Moderator's Note: When I saw this clip from the link on tj.com I really liked it, as Tom appears to be having fun and the audience, quite clearly, loves him. For the first 11 minutes or so I was apparently satisfied just watching and attempting to figure out what was said. Then, curiosity kicked in. Much of the conversation was understandable because Tom's English responses were clear. However, not speaking French, I naturally couldn't understand all that was being said. So, I wrote to Nathalie in France and asked the following questions:
• At about 11:26 into the interview with Ruquier, when they're talking about Madonna, up until about 12:20, they something is "strange" and then, Ruquier says something about sex....And, a bit further on, Tom says someone was jealous? Who? can you translate please?
• Then, the guy in the black open-necked shirt uses the "c-word," (crooner). What was that about?
• Finally, near the end of this clip, why did Tom put his finger over his mouth and say, "Shhh?"
• My assumption is that Tom, who certainly doesn't speak French, had the questions in advance. True?
She kindly responded:
During the interview, Laurent Ruquier asks Tom if he would like to sing with Madonna and Tom says, '"errr" with that funny face. Then Ruquier asks if that's true that Tom sang with Mireille Mathieu and he says he did. Ruquier is amazed about Mireille Mathieu, saying "She is incredible! Our national treasure Mireille Mathieu..."
Tom says she was on his TV show, then Ruquier "She doesn't do TV shows anymore here but she does in other countries," in a very sarcastic tone. Tom just says, "yes." Then Ruquier: "And she is a sex addict, too." Tom replies, "Naaaahhh!" (You have to know Mireille Mathieu is sort of a national joke now, poor thing. Her image hasn't changed in 50 years and she is not very clever, so TV showmen like Ruquier love to make fun of her.)
About the jealous one, that comes from Ruquier saying "Elvis Presley used to say you stuffed your pants with cotton" and Tom says, "No, he was jealous."
The guy in the black shirt (Laurent Nolo) says : "The question we are saked the most on this show is, 'Who's your guest next week?' So I say 'George Clooney,' people go 'uummm, yes,' or Michael Jackson and people go 'not bad.'
"But when I said 'Tom Jones' that was total hysteria! Sorry I have only one album for you to sign for everybody but Laurent (Ruquier) was saying it, you've been through periods of time where you were 'in' then others when you were 'out' for the music intelligentsia then you came back super in for the last 20 years. How does it feel to be loved by everybody?"
When Tom says "Shhhh" he's answering to Ruquier's question about having female fans standing at his hotel room door every night.
Tom doesn't speak French at all except "bonjour, merci,," etc. but I'm sure he didn't have the questions in advance: Ruquier has a very good translator on his shows. He joked with the translator at the beginning of the interview when first he translated Tom's simple "yes" as "Absolument" (absolutely) and then later, when Ruquier is speaking about Tom's dressing style and mentioning the 70's shirts with those big collars. We call them "cols pelle à tarte" in France, literally "cake slice collars' and Ruquier laughs as he hears the translator sweating on that translation.
And, here's Tom with the aforementioned Mirelle Mathieu on This Is Tom Jones, being presented to Queen Elizabeth II and, more recently, on French TV:
• At about 11:26 into the interview with Ruquier, when they're talking about Madonna, up until about 12:20, they something is "strange" and then, Ruquier says something about sex....And, a bit further on, Tom says someone was jealous? Who? can you translate please?
• Then, the guy in the black open-necked shirt uses the "c-word," (crooner). What was that about?
• Finally, near the end of this clip, why did Tom put his finger over his mouth and say, "Shhh?"
• My assumption is that Tom, who certainly doesn't speak French, had the questions in advance. True?
She kindly responded:
During the interview, Laurent Ruquier asks Tom if he would like to sing with Madonna and Tom says, '"errr" with that funny face. Then Ruquier asks if that's true that Tom sang with Mireille Mathieu and he says he did. Ruquier is amazed about Mireille Mathieu, saying "She is incredible! Our national treasure Mireille Mathieu..."
Tom says she was on his TV show, then Ruquier "She doesn't do TV shows anymore here but she does in other countries," in a very sarcastic tone. Tom just says, "yes." Then Ruquier: "And she is a sex addict, too." Tom replies, "Naaaahhh!" (You have to know Mireille Mathieu is sort of a national joke now, poor thing. Her image hasn't changed in 50 years and she is not very clever, so TV showmen like Ruquier love to make fun of her.)
About the jealous one, that comes from Ruquier saying "Elvis Presley used to say you stuffed your pants with cotton" and Tom says, "No, he was jealous."
The guy in the black shirt (Laurent Nolo) says : "The question we are saked the most on this show is, 'Who's your guest next week?' So I say 'George Clooney,' people go 'uummm, yes,' or Michael Jackson and people go 'not bad.'
"But when I said 'Tom Jones' that was total hysteria! Sorry I have only one album for you to sign for everybody but Laurent (Ruquier) was saying it, you've been through periods of time where you were 'in' then others when you were 'out' for the music intelligentsia then you came back super in for the last 20 years. How does it feel to be loved by everybody?"
When Tom says "Shhhh" he's answering to Ruquier's question about having female fans standing at his hotel room door every night.
Tom doesn't speak French at all except "bonjour, merci,," etc. but I'm sure he didn't have the questions in advance: Ruquier has a very good translator on his shows. He joked with the translator at the beginning of the interview when first he translated Tom's simple "yes" as "Absolument" (absolutely) and then later, when Ruquier is speaking about Tom's dressing style and mentioning the 70's shirts with those big collars. We call them "cols pelle à tarte" in France, literally "cake slice collars' and Ruquier laughs as he hears the translator sweating on that translation.
And, here's Tom with the aforementioned Mirelle Mathieu on This Is Tom Jones, being presented to Queen Elizabeth II and, more recently, on French TV:
