1) a project created by French musicians Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux and a number of female singers
2) a Japanese pop-R&B band
3) a Berlin-based multimedia music project founded by actress Betty la Gachette and musician & video-editor Renault Schubert.
1) Nouvelle Vague (France) is a project created by French musicians Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux and a number of female singers, including Camille, Alexandra Pavlou of Spring and Suburbia, Mélanie Pain, Marina Céleste & Phoebe Killdeer of Phoebe Killdeer and the Short Straws. The group's albums consist in bossa nova fashioned covers of (primarily) New Wave songs (hence the name "Nouvelle Vague"). The covers include songs by Dead Kennedys, The Smiths, Joy Division, Public Image Ltd., Depeche Mode and Bauhaus. Each singer only performed songs they were not previously familiar with, to ensure that each cover would have an individual interpretation.
With a name that means "new wave" in English and "nova onda" in Portuguese (which is the meaning for "bossa nova", a new music "fashion"), Nouvelle Vague's moniker neatly sums up the group's concept: remaking classic new wave singles with a Brazilian pop twist. Libaux played with various French pop bands during the '90s and began working with Collin in 1998. For Nouvelle Vague, Collin and Libaux recruited half a dozen French and Brazilian vocalists who were unfamiliar with the original versions of songs like Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and XTC's "Making Plans for Nigel" to ensure that their renditions had their own identity. Nouvelle Vague was released in Europe in 2004 and received U.S. distribution in spring 2005, which coincided with tour dates in locales as far-flung as Shanghai, New York, Los Angeles, and Rio de Janeiro. Nouvelle Vague's second album, Bande à Part, arrived in summer 2006. The following year, the team returned with Coming Home, a collection of songs from films given the Nouvelle Vague treatment. Nouvelle Vague presents New Wave, a collection of covers by new wave artists, also arrived in 2007.
One of the singers involved in the project has released solo work as Camille.
Official site / MySpace
2) Nouvelle Vague (Japan) is a Japanese band whose pop-R&B sound is beautifully arranged and fronted by the soulful vocals of diva Ricca. Other members of the band include Koyama (keyboards) and Try (bass).
2) Nouvelle Vague (Germany) was a Berlin-based multimedia music project founded by actress Betty la Gachette and musician & videoeditor Renault Schubert.
A final decision to change the name was reached in 2004, after french project Nouvelle Vague becomes successful. The new name is: FILM2
Official site
Bela Lugosi's Dead
Nouvelle Vague Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back on the rack
Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines
The black box
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
The virginal brides
File past his tomb
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room
The count
Bela Lugosi's dead
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Oh Bela
Undead undead undead
The song "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Nouvelle Vague is a cover of the original track by British post-punk band Bauhaus. The lyrics of the song are quite cryptic and open to interpretation. The song opens with the lines "White on white translucent black capes, back on the rack, Bela Lugosi's dead" which seem to be describing the scene of a costume shop, where the black capes worn by Bela Lugosi, the actor who famously portrayed Count Dracula in the movies, are now back on the rack, since he is dead. The reference to "white on white translucent" is perhaps describing the ghostly presence that the actor still is even after his death.
The next few lines "The bats have left the bell tower, the victims have been bled, red velvet lines the black box" further build on the Gothic imagery associated with vampires. The "bats leaving the bell tower" could represent the end of the reign of the vampire king, with the "victims" being those punished by his undead army. The "red velvet lining the black box" could mean the rich royal blood that flowed through the veins of the Count.
The next verse takes us to the tomb of Bela Lugosi where the "virginal brides file past his tomb, strewn with time's dead flowers, bereft in deathly bloom, alone in a darkened room, the count." This verse seems to describe the Count lying in his tomb, surrounded by the decaying flowers of time, with his virginal brides coming to mourn him. The line "bereft in deathly bloom" is particularly poignant as it highlights the paradox of death and the irony of the Vampire still being in bloom even as he lies dead in his tomb.
Line by Line Meaning
White on white translucent black capes
The capes they're describing are opaque and two-toned.
Back on the rack
The capes are now hung back on the clothing rack.
Bela Lugosi's dead
The famous horror film actor Bela Lugosi has passed away.
The bats have left the bell tower
The bats that were once in the bell tower are now gone.
The victims have been bled
The people who were harmed are now drained of blood.
Red velvet lines
The inside of a coffin is lined with soft velvet, often red.
The black box
The coffin or casket itself is often referred to as a black box.
Undead undead undead
Bela Lugosi's character in the movie Dracula is undead.
The virginal brides
The women who were infatuated with Bela's character in the movie.
File past his tomb
They walk past the grave where he's buried.
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Flowers left on the tomb for years have withered and died.
Bereft in deathly bloom
The flowers' beauty has been lost, like the person they're mourning.
Alone in a darkened room
Someone is all alone in a dark room.
The count
Another reference to Bela Lugosi's character in Dracula.
Oh Bela
An acknowledgment of the deceased actor.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Daniel Gaston Ash, Kevin Michael Dompe, David John Haskins, Peter John Murphy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@karinalaura6054
White on white translucent black capes
Back on the rack
Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box
Bela Lugosi's dead
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
The virginal brides file past his tomb
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room
The count
Bela Lugosi's dead
Bela Lugosi's dead
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
Undead undead undead
Undead
Oh Bela
Bela's undead
Oh Bela
Bela's undead
Bela's undead
Oh Bela
Bela's undead
Oh Bela
Undead
@shadowamongstthemasses4173
💋❣️❣️❣️ Haven't heard this in years and finally found it again!! Tremendous 🦇
@fractalign
Of course the original is in a league of its own, it blew my mind when I first heard it, but this is pretty fantastic as well.
@shadowamongstthemasses4173
Damn Right!! We all love Peter Murphy and Bauhaus but This right Here is just WOw ! Amazing version
@tonyknaggs9670
i live across the road from the house where the original was written (49 Adams Avenue, Northampton)..... love playing this when i drive past....aaaaah
@trebuchetfacts8859
Holy shit. Holy shit. This is incredible. I wasn't expecting this cover but here it is. I'm blown away. Yes. Yes. Yes.
@bluedragon807
Nouvelle vague really does good covers
@alexlol7478
The best cover of this song, amazing!!
@a.d.6078
🦇 “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” 🦇
🕸THE COUNT 🕸⚰
@LubnaB
Came across this from the film Elvis and Anabelle...the song choice was perfect, it really helped draw you into the film. Surprised I didn't recognise it was Nouvelle Vague!
@jackduncan4228
I love this version the most.