Fiona Commins - personal assistant since the 1980s, manager and all-around right-hand.

jarretribute.com: When did you first hear about Jean Michel Jarre?

Fiona Commins: When I was a teenager in Dublin (Ireland), I was enrolled in an acting school alongside my normal studies. We also did a lot of dance and mime, and Jean Michel's music was very much used by our corporal expression teacher; we had to physically express what emotions the music awakened in us...

jarretribute.com: Do you remember your first meeting with Jean Michel Jarre, and your impression of him?

Fiona Commins: I first met JMJ in Houston during production of the Houston concert in April 1986. My boyfriend at the time was a member of the crew. As I am bilingual, I volonteered to help the French production with the language barriers and other bits of production with the Americans. My first impressions of JMJ were that he was an avant-guard, daring and creative artist - the concept of the Houston Concert was a premiere in the entertainment world. His capacity to mobilise energy and committment from each member of the team to work as a family and all together to give life to this giant live fresco, strongly impressed me. His stardom never interfered with his passionate and dedicated hard work to strive for excellence at all times, 24 hours a day. He set the example for all the crew daily to surpass themselves.

jarretribute.com: Jarre has, with your assistance, created many amazing concerts in almost impossible locations, so one can only expect the unexpected from Jarre - but can you tell us about one instance where he did something that really surprised you?

Fiona Commins: One day he asked me to investigate the viability and how to produce and perform a concert in the Antartic!

jarretribute.com: Having worked closely with Jarre since the mid 80s, do you know of any "hidden skills" that he has, that few people know about?

Fiona Commins: He skills are not really hidden, he puts them all to excellent use when needed, though this may not be what the public sees at first glance. His imagination knows no bounds, but at least one foot is kept on the ground to ensure bringing his creativity and vision to reality. He is also a very fine diplomat with a sharp and knowledgeable mind in many different domaines - litterature, history, modern art, classical and contemporary music, technology, world politics, environmental issues... UNESCO invited him to join their efforts also in light of his overall talents.

jarretribute.com: Do you have a favourite piece of music?

Fiona Commins: I have many favorite pieces - mostly the more downtempo works; Chronology part 3, Millions of Stars, Souvenir de Chine, Wooloomooloo... All of the Oxygene and Chronology albums. Also the uptempo and most recent work, I am a big fan of Vintage!

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