Jane Birkin
b. 14 December 1946. The unlikely recording success of actress Jane Birkin came about in 1969 as a result of her association with French composer Serge Gainsbourg. He had originally recorded a track with Brigette Bardot titled Je T'Aim . . . Moi Non Plus but, as he explained at the time, ‘She thought it was too erotic and she was married’. Birkin had no such reservations and expertly simulated the sensual heavy breathing and loving moans that gave the disc its notoriety. Originally released in the UK by Philips/Fontana, the company dissociated itself from the disc's controversial matter by ceasing production while the record was number 2 in the charts. The ever opportunistic entrepreneur Phil Solomon gratefully accepted the banned composition which was reissued on his Major Minor label and reached number 1 in late 1969. An album, which included such sensual numbers as 69 Année Erotique and 18-39, was subsequently issued before Gainsbourg reverted to less newsworthy recording ventures. Je T'Aime . . . re-entered the UK charts in 1974.