It was not won. If “Taratata” was born on France 2 in 1993, its history until today has been anything but a long, quiet river. Praised by artists, the show stopped for the first time in 2000. Five years later, it returned to France 4 then moved back to France 2 before a second stop in 2013. The host Don’t give up. For two years, the meeting continues on the Internet, as well as on TV5 Monde and RTL2. Until in 2015, Delphine Ernotte, new president of France Télévisions, announced the return of “Taratata” on France 2. During the videoconference organized for the 30th anniversary of the show, Nagui cannot help but proudly showing a photo in which he poses surrounded by the one who brought “Taratata” back to life eight years ago and the one who gave birth to it thirty years ago, namely Marie-France Brière. “We did not betray their trust,” he congratulates himself.
84 artists for 3h30 of concert
“I don’t forget all the twists and turns we went through, the difficulties we experienced. I have no hard feelings, I’m more in a sort of carpe diem: how lucky to still exist 30 years later! », Enthuses Nagui. For this 3.5 hour live, recorded in the largest concert hall in Europe, he brought together 84 artists: Jean-Louis Aubert, Juliette Armanet, Axel Bauer, Jeanne Added, Black M, Véronique Sanson, Louise Attaque, Eddy de Pretto , Dionysos, Olivia Ruiz, Cali, Eddy Mitchell, Sheila, Michel Jonasz, la Grande Sophie, Shaka Ponk… “Bernard Lavilliers, Zazie, Pascal Obispo are present and they were already there during the premiere,” underlines Nagui. We are not looking for records but for it to be an impressive, incredible party, for it to be unheard of.” On stage, we will hear just as well Javanese by Serge Gainsbourg, that High Way To Hell of AC/DC.
A song specially written by Matthieu Chédid
“The first one to say yes was Ed Sheeran,” says the man who started working on this birthday party last March. Nile Rodgers had never done “Taratata” before this anniversary. As for Matthieu Chedid, he wrote a song especially for the evening. So many artists whose presence the public was unaware of when buying their ticket. “We filled a room with 40,000 people with the name “Taratata” and the fight against cancer,” underlines Nagui, who insists on the fact that “not a cent of the ticket sales went to the production” . The sum of 1.2 million euros was thus entirely donated to the Foundation for Medical Research.
Jean-Jacques Goldman saves “Taratata”
It’s difficult to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Taratata” without mentioning the man to whom the show owes so much (in addition to having written the credits): Jean-Jacques Goldman. “He saved the show by doing the second,” remembers Nagui, who had no guest scheduled before the singer called the day before, at 2 a.m.. A few days after the broadcast, the interpreter of I walk alone calls the host to tell him that the sales of all his albums have increased since this “Taratata”. “If my record company is aware, all the others are and therefore all know that they will be able to sell albums or concert tickets thanks to this show,” he told Nagui. “Since Marie Prycko’s phone (who has worked on programming since the beginning) has been ringing,” adds the host.
“In this profession, you have no privileges”
When a journalist mentions the supposed privileged status from which he would benefit on France 2 due to the very good audiences for “Don’t forget the lyrics”, as Patrick Sébastien suggested at the time of his ouster from the public service, Nagui responds without hesitation. “I experience the pressure of the audience every morning at 9:02 a.m. I have contracts, like everyone else, with audience clauses to respect,” he specifies, recalling in passing that the day before the press conference, the game he hosts has access to record the best audience of the entire day. “So I am above what I am asked to do,” he continues. In this job, you have no privileges. As long as it works, you are on the air, when it no longer works, you are no longer on the air. It’s the same rule for everyone.” He adds: “When I was fired, I didn’t do an interview pointing out other presenters, saying why him and not me. I went back to work and came back. I know that one day I will be fired again. I prepare for it every day, by diversifying my work on fiction, documentaries, shows that I do not present but that I produce, program creations, proposals on platforms.
In the meantime, Nagui admits that he would be “disappointed if this 30-year-old “Taratata” did not record good audiences”, simply because it is “an incredible and transgenerational show”.