier
B3. “Le canari est sur le balcon” [“The Canary Is on the Balcony”] (2:20)
B4. “Les sucettes” [“The Lollipops”] (2:37)
B5. “Manon” (2:41)

Sessions occurred in 1968 at Fontana Studios and Chappell Studios in London and La Gaieté in Paris with producer Jean-Claude Desmarty. Greenslade frames the album with orchestral direction across the main 1968 recordings, while “Manon” stems from an August 1967 recording.

Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg appeared in a black Fontana sleeve with a color portrait of Birkin inside a rounded rectangular frame. The Fontana logo appears at lower left, and the artists’ names appear in large white type above the image.

Fontana issued “Je t’aime… moi non plus” as a June 1969 single (b/w “Jane B.”), which reached No. 2 on the Official Singles Chart. Major Minor reissued the same recording in October 1969 and took it to No. 1.

Di Doo Dah

Jane Birkin released her solo debut album, Di Doo Dah, in February 1973 on Fontana.

The album places Birkin’s close-miked French vocal against Jean-Claude Vannier orchestration and compact rhythm parts. Serge Gainsbourg wrote eight titles and all lyrics, while Vannier co-wrote “Encore lui,” “Leur plaisir sans moi,” “La Cible qui bouge,” and “C’est la vie qui veut ça.”

“Di Doo Dah” skips through a bouncing contour as Birkin sings its self-portrait with playful bite. “Help camionneur!” hushes the lead, then lifts the high notes without strain. “Puisque je te le dis” drifts across slide guitar and pale orchestral shade. “Les Capotes anglaises” sweetens its provocation with light orchestral turns. “Banana Boat” leans on close, plain harmonies. “Kawasaki” darkens through minor chords and dramatic strings.

A1. “Di Doo Dah” (3:34) – Gainsbourg
A2. “Help camionneur!” [“Help, Trucker!”] (2:45) – Gainsbourg
A3. “Encore lui” [“Him Again”] (2:23) – Gainsbourg, Vannier
A4. “Puisque je te le dis” [“Since I’m Telling You”] (2:30) – Gainsbourg
A5. “Les Capotes anglaises” [“French Letters”] (2:10) – Gainsbourg
A6. “Leur plaisir sans moi” [“Their Pleasure Without Me”] (1:42) – Gainsbourg, Vannier

B1. “Mon amour baiser” [“My Love Kiss”] (2:31) – Gainsbourg
B2. “Banana Boat” (2:18) – Gainsbourg
B3. “Kawasaki” (2:34) – Gainsbourg
B4. “La Cible qui bouge” [“The Moving Target”] (3:11) – Gainsbourg, Vannier
B5. “La Baigneuse de Brighton” [“The Brighton Bather”] (2:17) – Gainsbourg
B6. “C’est la vie qui veut ça” [“Life Wants It That Way”] (2:22) – Gainsbourg, Vannier

Sessions occurred at Studio des Dames in Paris and Phonogram Studios in London with producer Alain Hortu, music engineer Peter Olliff, and vocal engineer Jean-Claude Charvier. Vannier arranged and conducted the orchestra.

Di Doo Dah appeared in a Fontana sleeve with Sam Lévin front-cover photography and Tony Frank back-cover photography.

Fontana issued “Mon amour baiser” as a 1973 single (b/w “Di Doo Dah”). A Fontana promo issue reversed the sides as “Di Doo Dah” (b/w “Mon amour baiser”), followed by a 1973 promo of “Mon amour baiser” (b/w “C’est la vie qui veut ça”).

Lolita Go Home

Jane Birkin released her second solo album, Lolita Go Home, in September 1975 on Fontana.

The album divides its program between Gainsbourg–Philippe Labro songs and English-language standards by Cole Porter and Rodgers–Hart. Jean-Pierre Sabard arranged and conducted the orchestra, and Philippe Lerichomme produced the album.

