Ask people if they’ve ever heard of a band called Nouvelle Vague and the majority would say that they haven’t, after all, a French band that perform covers of classic songs with their unique and mesmerising ‘Bossa Nova’ style may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But dig deeper, to the hardcore that ARE fans of this fascinating band and you will unearth a treasure trove of tracks that demand to be heard.

I stumbled upon them by chance a few years ago at a festival, don’t ask me when or where it was as I simply cannot recall but after watching them for half an hour, I was impressed, very impressed, their typically laid back French approach to proceedings coupled with the charismatic and seductive nature of the two vocalists was enough to make me order a couple of the LP’s before I’d even left the tent!

March 2022 saw them on their re-scheduled 15th anniversary tour, the first time that they had set foot on English soil since the passing of founding member Olivier Libaux in September 2021. Tonight, they would perform the penultimate night of their UK tour at The Phoenix in the heart of Exeter’s city centre, we were excited, the room had a palpable buzz about it and no wonder, this was a band that so many had waited so long to see and tonight, it was finally happening!

We arrived early as I was asked by the band’s management if I would be interested in taking a few ‘candid’ shots of them in the dressing room ahead of the gig, we introduced ourselves and were ushered through to the backstage ‘green room’ where the ladies were deep into their makeup routines whilst the rest of the band sat on the couches, eating cheese, drinking wine and chatting. I offered to take a few photos but to be honest, I don’t think that GETTY would have been hammering my door down for a few pics of ladies mid-makeup and some men imbibing vin rouge whilst scoffing cheese and crusty bread.

When the time came, the lights dimmed and a spotlight scanned the room, picking out out the two vocalists who started singing and walking through the crowd, making their way to the stage. A mix of high energy music with their trademark Bossa Nova sound emanated from the stage and ignited the room throughout the course of the evening. It was clear to see that the vocalists were 100% crowd pleasers, effortlessly engaging with the near capacity audience throughout the set.

It was great to hear some classic songs performed with the ‘Nouvelle Vague’ touch applied to it and some took a little bit of guessing before you sunk into the rhythm and ended up singing along, despite them sounding a little different to how you remembered them!

Highlights from their set for me included their take on Dead Kennedy’s ‘Too Drunk to Fuck’, Depeche Mode’s ‘In a Manner of Speaking’, Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear us Apart’ (which left the crowd singing as the girls left the stage), Modern English’s ‘I Melt With You’ and an epic cover of The Clash’s ‘The Guns of Brixton’.

I would love to say that the band are still on tour and that you should make every effort to get out and see them but sadly, it came to an end the night after the Exeter show so if you did have hopes of seeing them live, keep an eye out on their social media for any UK festival appearances that they may be planning.

All in all, a great night out, classic songs covered in a different style is something that has always intrigued me and tonight, Nouvelle Vague ticked every box.

Word by Steve Muscutt

Photos by Simon Hammett (©)