Anne-Marie Withenshaw was already a big music fan in the 1990s. In 1998 she joined Musique Plus where she had the opportunity to meet idols and share her passion. 25 years later, the host and producer has agreed to return to that decade when anything was possible.
The ones we see on It’s just TV and the ones we hear on the airwaves of WKND radio has recruited a team of connoisseurs with sophisticated memories to offer us six episodes full of archives and testimonies to satisfy both the nostalgic and the most curious deliver .
Why revive the 1990s in 2023?
There are nostalgics, but we also get to a point where we realize that many young people are curious about that time. I myself loved Metallica, R&B and my parents’ music from the 70’s as a teenager, the Beatles and Nirvana are the same gap that exists between Nirvana and us today. The ’90s were the decade in which he sold the most albums. Quebec emancipated itself, we tried to export ourselves. We wondered what’s left of what’s bouncing back.
Photo provided by WKND Radio
Anne Marie Withenshaw
Is the Ticketing was made easy?
We brought together 45 artists who generously shared their memories and opened their archives. This is a series meant to be a celebration. Only Jean Leloup and Daniel Bélanger refused to testify. I wrote Daniel Bélanger a handwritten letter, but he doesn’t like to dwell on the past. Jean Leloup is like Santa Claus, he is part of our imagination. Conversations with journalists are no longer part of his life. I respect that. But hearing Isabelle Boulay or France D’Amour talk about Jean Leloup is magical. It’s fascinating to hear Roch Voisine talk about Rochmania or Josée Aumais, Patrick Bourgeois’ wife, talk about BBmania, the fact that she wasn’t allowed to be seen with Patrick because the fans were jealous. The same goes for the survivors of the Colocs. I had to announce the death of Dédé Fortin on television and I have very difficult memories of it.
The series is rich in archives. The music is very present. It must have been a challenge finding and getting the rights to it?
I have to say that Quépop’s small team is a mean team of nerds. I had several archives etched into my memory, and so did Nicolas Tittley (screenwriter) and Charles Gervais (director). In Episode 6, when we’re tackling the dark side of the star machine with Jacinthe, I remembered the cover of the Summum she did with Elisabetta. It’s delicious to come across a Radio Canada archive that explains what a rave is. In terms of music, we have twice as much as any other documentary. La Négo’s team, made up of specialists, worked hard to obtain the rights. In some cases we got songs that we really wanted at the last minute. we were hot But we have nuggets of liberation. Sometimes many steps have to be taken to grant the rights to a wo-wo-wo-la-la-la-yé-yé-yé when Mario Pelchat and Celine Dion hit the Plus haut que moi hint.
Why did you decide to do a series without an animator?
It was not necessary. It would take minutes for people who have a lot to say. It’s a fashion to see star-worn documentaries, but it sets a point, a unique perspective. Éric Lapointe doesn’t have the same perspective as Gabrielle Destroismaisons. I wanted it to be a kaleidoscope. It was an editorial decision. In most cases I have a teenage memory. I bought Mitsou’s first album, but I couldn’t remember all the negative attention she received regarding hypersexualization. I’d rather hear him testify.
What are the big discoveries you made?
Every episode has its nuggets. France D’Amour sleeping in his guitar stable, François Pérusse who was Jean Leloup’s musician, Mara Tremblay who is a great source of information for parties. But I remember we all have a linear idea of success. For most, the road was more fun than the destination. It was a sex-drug rock ‘n’ roll era that 2023 couldn’t exist anymore.
QuepopThursdays at 9 p.m. on TVA