“Lolita Go Home” skips through a light dance-meter and a public-stare text aimed at Birkin’s image. “What Is This Thing Called Love?” slinks under breathy, wavering English delivery. “Where or When” drifts through gauzed standard haze. “Love for Sale” shadows the same slinky setting with a more exposed vocal line.

“La fille aux claquettes” turns dark-weather lines into tap-dance escape imagery. “French Graffiti” scans restroom scrawl in fragments of bodies, numbers, names, and anonymous confession. “There’s a Small Hotel” veils its hotel-room miniature in dreamlike haze.

A1. “Lolita Go Home” (3:05) – Gainsbourg, Labro
A2. “What Is This Thing Called Love?” (2:26) – Porter
A3. “Bebe Song” (2:39) – Gainsbourg, Labro
A4. “Where or When” (3:18) – Rodgers, Hart
A5. “Si ça peut te consoler” [“If That Can Console You”] (3:01) – Gainsbourg, Labro
A6. “Love for Sale” (3:39) – Porter

B1. “Just Me and You” (2:43) – Gainsbourg, Labro
B2. “La Fille aux claquettes” [“The Tap-Shoe Girl”] (2:34) – Gainsbourg
B3. “Rien pour rien” [“Nothing for Nothing”] (3:06) – Gainsbourg, Labro
B4. “French Graffiti” (2:44) – Gainsbourg, Labro
B5. “There’s a Small Hotel” (3:05) – Rodgers, Hart

Lerichomme oversaw the album with engineers Jean-Claude Charvier and Stephen Sahakian. “Rien pour rien” reuses the melody from the Gainsbourg title “Le Cadavre exquis.”

Lolita Go Home appeared in a gold Fontana sleeve with Francis Giacobetti photography. The front cover shows Birkin in a close portrait with folded arms beneath black script typography.

Fontana issued “Lolita Go Home” as a 1975 single (b/w “Si ça peut te consoler”), followed by “Rien pour rien” (b/w “La Fille aux claquettes”).

Ex fan des Sixties

Jane Birkin released her third solo album, Ex fan des Sixties, in February 1978 on Fontana.

Birkin returned to a Gainsbourg-only program after the mixed authorship of Lolita Go Home. Alan Hawkshaw directed orchestration around bassist Brian Odgers, drummer Dougie Wright, and percussionist Jim Lawless. Gainsbourg based “Dépressive” on Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8, Op. 13, commonly known as the Pathétique sonata.

“Ex-fan des sixties” glides through a light, elegiac title line and names fallen idols in tight succession. “Apocalypstick” smears consonant play across cosmetic-transfer and body-marking text. “Exercice en forme de Z” skips through Z-driven wordplay and airborne animal images. “L’Aquoiboniste” murmurs a fatalist catchphrase through a dry character sketch.

“Vie mort et résurrection d’un amour passion” compresses intimacy into terse tu/tout/vous/tus turns. “Dépressive” drapes a Beethoven-derived line over a self-questioning monologue. “Le Velours des vierges” lingers over acoustic guitar, discreet backing, and delayed vocal shade. “Classée X” whispers its excess-driven X phrases over a deceptively gentle line. “Mélo Mélo” quickens the close and centers Birkin’s lead in the mix.

A1. “Ex fan des sixties” [“Former Fan of the Sixties”] (3:00)
A2. “Apocalypstick” (2:35)
A3. “Exercice en forme de Z” [“Exercise in the Shape of Z”] (2:30)
A4. “Mélodie interdite” [“Forbidden Melody”] (3:10)
A5. “L’Aquoiboniste” [“The What’s-the-Pointist”] (2:18)
A6. “Vie, mort et résurrection d’un amour passion” [“Life, Death and Resurrection of a Passionate Love”] (3:07)

B1. “Nicotine” (2:30)
B2. “Rocking Chair” (2:12)
B3. “Dépressive” [“Depressive”] (3:40)
B4. “Le velours des vierges” [“The Velvet of Virgins”] (2:59)
B5. “Classée X” [“Rated X”] (2:07)
B6. “Mélo mélo” (2:45)

Sessions occurred in August 1977 at Phonogram in London with producer Philippe Lerichomme and engineer Peter Olliff. Hawkshaw arranged and conducted the album.

