Goldman Confidentiel at Rockhal

Christophe Celen usually recreates Jean-Jacques Goldman’s concerts with seven musicians and screens, as the singer of GoldmanMania. Goldman Confidentiel is the opposite: four people, an unplugged stage, the big hits and a few rarer songs.

Goldman Confidentiel plays the Rockhal Club on Saturday 5 December. Doors at 20:00.

A quartet led by Christophe Celen working through Jean-Jacques Goldman’s catalogue in acoustic arrangements, about an hour and a half of it. Goldman himself stopped performing years ago, which is why shows like this one exist and why they fill.

Seated, in the Club, promoted by Kultopolis. Typh Barrow is in the Main Hall the same evening.

What is Goldman Confidentiel?

Goldman Confidentiel is an intimate acoustic show built around the songs of Jean-Jacques Goldman, with original arrangements of the big hits and a few rarer songs. At its heart is Christophe Celen, from Verviers in Belgium, who is also the singer of the tribute band GoldmanMania. Where GoldmanMania recreates Goldman’s concerts with seven musicians, screens and videos, this show strips things back to four people and a sober, unplugged stage.

• Christophe Celen: lead vocals.
• Christophe Genette: keyboards, percussion and backing vocals.
• Sarah Sabahi: violin and backing vocals.
• Bruno Herzet: saxophone and flute.

The show has already been well received in Belgium and France, and runs about an hour and a half.

Who is Jean-Jacques Goldman?

Born in Paris on 11 October 1951, Jean-Jacques Goldman started out in the progressive rock band Taï Phong before going solo in 1981 with “Il suffira d’un signe”. He went on to write the whole of Johnny Hallyday’s album Gang (1985), the hymn of the Restos du Cœur charity the same year, and Céline Dion’s D’eux (1995), the best-selling French-language album, with around 10 million copies sold. From 1990 to 1995 he also formed a trio with Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones. He gave his last concert in 2004 and has stayed off stage since, which makes shows like this one the way many fans hear his songs live today.

• Minoritaire (1982): his breakthrough.
• Positif (1984).
• Non homologué (1985).
• Entre gris clair et gris foncé (1987): over 2 million copies sold.
• En passant (1997).
• Chansons pour les pieds (2001).

Songs to know before the night: “Il suffira d’un signe”, “Comme toi”, “Je te donne”, “Puisque tu pars”, “Là-bas”, “Quand tu danses” and “On ira”.