Éric Cantona on new music, Liam Gallagher and if he’ll play Glastonbury
nme.comÉric Cantona has spoken to NME about his debut live album, ‘Cantona Sings Eric’, working with Liam Gallagher and their subsequent friendship, as well as his hopes to one day perform at Glastonbury festival.The football legend’s post-retirement career has included forays into acting, art, modelling and, most recently, music. ‘Cantona Sings Eric’, released on March 29, followed debut EP ‘I’ll Make My Own Heaven’ – and was recorded during his first ever European tour at the end of 2023.
It included live versions of ‘The Friends We Lost’, ‘Je veux’ and ‘I’ll Make My Own Heaven’, all singles from the EP, as well as ‘I Love You So Much’ – a track that Cantona wrote especially for the fans of his former club Manchester United.“I’ve always been passionate about art,” Cantona told NME. “Since I was a kid, I’ve felt the need to express myself through any kind of art.
The last [art form] I hadn’t tried was music.”Cantona started out by writing lyrics for his wife, the actress and musician Rachida Brakni, more than a decade ago – and recounted how the music editor of a well-known French arts magazine was presented with the album but refused to listen to music “with lyrics written by an ex-footballer”.Later, Cantona wrote a song called ‘Le Temps Passe’ for Brakni’s band, Lady Sir, under a pseudonym, Auguste Raurich (inspired by his favourite uncle, Auguste).
The same editor, unaware of Cantona’s involvement, this time praised the music and his lyrics specifically.After that success, Cantona continued to write songs, releasing an EP in October last year.
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