The 1980s? We regret them, we adore them, we copy them, we are inspired by them, we pay homage to them. DJs Philippe Corti, 67, and Yann Muller, 35, too. The two men from the South will set the mood for the summer of 2026. They draw their inspiration from the rich catalog of the 80s. They explain to us why.
Philippe Corti and Yann Muller, your mixes are imbued with the music of the 80s. How do you explain that it is timeless?
Philippe Corti. In fact, the 80s are identified with names, faces. And then from the 90s, there was constant consumption, it was the arrival of music channels, people went to the record store according to their tastes and then little by little everything was lost. Ask a kid today the title of a techno song, he doesn’t know. People when they see Bob Sinclar, they film him, David Guetta he’s doing a concert, he’s behind the decks and he raises his arms and mixes without his hands, but it’s more like Ruggieri or July 14 fireworks. Stevie Wonder or AC/DC, you have singers… Everyone was playing the game, Madness, The Cure, there was always something new. Actually, in the 80s it was musicians, not computer technicians.
I’m releasing on June 19, a disco-house version of Are you coming for the holidays? by David and Jonathan, who are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the piece.
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Fans of the 80s (1/2): Films, songs, fashion, TV… All nostalgic for fluorescent, “jumpy synths” and a dark decade?
Yan Muller. There is currently a big fashion for afro-house, techno, people also want to find themselves in music that brings people together, that of our parents and young people today, everyone knows the 80s: it is festive, it brings people together, it does people good with the times that are running and the dramas that we see on TV.
As I rewrote all the pieces, I replayed the instruments one by one, I analyzed a lot and melodically it was really a different era. The sounds are very joyful, sunny, there were a lot of instruments, that’s what I like. The 80s are also a lot of live music, even on CDs.
There is also a lot of nostalgia, how do you explain it?
Philippe Corti. Music has always been linked to an emotion or a memory, whatever anyone says. I may not like Julien Clerc, but my sister listened to Julien Clerc all the time and when I listen to it, it makes me happy, it reminds me of my childhood and it makes me think of my deceased sister.
Kids, for a long time, didn’t have any reference points, and it’s the music of their childhood because their parents listened, they rediscover these pieces, and teenagers it’s their grandparents who make them listen to it.
Yann Muller. Yes, my childhood was the long journeys between Nice and Metz, there were 10 hours of car travel, it was the era of CDs and we didn’t have many of them, so we always listened to the same ones: France Galle, Michel Delpech, Goldman etc. We had exceptional authors. I have always been attracted to this music, and enjoyed playing in front of an older audience. I started in restaurants, the public is more knowledgeable and rather came to eat, we had to surprise them, make them raise their heads, with songs that touched them and I started with these songs from the 80s. Today, what I am most proud of is being able to bring together entire families, parents, children, grandparents…
Telephone, Jeanne Mas… The editorial podium
Gilbert Montagné for Philippe Corti, Desirless for Yann Muller: and for you, what is the emblematic French title of the 80s? That you can’t help but hum and which inevitably reminds you of a moment in your history?
We surveyed our editorial staff who were quick to respond, once again signifying that this period touched the collective unconscious, because we experienced it or received it as a legacy. So what are our top 3? The Telephone group won the most votes, the irresistiblea, it’s really you of the band Jean-Louis Aubert, who is ahead of Jeanne Mas and her legendaryIn red and black alors que l’indémodable “ahou tchatchacha” de Love at the beach from Niagara takes the podium. Note also that the hard rock of Trust and its Antisocial comes within one vote of third place just like Gold Closer to the stars.
Philippe Corti. When people listen to Yann Muller, some think that these are new pieces, that he wrote the Wild Geese and even he believes it, he tells me that people sing his hits! (Laughs).
Yann Muller. Yes, the young people think that I wrote Wild Geese and the parents explain to them that it is Michel Delpech.
You will play together on August 2 at the Grau-du-Roi arenas, on the menu: the 80s…
Yann Muller. Yes, it was such a hit last year, it was out of time, that we wanted to do it again. With the old and the new: Philippe who has always represented these 80s and me the new young person who embodies him, everyone only talks to us about this evening… It’s the music that I love, the critics who say that it’s reheated, yes it’s true, but who likes it, why stop?
Philippe Corti. We’re doing it again and I’m the only one who can play the originals, but I won’t do the affront of playing the Wild Geese original!
Your definitive French title to embody these 80s?
Yann Muller. Wow, not easy. Come on, Desireless Travel, Travelit’s a piece that we will still hear in 20 or 30 years. And I’m releasing on June 19, a disco-house version of Are you coming for the holidays? by David and Jonathan, who are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the song.
Philippe Corti. Only French? I would say there are two. Gilbert Montagné We’re going to love each otherthere is everything in this piece, “Under a star, under a pillow†… He has a voice, a sensitivity when he plays the piano. And then Gérard Blanc, Another story.
Stars of the 80s in the spotlight
Proof that the 80s remain timeless, concerts are planned this summer to honor them. The legendary group Gold performs, for example, on July 29 at the Arènes du Crès (Hérault). And on August 18, the Grau-du-Roi arenas (the same ones that welcome Corti and Yann Muller on August 2), will relive the madness of the 80s with the Richard Gardet orchestra, with its singers, dancers and musicians.
“Gardet plays all the classics that have spanned all eras, Born to be alive, Midnight Demons etc. For the public, it brings back good memories, it appeals to young and old alike, the melodies, the festive side. The 80s, it’s a state in spirit, you are not here to fight but to have fun listening to this music”underlines Vincent Ribera, the producer. “People need benchmarks and it’s not “dated†as some young people say, it continues in Saint-Tropez as in Montpellier.”
Furthermore, note this Wednesday, June 17 on W9 (at 9:25 p.m.), a new documentary “Stars 80: the story of a cult phenomenon.” It takes you behind the scenes of these concerts, launched in 2006 and 4000 dates, bringing together the glories of French song from the 80s (Jean-Pierre Mader, Julie Pietri, Patrick Hernandez, Image, Sabrina, Gold, Jeanne Mas, Début de soiré…).“They have become a real troop embarked on an extraordinary collective adventure”vnotes the production. The documentary looks at the reasons for the craze and why nostalgia is so successful, and why the songs of yesterday still resonate.
