French Kiss - The Movie, The Song, The Album, The Parisians.

Some of you will know that I have an album called French Kiss which I named after the title track. Why did I write a song called French Kiss? Well thank you for asking.

It was not too long after the movie French Kiss came out with Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan in 1995. I was living in Sydney and looking for a guitarist to join my band. I received a phone call from a young Frenchman by the name of Jerome Allard, saying he was living in Australia and he'd like to audition. He turned up at my door and at first sight I was praying he could actually play guitar. He was petite, ruggedly handsome and just oozing rock star sex appeal.

He opened his guitar case, took out his guitar and Hallelujah, he could play AND he could sing! Let the rehearsals begin.

Ok so what does this all have to do with French Kiss? Well, as it turns out, Jerome was in Australia with his girlfriend Florence Soyez. Florence was modelling at the time for Jacqui E, and I kept seeing her face in magazines and on larger than life posters all round the city and in department stores. But more interestingly, she featured in the French Kiss movie as the stewardess who asks Kevin Kline to put out his cigarette early on in the film. She plays it down when Jerome talks about it and she poo poos the idea of being a model. "It pays the bills" she says in her to-die-for accent.

Jerome and Florence were so much fun. They smoked and drank as only the French can, and we hung out a lot over the next 12 months until sadly for me they had to return to Paris.

Jerome and I co-wrote a couple of songs on my French Kiss album, (Insane and My Eyes Are Dry), but after he left Australia I wrote a song about he and Florence which of course became the title track. I'm sure the lyrics have made no sense to anyone who has heard the song over the years, which is why I really wanted to tell this story. Lines like "French Kiss, Miss Jacqui E, picture perfect poise" and "Florence on the wall, large as life I can touch you" will now be like "oh yeah that's because she was plastered all over the city on enormous Jacqui E posters and also played the stewardess in the movie French Kiss".

I have no idea what my French friends are up to these days, but when I think about that year we spent together, it's as vivid as yesterday and always brings a smile to my face.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's story and as always, please leave a comment below as I love to hear your thoughts.

If you'd like to join my mailing list for news and tour updates, please enter your details in the download box to receive a free download of my Chasing Cars cover.

Until next time. Thank you for joining me.

Enjoy.

Trysette.

From left: Michael Malouf, Me, Jerome Allard and my Reggiedog front and centre.