Football star, painter, actor – and now also a musician with his own tour: Eric Cantona is currently expanding his already colorful artistic repertoire with concerts in four countries.
“I love being on stage. There I become someone else through the interaction with the audience,” the Frenchman told the AFP news agency before his performance in Lyon on Friday.
Cantona wrote all the songs himself. “The first songs were for my wife,” says Cantona, who has been married to actress Rachida Brakni since 2007: “I wrote down my feelings – my emotions, what I dream about, what I strive for. It’s very personal.”
The result is rock music with a slightly melancholic touch; he is accompanied on stage by a pianist and a cellist.
As a footballer, Cantona won league titles with Olympique Marseille and Leeds United before moving to Manchester United in 1992 and leading the club to the top of English football. As a musician he is still a long way from such success, even though the small Theater Comedie Odeon in Lyon with its 800 seats was almost sold out.
The “Cantona sings Eric” tour started in Manchester at the end of October, went via London and Ireland to Lyon, followed by Geneva, Marseille and finally Paris on November 16th. A second tour is already planned for spring 2024.
At the end of the two tours, a live album with around 20 tracks will be released. Some songs are in French, others in English. He received inspiration for his music from, among others, Jim Morrison, the lead singer of The Doors, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and Tom Waits.