Where do I begin?

We bade a sad adieu to another of the all-time great composers this week - M Francis Lai, the man who composed hits for (among many others) Edith Piaf, Engelbert Humperdinck, Perry Como, Petula Clark, Yves Montand, Johnny Hallyday, Françoise Hardy, Charles Aznavour and Nana Mouskouri; wrote scores for blockbuster moves and also for soft porn (notably Emmanuelle); and worked with an esoteric mix of the great and the good, including Roger Vadim, Elton John, Michael Winner, Bryan Forbes, Peter Hall and Alan Delon.

And here, for your delectation, is a soupçon of his prodigious output...

Mireille Mathieu - Un homme et une femme

Yves Montand - La Bicyclette

Carly Simon - Hard To Be Tender

Zizi Jeanmaire - Je me champs élyse

Shirley Bassey - (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story

RIP Francis Albert Lai (26th April 1932 - 7th November 2018)

Ba da ba da da da da da da

It happens to be the birthday today of one Anouk Aimée, one of the most beautiful women ever to appear on screen.

Mademoiselle Aimée was born into a Parisian acting family, so it was no surprise really that she made her on-screen acting debut at the age of fourteen. She immediately caught the eye of the greatest of European directors, most particularly Frederico Fellini, who cast her in both La Dolce Vita and 8½, and Jacques Demy who cast her in Lola. It was for her role in the internationally acclaimed Un Homme et Une Femme in 1966, however, that she is most famous.

A darling of the Swinging Sixties set, she went on to marry that archetypal 60s rebel actor Albert Finney. Her film career ever since may not have made any ripples outside of France, but she is still in demand - at the ripe old age of 78 - for cameo roles today, not least in the forthcoming movie adaptation of Jackie Collins' Paris Connections.

Bon Année, ma cherie!

Francis Lai - Un Homme Et Une Femme

Anouk Aimée on IMDB