Thibault Raisse, independent journalist and author of Midnight idiot. The true story of Gérard de Suresnes (Denoël, 272 pages, 20 euros), explains, through the journey of Gérard Cousin, a homeless man turned radio star, how the free broadcasts of the 90s changed the history of FM.
Why did you decide to write a book about Gérard Cousin, who became famous on Fun Radio in the late 1990s?
At that time I was listening to Max’s program on Fun Radio, where Gérard was speaking. But then I moved on. I thought about it again in 2015, at the time of the November 13 attacks, which I covered for The Parisian : The announcer at the Stade de France was Max, he was the one who prevented the situation from degenerating and calmed people down. Reading his portrait in Release, I wondered what had become of Gérard. I found out he died young [en 2005, à 43 ans]in poverty and loneliness. How was it possible that this guy, whom I considered a star, was buried in the pavilion?
I wanted to understand this decline and write the biography of a “prole,” one who did not succeed. I wanted to tell the life of someone who was born in poverty and died in poverty. Explain what it means to be a Ddass kid. [direction départementale des affaires sanitaires et sociales] Born in the 60s is, in essence, a portrait of a France we never talk about.
How to explain the enthusiasm around this show?
On these free antennas, all sliders were taken to the maximum. During “Lovin’ Fun,” for example, we talked about his heart and his sexual problems. The most extreme expression of this free broadcast, where anything can happen, was “Les Débats de Gérard”, the name of his program, which lasted between 1996 and 2002. He is the type of person that “we filter according to the standard and there, We will let it air and we will highlight it. It is a contact with a world that we ignore, that we can call “the France of bistros”, and that has nothing to do with the listeners of these radio stations.
Why is free radio broadcasting a generational marker?
In themselves, these transmissions represent a transgression. For example, “Lovin’ Fun” is the adaptation of an American program where listeners talk about sex in young people’s words, with two presenters, a doctor and a young man who makes jokes. There is complete freedom of tone. Also with a very rock musical programming: it is still the era of grunge and Nirvana. This creates a unifying state of mind, which goes beyond the spectacle. It is a standard.
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