If you leave Nice eastward and keep hugging the Mediterranean coast, you can come upon a house named “Beau Site”, standing up above the old harbour, between other splendid residences owned by some celebrities (Sean Connery, Elton John...). 

The villa, worn out by the whims of the sun and the sea, looks impressive and seems to come from another time. Despite its shattered condition, it seems to be still alive thanks to the enthusiasm of Patrick Le Nézet, aged 45, the owner of the house for more than ten years now. 

This house is the very place where, in May 1987, The Cure and Tim Pope shot the Catch video, the second single from Kiss me kiss me kiss me. And who could dream of a more delightful place to translate the song into pictures ? 

On a beautiful October afternoon, we had the chance to visit and linger in the mansion and ask a few questions to Patrick...

Never Enough : How did you become the owner of the villa ?
Patrick Le Nézet : I inherited the house in 1988, when its former owner Gisèle Tissier died at 92. She had no direct descendant and naturally devised the place to me since she regarded me as her spiritual son. I used to live in one of the flats on the ground floor. Now, everything is mine ! 

You were very attached to this old lady, weren’t you ?
Her husband, Paul Tissier, was a central figure in the night life of the Riviera, in Paris and even in London in the Roaring ’20s. He organized many art exhibitions and social events, and the house soon became the cultural centre of that crazy time. Paul Tissier accidentally died when he was very young. His wife Gisèle inherited his possessions and lived here until her death in 1988. I already had a passion for her husband’s works, I even created the Paul Tissier Foundation ; of course I’ve always wanted to preserve this patrimony, and that brought me closer to Gisèle, and so I became her best friend. 

Can you describe the place to us ?
The house is almost one hundred years old... well, you can see that for yourselves ! It hasn’t been renovated for years now, that’s why it looks so genuine ! It was divided into three different flats for years. Now I live in the largest one, upstairs. The other flats haven’t been changed, except for some pieces of furniture that have been taken away... And all the musical instruments were removed too. Gisèle had a really spectacular collection of musical instruments. I once had the idea of creating a museum of that treasure, but it would have been too expensive. 

Well, let’s talk about The Cure now. How did the band discover the place ?
Their director Tim Pope went by the house several months before, and you can say that he fell in love with it at once ! Some time later he managed to get in touch with me, and simply asked me if he could use the villa to shoot a video with The Cure... I immediately said yes ! I couldn’t say no to stars coming at my place ! I enjoyed a lot what Robert Smith and the band were doing at the time. Afterwards I kept a friendly relationship with Tim Pope. Unfortunately we’ve lost sight of each other for some time, he’s a very busy man ! 

Do you still enjoy what the band is doing now ? 
Well, this is a tricky question ! I must confess I don’t really know what they’re doing now ! Are they still releasing records ? Is Robert still alive ? 

Yes, and they are still doing concerts... but let’s talk about something else... How did the shooting go ?
It lasted three days, from 17 to 19 May 1987. The band stayed at a hotel in Juan-les-Pins, some miles from here. They arrived at about twelve every day and left before sunset. The shots required time. You had to be patient. Robert Smith spent a lot of time putting his make-up on. By the way, he forgot one of his lipsticks... (Showing us the lipstick :) Here it is ! 

Well... if you don’t know what to do with it, we’ll take it !...
Sorry, but I keep it as a souvenir ! 

Well, never mind... What was your relationship with the band ? 
They were all very kind but not very talkative ! The drummer (Boris Williams) was very reserved, certainly the most circumspect member of the group. There was an atmosphere good for work, but it was more like a game for the band. Fortunately Tim Pope was there to order everyone around, or they would still be here ! I really admired Tim Pope’s work. All the shots were improvised, there was no strict plan. The outside shots are marvellous, I still enjoy watching the video. 

Have you kept some rushes from the shooting ?
No, only the video, which I recorded from TV. By the way, my tape is getting worse and worse, I should buy one, if it’s still on sale though ! I’ve also got some TV reports about the shooting, which were broadcast on FR3 at the time. 

Yes, you can still buy the video... Were there fans hanging around the house ?
Not at the beginning, but they soon heard that the band was here, and the last day there was a large group at the door, mostly girls. It was a good thing for them because the band came out several times for autographs and photos. (He shows us an incredible set of pictures from the shooting, almost eight hundred photos in all !!!) Unfortunately I’ve lost the address of the photographer, or I would have been glad to give it to you. 

Never mind... we’ll get over it... Do you have some anecdotes ?
Yes : when Robert Smith saw the villa for the first time, he asked me to leave it as it was. I wanted to sweep the terrace, but he insisted that it should be left in its present condition, with dog dungs, dead leaves and branches everywhere. According to him it was a sign of genuineness. Really weird... Besides, there was a room in the house I just wasn’t allowed to walk in everytime the band was inside. I wondered why, but after they had left the house, the room smelt strangely of grass and alcohol...

Then we started a long go around the place, which was still full of the presence of the band because of the many pictures from the shooting on the walls. There was the well-known red stairs where you could almost see the ghost of Lol Tolhurst walking down playing the violin... We could also see the octogonal tower, or simply the music room with its gigantic tableau which forms the background of a famous set of photos of Robert. We looked at everything, and the video was always coming back into our minds. But then it was time to leave... Will some photos and our memories be enough to help us remember that lovely day when we were so lucky as to visit the “house of Catch” ?...