"He was the most loyal of fans": Julien Clerc pays tribute to his brother, Gérard, who died in August

In addition to a poignant tribute on stage in La Baule, Julien Clerc had not yet confided in the death of his half-brother, journalist Gérard Leclerc, who died in a plane crash in Loire-Atlantique on August 15. In an interview with Le Parisien, published Thursday evening, the singer affirms that he "has always been very close to (him) and in particular to the artist." “He was the most loyal of the fans,” he adds. “I was his older brother. We were only four years apart. We slept in the same room when we were children, ”also says the interpreter of If we sang. For Julien Clerc, "it was pleasant and very comforting to be admired by his little brother."

While Gérard Leclerc was to go to this concert in La Baule on August 17, did the question of maintaining Julien Clerc's performance then arise? "Serge Lama texted me, saying 'Sing, sing, sing. There is more than that to do'' (...) And that evening, so I sang while thinking of my brother and there was perhaps even more pleasure than usual. , he confides to the Parisian. “Life really throws all kinds of surprises at us. And there he disappeared at the very place where I was singing two days later. It's a funny sign of life, ”says, moved, Julien Clerc.

The 75-year-old singer is also taking advantage of his interview to announce that he will be the host of a new radio show on Nostalgia: "Thursday is Julien". “The idea comes from me, explains the artist. I really like the radio. So I went to see the management and told them that, if they wanted to give me the opportunity, I really wanted to do this concept, very simple but which allows both to tell stories and to play the music we love”. From Thursday, September 7, for one season, every week between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., the singer of Make me a place will deliver his "anecdotes on titles selected by him, around a theme", reveals Le Parisien .