The “main hooligan of France” with roots in Odessa, who survived five heart attacks, lived for 22 years in house 5 bis, the interior of which has remained intact since his death. The house has long attracted fans who cover its facade with graffiti in honor of the singer, who died in 1991. But now visitors will be able to look inside and explore the house to the accompaniment of an original soundtrack created by Gainsbourg’s daughter , actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, and the Soundwalk collective, CNN reports. At the same time, tickets for the tour, which lasts 30 minutes, were sold out until December, until the last day on which the first temporary exhibition will be on display. The house museum’s website says the public will “wander through the house, guided by the voice of Charlotte Gainsbourg, as she walks step by step through the memories and anecdotes associated with her father and her childhood home.”
The museum will feature a permanent collection of 450 objects, including manuscripts, artwork and clothing, as well as temporary exhibitions. In total, the Maison Gainsbourg will store some 25,000 objects, as well as an archive of some three thousand manuscripts. Visitors can also visit the Le Gainsbarre café during the day and the piano bar at night.
Serge Gainsbourg is best known in the world for the song “Je t’aime… moi non plus” (“I love you… I don’t love you either”), a duet with his wife, the English actress Jane. Birkin, with whom he lived for 11 years. In this marriage, Serge’s only official daughter was born: his daughter Charlotte. Due to the song’s explicit lyrics, it was banned in several countries. He originally recorded the song with actress Brigitte Bardot, but she asked not to give it to radio stations due to a possible angry reaction from her then-husband. The couple quickly became the subject of widespread public interest: Gainsbourg was almost 20 years older than Birkin, who died in July this year.
