French Music: L’aventurier” (The Adventurer) by Indochine
Popular French New Wave Band's tribute to a pulp fiction hero
L’aventurier” (The Adventurer) by Indochine from their first album - also called L’aventurier - 1982.
The song launched the New Wave band’s career in France and Europe. This song is about pulp super spy hero Bob Morane, a kind of French James Bond/MacGuyver adventure hero from over 200 books since 1953, ranging from spy novels to, science fiction, to fantasy. He was also in a 1990s cartoon series.
The ultimate French adventure gentleman, Morane is a problematic as Bond and most of his villains follow pretty racist stereotypes. Highly decorated in WWII, Morane is an explorer and reporter, proficient in combat and languages, aiding global intelligence figures and fighting villains like the Fu Manchu-inspired Mister Ming, etc.
Indochine said they didn’t like Bob Moran or the “perfect gentlemen” character he represented, but this remains one of their most popular songs, with over 50 million plays on YouTube and 90 million on Spotify.
Indochine has sold over 10 million records, making them one of the most popular French bands of all time. They disappeared in the 1990s, but came back in 2002 and have been touring even since.
