En Duo Grande Finale (1)

Ofcourse, there's only one title that can close this En Duo-project: Je t'aime...moi non plus. Notice that I wrote title, instead of song: we're gonna wrap it up with the four Gainsbourg-versions, plus as much coverversions I (with much appreciated help) was able to find. The coverversions will be up in a few days. First, it's Serge and company.
As you all know, Serge wrote Je t'aime for Brigitte Bardot. The two met in 1967 on Sacha Distel's prime-time saturday night tv-show. He was over the moon that she, the blonde sex kitten, was interested in him. Although she was in her second marriage (with millionaire playboy Gunther Sachs), SG and BB became lovers. It was a highly sexual relationship: arranger Michel Colombier remembered (to Gainsbourg-biographer Gilles Verlant) that he and Serge were scheduled to work one day, when the latter didn't show up. After a lot of waiting and calling, Serge finally explained: "Every time I put my shirt on, she takes it back off again."
The first version of Je t'aime was written after a disastrous first date with BB - he was convinced she'd never want to see him again. Instead, she called him and asked for "the most beautiful love song you can imagine" - so he wrote Bonnie & Clyde, and Je t'aime.

Je t'aime was based on a theme Serge had written for the movie Les Coeurs Verts. The duet was recorded in the winter of 1967, in a dimly lit Paris recording studio. The engineer rembered that a lot of "heavy petting" was involved while, ehm, singing. When the grapevine got hold of this steaming duet, French journalists did what journalists do: they called Brigitte's husband. Sachs was not amused, Brigitte pleaded Serge not to release the song. It stayed in the drawer until 1986, when she finally gave permission.
After that, Sylvie Simmons writes in her excellent Serge-biography, Gainsbourg asked Marianne Faithful, Valerie Lagrange and Mireille Darc to re-record the song. It wasn't until Serge met an aspiring young actress on the set of the movie Slogan, for it finally happened. Her name, ofcourse: Jane Birkin.
The single sold over 6 million copies, caused innummerable pregnancies and was banned in the UK - rumour has it that Dutch queen Juliana had someting to do with that: she partly owned Philips, Serge's record company, and told the board of directors she was displeased with the song.
If true, it didn't stop Serge for using the theme for the 1976 movie Je t'aime...moi non plus, with Joe Dallesandro and Jane Birkin. On the soundtrack are a few instrumental versions, the most divine being Je t'aime moi non plus au motel.

Serge Gainsbourg - Scène de bal 1 (from the movie Les Coeurs Verts)
Hear Here.

Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot - Je t'aime...moi non plus
Hear Here.

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je t'aime...moi non plus
Here Here.

Serge Gainsbourg - Je t'aime moi non plus au motel
Hear Here