If Daniel Lavoie finds it difficult to keep accounts and to do his tax return, he certainly doesn’t keep records of what he gives to those he loves! Here then is a man with a soft heart, who “comes from the stars!”

1. You see your time passing. What does it look like?
Ah! It’s quite colourful… and fascinating! I never think about it!

2. What will be the last phrase in your will?
I hope to come back!

3. A child asks where he comes from. How do you reply?
Oh boy! I’d tell him he comes from the stars!

4. On what parts of your body have you already put ice?
Ice? Ah! Lots of places!

5. What must one be able to insure, what should one not insure?
I tend to find that the things one is not able to insure are those things which one doesn’t want to insure, that’s to say, those things which are completely irreplaceable, that couldn’t be replaced by money.

6. What do you do very quickly?
Getting up in the morning. I’m not someone who lounges around in bed.

7. You are in Court and you plead guilty. What have you done then?
Roughed up a politician! (laughs)

8. What are you always looking for in your house?
Everything! (laughs)

9. Do you use some product which is difficult to find in the shops?
Yes! Definitely, it cannot be found in North America. It’s an aftershave cream which is extraordinary … I almost became an importer. I ask my friends to bring it back if they find it .. It’s a miracle aftershave from France.

10. What really gives you problems?
Doing my accounts.

11. You organise a dinner; what is the occasion?
I love organising dinners …. There needn’t be an occasion (he thinks about it) Umm … Springtime!

12. In what professional area are you not truly sure of yourself?
Accounting!

13. When travelling do you prefer country inns or grand hotels?
I like both of them, it depends on what I’m doing. On a tour I like grand hotels best, as it is more practical and more organised; travelling for pleasure, it’s obvious, I prefer the country inns.

14. What well-known person would you like (or have liked to have had) as a friend?
Someone whom I admire a lot … I would have loved to have known Johann Sebastian Bach!

15. You receive a legacy. What is it?
A beautiful impressionist canvas.

16. What do you take great care over?
All that is dear to me; my songs and my children and on my way through my garden.

17. Describe your childhood home to me.
It as a very small house, it didn’t have running water, there was a wood burning stove in the kitchen, a very small kitchen, a very small sitting room and two small bedrooms. It was in a little village, Dunrea in Manitoba. It had a bit glassed-in veranda at the front and a huge courtyard at the back which looked out onto the fields.

18. What must you fill in too often?
Tax returns.

19. Why did you not want to be an astronaut?
I don’t know the reason why I didn’t want to be an astronaut!

20. How many days have you worked without a break?
Probably about 30 days. I have before worked in bars where I sang seven days a week, every evening. And sometimes there were whole month contracts … it was quite exhausting.

21. What would you like to receive today?
(He considers) Here, the visit of someone I’ve not seen for ages. My old pal Richard, who lives in Paris. It must be 10 years ago that I invited him to Québec and he’s never come!

22. What have you lent before and never got back?
Lots and lots and lots of books, lots and lots and lots of money … lots of tools… loads of things! (laughs) But when I lend, in reality, I give …

23. What have you done before in an emergency?
(He considers) Put out a fire, a fire which was on the point of burning down my house .. and what’s more, I put it out with my own hands. And I wasn’t burnt myself.

24. Name me one of your inconsistencies.
(He hesitates) Ah! Here! I adore music. I live with it but I almost never listen to music. It’s perhaps because I do it so much!

25. Is there a smile which particularly stands out in your life?
Yes! I was in a bus, I was looking out of the window, I was totally unknown at the time and, I met eyes which met mine quite frankly and which didn’t flirt and then the person gave me a beautiful warm smile, very, very intimate. I didn’t know her and I never saw her again. And I remember this 20 years later! It’s already 20 years!

26. What do you totally disregard?
The true meaning of life.

27. If you could do two things at the same time, what would it be?
I have the reputation of not being able to talk when I’m doing the washing up, so…, here, I’d like to be able to hold a conversation whilst washing up. I truly find it difficult to do two things at the same time.

28. Invent a vaccine against violence.
Firstly, it must be a vaccine which is easy to administer… like a fizzy drink. It will contain an ingredient that comes from far off, probably another planet. I don’t think it exists yet, particularly with all that’s happening!

29. What dish have you never been successful with or never dared try?
I’m not bad at being adventurous, that way I succeed each time. One thing that I’ve never dared try is Crème brulée … it’s difficult to succeed its seems. Everyone I’ve spoken to says they’ve never been successful.

30. What failing do you hope you won’t develop in old age?
Intolerance.

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