Ex fan des sixties appeared in a Fontana sleeve with Serge Gainsbourg artwork and André Berg photography. The front cover shows Birkin in a red knit outfit, seated with one hand against her head, below script artist lettering and a white album title.

Fontana issued “Ex fan des sixties” as a 1978 single (b/w “Mélo mélo”), which reached No. 19 on the IFOP chart. “Nicotine (Il est parti chercher des cigarettes)” followed in 1978 (b/w “Apocalypstick”).

Baby Alone in Babylone

Jane Birkin released her fourth solo album, Baby Alone in Babylone, in October 1983 on Philips.

Birkin resumed her Gainsbourg album sequence after the five-year gap that followed Ex fan des sixties. Gainsbourg supplied the texts across the album; “Baby Lou” uses music by Alain Chamfort and Michel Pelay, and Chamfort first recorded the song on Rock’n Rose. Gainsbourg based the title track on the third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3.

“Fuir le bonheur de peur qu’il ne se sauve” tilts through a 5/4 meter and pushes Birkin’s lead into a high, fragile line. “Overseas Telegram” recites repeated telegram phrases and lets the farewell text narrow into postal ritual. “Rupture au miroir” fixes its goodbye on a lipstick note across the mirror. “Les Dessous chics” buries exposed feeling beneath a clipped, controlled vocal surface and a fretless bass line. “Baby Alone in Babylone” folds the Brahms-derived theme into glassy period keyboards, measured rhythm, and breathy delivery.

A1. “Baby Lou” (3:00) – Gainsbourg, Chamfort, Pelay
A2. “Fuir le bonheur de peur qu’il ne se sauve” [“Flee Happiness for Fear It May Flee”] (3:10)
A3. “Partie perdue” [“Lost Game”] (2:57)
A4. “Norma Jean Baker” (3:10)
A5. “Haine pour aime” [“Hate for Love”] (2:52)
A6. “Overseas Telegram” (3:30)

B1. “Con c’est con ces conséquences” [“Stupid, These Stupid Consequences”] (3:08)
B2. “En rire de peur d’être obligée d’en pleurer” [“Laugh About It for Fear of Having to Cry About It”] (2:42)
B3. “Rupture au miroir” [“Breakup in the Mirror”] (3:30)
B4. “Les dessous chics” [“Chic Underthings”] (2:10)
B5. “Baby Alone in Babylone” (3:57) – Gainsbourg, Brahms

Sessions occurred in August 1983 at Studio Continental in London with producer Philippe Lerichomme and engineers Dick Plant and Dominique Blanc-Francard. Alan Hawkshaw served as keyboardist, arranger, and conductor; Alan Parker, Brian Odgers, Dougie Wright, and Jim Lawless completed the London rhythm section.

Baby Alone in Babylone appeared in a Philips sleeve with Michelle de Rouville photography. The front cover shows a close portrait of Birkin framed by dark tulle, with script artist lettering at the top and the album title near the bottom.

Philips issued “Baby Alone in Babylone” as a 1983 single (b/w “Con c’est con ces conséquences”). “Baby Lou” followed in 1983 (b/w “Fuir le bonheur de peur qu’il ne se sauve”). In March 1985, “Les dessous chics” reappeared as a single (b/w “Partie perdue”). SNEP certified Baby Alone in Babylone gold in France.

Lost Song

Jane Birkin released her fifth solo album, Lost Song, on February 16, 1987, on Philips.

Lost Song extends the post-separation Gainsbourg cycle that began with Baby Alone in Babylone. Gainsbourg wrote everything apart from “L’Amour de moi,” adapted from a traditional song, and “Lost Song,” adapted from “Solveig’s Song” in Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, Op. 55. “C’est la vie qui veut ça” and “Leur plaisir sans moi” return from Di Doo Dah as Gainsbourg–Jean-Claude Vannier titles.

