Music Location Photo Archive #1: Serge Gainsbourg's House

I'm a huge fan of Serge Gainsbourg's music and would rank the "Histoire de Melody Nelson" as one of my favourite concept albums. A trippy, mostly spoken word series of vignettes based on a chance encounter thanks to a car crash in his Rolls Royce, and romance, between Serge and a (worryingly) young lady, breathily voiced on the album by Jane Birkin.

Serge Gainsbourg's House, Rue de Verneuil Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall

I had to pay tribute at his house on the Rue de Verneuil in Paris, it's currently looked after by his daughter Charlotte and I heard that there were some ideas to open it up as a museum in the future.

Serge Gainsbourg's House, Rue de Verneuil Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall

The exterior is absolutely covered in graffiti of tributes and drawings of varying quality and it's even more striking considering the house is located in the rather posh Saint Germain area of Paris. It's easy to find from the Saint Germain des Pres Metro Station, or a short walk across the river from the Louvre.

Serge Gainsbourg's House, Rue de Verneuil Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall

 I was really taken by a cartoon likeness of Serge and when I showed the photo to a comic book artist friend of mine he mentioned that it was actually drawn by Joann Sfar, a well known French cartoon artist. In fact Joann directed the superb fantasy biopic Serge Gainsbourg (Vie Heroique) which is well worth watching, particularly for the remarkable performance of Eric Elmosnino as Serge.

Joann Sfar Graffiti on Serge Gainsbourg's House - Photo by Steve Worrall

Serge Gainsbourg's House, Rue de Verneuil Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall

 If you have any photos of rock & roll locations then please post them up in the comments, be good to see them. In the meantime here's a bit of Melody Nelson...