At the microphone of Europe 1, the interpreter of the timeless "Born to be alive" explained the reasons for the success of his song. "For all the big hits that mark their period, there is a notion of simplicity that must be obvious," he says. 

INTERVIEW

At a time when each summer is marked by the unrestrained tube race that will punctuate the season, certain songs have proven that success can survive the start of the school year ... and the years. This is the case of the song Born to be alive, which, after having made the French dance in the summer of 1979, continues 40 years later to animate many evenings. Invited Thursday of Europe 1, his interpreter Patrick Hernandez considers that this success and this longevity are explained by the perfectionism of the artists of the time, but also, obviously, by the factor luck.

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"The way we work now is the reason why the tubes don't last as long," he explains. "At the time, you really had to concentrate on doing the best things and we didn't have the same means as today."

"We need a good alignment of the planets"

Patrick Hernandez also thinks that his success is due to the quality of his entourage, including his producer. "We had to find the shock team," he says. Recalling that Born to be alive  was at the start "a slow, acoustic song", it is its producer who finalized the song in its version which will allow it to become a planetary hit much more dancing. "You have to put all the assets on your side," says Patrick Hernandez again. 

For the artist, the best is the enemy of good in terms of cult music. "I believe that for all the big hits that mark their period, there is a notion of simplicity that must be obvious," he adds. Finally, one thing cannot be ruled out: the "luck factor". "We need a good alignment of the planets," he concludes.