“Le Couteau dans le play” angles its self-image text through a skewed mirror phrase. “L’Amour de moi” adapts an old song into a narrow, antique line. “Lost Song” hushes Birkin’s lead over a Grieg-derived melody and suspends the title in a low-lit close. “Le Moi et le je” turns pronoun play into a dry self-address.

A1. “Être ou ne pas naître” [“To Be or Not to Be Born”] (3:23)
A2. “C’est la vie qui veut ça” [“Life Wants It That Way”] (2:56) – Gainsbourg, Vannier
A3. “Le Couteau dans le play” [“The Knife in the Play”] (3:43)
A4. “L’Amour de moi” [“My Love”] (3:19) – traditional, Gainsbourg
A5. “Une chose entre autres” [“One Thing Among Others”] (3:12)

B1. “Lost Song” (4:51) – Grieg, Gainsbourg
B2. “Physique et sans issue” [“Physical and No Way Out”] (2:40)
B3. “Leur plaisir sans moi” [“Their Pleasure Without Me”] (3:53) – Gainsbourg, Vannier
B4. “Le Moi et le je” [“The Me and the I”] (3:23)

Sessions placed the playbacks at Studio Petal Music in London and the vocals at Studio Plus Trente in Paris. Philippe Lerichomme produced the album with music engineer Dick Plant and vocal engineer Dominique Blanc-Francard. Alan Hawkshaw arranged, conducted, and played keyboards on Lost Song, which features guitarist Alan Parker, bassist Mo Foster, drummer Peter Van Hooke, and backing vocalists Kay Garner, Sonia Jones-Morgan, and Tessa Niles.

Lost Song appeared in a Philips sleeve by Philippe Huart and Pearl Cholley, with Dominique Issermann photography. The front cover shows a close portrait of Birkin with hair across one eye, a blue garment across the lower field, and the title inside an oval mark at upper right.

Philips issued “Lost Song” as a 1987 single (b/w “Leur plaisir sans moi”). A promo pressing used the same pairing.

Amours des Feintes

Jane Birkin released her sixth solo album, Amours des Feintes, in September 1990 on Philips.

Amours des feintes closes the sequence of original studio albums that Serge Gainsbourg wrote for Birkin. Gainsbourg wrote all lyrics and music, and Alan Parker arranged the album around guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, percussion, and backing vocals.

“Asphalte” stays the most defensible album-track reference beyond the singles, though the sources support only its single pairing and session context. “Love Fifteen” traces a court-side crush through a restrained title phrase. “Amours des feintes” circles its late title line over fretless bass and a clean, receding vocal close.

A1. “Et quand bien même” [“And Even If”] (4:15)
A2. “Des ils et des elles” [“Hes and Shes”] (2:48)
A3. “Litanie en Lituanie” [“Litany in Lithuania”] (3:20)
A4. “L’Impression du déjà vu” [“The Impression of Déjà Vu”] (3:57)
A5. “Asphalte” [“Asphalt”] (3:43)

B1. “Tombée des nues” [“Fallen from the Clouds”] (3:05)
B2. “Un amour peut en cacher un autre” [“One Love Can Hide Another”] (3:15)
B3. “32 Fahrenheit” (3:23)
B4. “Love Fifteen” (3:09)
B5. “Amours des feintes” [“Feigned Loves”] (4:30)

Sessions occurred at Garage Studio in Woldingham, Surrey, and Studio Marcadet in Paris with producer Philippe Lerichomme. Gary Thomas recorded the music; Dominique Blanc-Francard recorded the vocals and mixed the album digitally. Parker joins bassist Andy Pask, drummer Barry Morgan, keyboardist Graham Todd, percussionist Frank Ricotti, and backing vocalists Bob Saker and Tony Burrows.

Amours des feintes appeared in a Philips sleeve by Pearl Cholley and Philippe Huart. Serge Gainsbourg supplied the ink cover image, which shows a partial line portrait on a cream field beneath spaced artist lettering and the album title.

Philips issued “Amours des feintes” as a 1990 single (b/w “Asphalte”).

Discography: