album. Known as Et si je m'en vais avant toi, L'éclairage or "the orange album"—in reference to its cover—the record was released in November 1972 and promoted through the single "La berlue", released in June. Immediately after finishing Et si je m'en vais avant toi, Hardy and Cox recorded the English-language release If You Listen, which included cover versions of several little-known American and British songs. Hardy's Sonopresse period, which had started off well thanks to the success of Comment te dire adieu? and Soleil, ended on a sour note with the commercial failure of La question, Et si je m'en vais avant toi and If You Listen—which she nevertheless considered her "best [albums] by far". After her contract expired, the record label decided not to renew it. The singer was relatively unbothered by the poor sales, feeling that she had been artistically vindicated with these records. Around 1972, Hardy contacted songwriter and producer Michel Berger with the intention of working with him, after being impressed by his work with Véronique Sanson. Berger agreed to produce and arrange her following album, but was unable to write all of its music owing to other obligations. He wrote two of the record's twelve songs—"Message personnel" and "Première rencontre"—and took the responsibility for finding the other ten immediately after, which Hardy felt were subpar in comparison. Following a period of artistic independence, the singer again found herself working under the hectic schedule of a demanding producer. She later described Berger as "a man in a hurry, with a thousand things to do, a thousand things to think about, a thousand people to see". The album's recording sessions took place in July 1973, soon after Hardy had given birth to her son Thomas Dutronc. Message personnel was released that year on Warner Bros. Records— with whom Hardy signed a three-year contract— and was greeted with commercial and critical success. Its title track was a big commercial success in France that reignited the singer's career. She promoted the project with appearances on several French TV shows, including Dimanche Salvador, Sports en fête, Top à, La Une est à vous, Midi trente, Minuit chez vous, Tempo, Averty's Follies and Domino. For her following project, Hardy wrote ten songs that revolved around a common, underlying story. To put the words into music, she mainly relied on her friend Catherine Lara, also working with Jean-Pierre Castelain and Gérard