The song has been covered by many artists, though the original recording was the most successful, reaching No. 8 on the
UK Singles Chart in mid-1978.[4][5] While mainly regarded as a
punk rock song,[6] "Ça plane pour moi" has also been described as
new wave[1] and as a
parody of punk rock.[7] The title is a French
idiom that is best translated as "this works for me" (literally: "it is gliding for me").[8]
Everything started from the text of Pipou [Lacomblez], which required a very staccato singing, as did, in the United Kingdom, the then fashionable punk singers. I only brought to the text the title, by reference to a song by
Michel Delpech, "Tu me fais planer". What we wanted to do was
pogo-pogoing, the punk dance. A kind of pastiche. I had three simple chords, A E and D, and musicians that I had chosen to fit the bill. I did not want virtuosos but guys a little bit wild. Once in the studio, with this text and my three chords, I told them "Get by yourselves" and we did it.
The music was recorded by Mike Butcher (guitar), John Valcke (bass guitar) and Bob Dartsch (drums), and the song was released as a B-side to "Pogo-Pogo",[10] which was chosen to launch the solo career of Plastic Bertrand. However, following the success of "Ça plane pour moi", the two sides were switched when the single was repressed.[11] The session to record both songs took only two hours.[9][10]
Composition
"Ça plane pour moi" is a three-chord rock song based on a
twelve-bar blues progression[9][12] that features nonsensical French lyrics with occasional lines in English.[12] Lou Deprijck states that "the lyrics are a sequence of unconnected things, that a guy, who is stoned, thinks he sees".[13] Steve Huey of
AllMusic describes the song's melody as a "four-note hook which sounds like something straight out of an early
Beach Boys or
Four Seasons song",[12] accompanied by "... mildly distorted guitars, plus a steadily pumping rhythm section and an old-time
rock & roll-style saxophone."[12] Huey also describes Deprijck's voice as "cartoonish..[staying] in a monotone as he recites all the lyrics."[12]
Reputation
The song was praised by
Joe Strummer of
The Clash: "Plastic Bertrand compressed into that three minutes a bloody good record that will get any comatose person toe-tapping, you know what I mean? By purist rules, it's not allowed to even mention Plastic Bertrand. Yet, this record was probably a lot better than a lot of so-called punk records."[14]
In a review of the song for AllMusic, Steve Huey praised its "simple, inspired stupidity".[12]
Swedish singer and former rapper
Leila K covered "Ça plane pour moi" in 1993. It was released by
Mega Records as the second single from her first solo album, Carousel (1993). The song was produced by
Denniz Pop and Douglas Carr, and achieved moderate success on the charts in many European countries. It peaked at No. 6 in Finland, No. 8 in Austria and Denmark, No. 13 in Germany, No. 16 in Belgium and No. 17 in Switzerland. On the
Eurochart Hot 100, "Ça plane pour moi" reached No. 21 in May 1993.
Critical reception
Simon Price from Melody Maker called the song "a bizarre
Moroder-ised version [...] on which she gets away with calling someone "a fat c***" because it's in French, and adds, unbelievably, "I am the Queen of the Divan"."[43] Pan-European magazine Music & Media remarked that here, the
Plastic Bertrand French-language
punk classic had been "re-styled in an
electronic dance fashion à la
Billy Idol. Très bien!" Head of music Peter Kricek at Czech Republic's Bonton Radio/
Prague told that the original from 1978 was known in his country in the communist days, but it was more of an underground thing. He said, "The people here are absolutely mad about Leila's cover, which is a powerplay at our station. Every four hours we play it."[44]
Alan Jones from Music Week gave it three out of five, stating that the song "is transformed into
technopunk by the self-proclaimed "queen of the divan" who, although better known as a rapper is in singing mode here." He also added that the
Felix mixes on the CD and
12-inch "take it into
trance territory. An odd combination, but likely to do well."[45]Sylvia Patterson of Smash Hits praised Leila K's version, giving it five out of five and naming it Best New Single. She declared it as "brilliant", saying, "Phew! Ruck and Rool!! (Or whatever it is in French). A delirious synth whirl which hollers and spits and pouts not unlike
EMF in a
Electrolux spin-cycle without their guitars."[46]
In 2006, by
Pigloo under the title "Ça plane pour moi (le twist)", as the third single from the album La Banquise. It reached number 18 on the French SNEP Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for 24 weeks.[69]