Drita

Meet Roger Grund, who offered to write some guestposts on 'Filles with a French Accent'.

There was a moment in the early 1980’s when Belgium produced a wave of innovative music with a distinctly European focus. Being geographically and culturally at a crossroads, musicians from Antwerp and Brussels looked both towards the south and west for inspiration, and came up with truly original records that resonated internationally. Nothing typifies this Belgian Wave better than My Suitor by Bernthøler from 1983.
The Fille Sourire in Bernthøler was an Albanian singer named Drita Kotaji, for whom the adjective gamine has probably been invented (quite in the same way as Kylie Minogue is always affectionately called ‘diminutive’). Drita was neither smiling in particular, nor actually singing in French, however, her charming vocal delivery and her exotic accent captured the imagination of many on either sides of the sexual divide. So much so that My Suitor became a minor hit single in Western Europe.
My Suitor also leads us to the specialist Filles Sourires topic of ‘Filles With A French Accent’, of which more examples shall hopefully follow on this blog in due course.
Bernthøler, ever a loose collective in the first place, soon fell apart after their almost accidental succes with My Suitor, but their legacy remains intact today and My Suitor has gradually grown to Classic status. In 1999 a cover contest was organised by a Brussels radio station, and was won by Buscemi, who later released their drums-and-bas version featuring a Portuguese singer in the role of Drita.

Bernthøler - My Suitor
Buscemi - My Suitor
EXTRA:
more coverversions (thanks to Emily) by Figurine, and Das Pop:
Figurine - My Suitor
Das Pop - My Suitor