Marc Collin of Nouvelle Vague tells Tim Hughes why punk deserves a sexy Gallic overhaul.

HOW does this sound for a plan…take some of the rawest, darkest and most aggressive songs of the ’70s and ’80s, but deliver them as shimmering works of beauty – with the help of minimal acoustic instrumentation, sultry bossa nova rhythms, and seductive female vocals.

It’s a crazy idea – and one on which French collective Nouvelle Vague have based a career.

Nothing is sacred in the eyes of Marc Collin, long-term collaborator Olivier Libaux and their delicious, ever-changing, array of singers, including Marina Celeste and Nadeah Miranda.

The Clash, Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Visage, Buzzcocks, Blondie, and Echo & The Bunnymen have all been given the Nouvelle Vague treatment – either stripped back to their bare bones, mellowed by double bass and acoustic guitars, or accompanied by a Rio-style samba band.

By turns sparse, beautiful, moody and uplifting, it is an extraordinary concept, which goes way beyond simply recording faithful covers. And it has earned the Parisians a devoted following.

“I was a big fan of that music,” says Marc, 42, speaking in excellent, if heavily accented, English from a studio deep in the countryside beyond Paris.

“It was my first passion. So my first aim as a composer and producer was to listen to those songs again and give people another way of listening to them.”

The irony of serving up anthems of angst, heartbreak and rebellion with crushed velvet vocals and sex appeal is not lost on Marc.

“The magical thing about a lot of the originals is that many of the people who wrote them didn’t actually know how to write or play, in the traditional sense. But they are stunning songs.

“Take Joy Division’s Love Will tear Us Apart; it is beautiful and inspirational.

“I have never been interested in covering the same things that everyone else has done – like The Beatles – but it is great to cover punk and new wave songs in a different style, to prove they are great, while also thinking about how they were written.

“Some people say we are making ‘lounge’ music and taking the strength and politics out of the songs, but we are doing it in a different way. And sometimes it is still very serious – like our version of The Clash’s The Guns of Brixton, which is cool and dark. It’s a good way to discover songs.”

They also include live favourites Ever Fallen In Love by Buzzocks, Master and Servant by Depeche Mode, You and Your Sister by This Mortal Coil, and Fade to Grey by Visage.

Of course, introducing old songs to a new audience can lead to some awkward misunderstandings.

“It was strange to realise we had a completely new audience of young people who didn’t know the originals and didn’t know we were doing covers. They say ‘these songs you write are great’. It’s really funny.”

The accessible and emotive reworkings of Nouvelle Vague (the name means New Wave) have seen them cropping up all over the place – from adverts to Hollywood movies (including Brad and Angelina’s Mr and Mrs Smith) and hit TV shows (such as Hollyoaks, The Hills, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee, and The Inbetweeners).

Marc is clearly an enthusiast for the music of three decades ago. So does he feel he was born too late? “Not really,” he answers. “But I am interested in that time. It was a really creative period and people believed in the future. I was buying albums by these bands in the ’80s, and I am nostalgic. What I miss most, though, is not having had a new wave band of my own, in which I could play synths in. I suppose I could still do that though.”

One of the curious things about Nouvelle Vague is that while they mainly play retro hits by British bands, they are helping to put French music on the map – and have even started performing in their native language.

“There are a lot of amazing French artists rising up now. In the past it wasn’t possible to dream you could do much music in French; nobody did it. But the lyrics are very important. Most French people don’t speak English, so when they are listening to English music they miss out on the lyrics – which is a big part of every song.”

On Saturday they play the Oxford O2 Academy. For Marc, performing live is a strange experience – which sees the man at the heart of the band’s sound relegated to the sidelines. “It’s an incredible experience playing live, and meeting people from all over the world, but the studio is really my place,” he explains.

“When we are live I am only a keyboard player – and nobody cares about the keyboard player; I am the man in the shadows.

“But I can understand why some bands get involved in all that rock ’n’ roll behaviour while on tour. It becomes an incredible rhythm of life. You have nothing to do except work for one hour a day, and everyone is nice to you. After a bit you go crazy!

“We do not misbehave though; after all, we are not 20 anymore – though we do still like to party!”

* Nouvelle Vague play the Oxford O2 Academy on Saturday. Support comes from Oxford’s wonderful Prohibition Smokers Club. Doors 6.30pm. Tickets are £17.50 from ticketweb.co.uk