Download Chris Rea already enjoyed Minsk`s fans two years ago

10
CULTURE
The Minsk Times Thursday, February 25, 2010
Chris Rea already enjoyed
Minsk’s fans two years ago
He loves his wife and blues, creates pictures and designs his own album covers. He doesn’t ‘filter’ his
audience and doesn’t want to be a rock star. The uncrowned king of the blues, Chris Rea, has visited
Minsk during Maslenitsa Week to perform his best compositions
The British blues musician is shy of giving interviews; in his jubilee global
tour of 48 concerts, he’s only
given two press conferences.
On the eve of Valentine’s
Day, concert general partner
Alfa-Bank JSC was insistent
on Chris giving an interview,
otherwise it might never have
happened…
The Belarusian press presented Chris with a plate of
freshly-cooked pancakes, to
mark Maslenitsa, and the author of global hit The Road
to Hell shared his secrets in
return, saying that he ‘is very
lucky in his family life’.
dedicated to eight varieties of
the blues, in 1950s style. This
was more interesting, since
we’re musicians rather than
rock stars. Unlike pop stars
— who come and go — we are
true musicians, who played to
full houses twenty years ago
and continue giving concerts
today.
Is Minsk’s Palace of
Sports suitable for live music concerts?
We haven’t noticed any
problems. Modern laser technologies make it possible to
precisely measure the space
and adjust the power of our
loud speakers to the optimal
level.
About love and the
secret of a happy
family life
You’ve written many romantic songs. Women love
ballads and are your main
fan base. What does love
mean to you?
I must admit I’m very
lucky. I met my wife at the age
of 16 and we’ve been together
since; it’s no secret — we’re really lucky.
Probably, you sing so
sincerely about affairs of the
heart because you have experience of true love?
Probably this is because
we’ve agreed on everything
since the very beginning. We
have a marriage contract
whereby I have no right to ask
my wife to do housework and
she has no right to make me
cut the front lawn on Sunday
morning. In fact, she’s a better cook than me, so we never
quarrel over who should cook.
We know you’re fond
of painting and personally
About fear and age
Do you feel your age, of
60?
Chris Rea speaks sincerely at Minsk press conference
design your album covers.
Have you thought of organising a personal exhibition
or selling your works?
I don’t treat my hobby seriously. My daughter lectures
in Renaissance Art in Florence. I take many ideas from
there and love drawing. I’m
not striving for commercial
success though — or trying
to be a professional. If I want
to buy another new Ferrari, I
might need to reconsider my
attitude.
Why blues?
Should
men
give
presents to women on Valentine’s Day? What gifts do
you think are best?
The greatest gift a man can
give to a woman on Valentine’s
Day is his promise to be gentle;
it’s the best present.
[In their first year of marriage, Chris sent a Valentine’s card to his wife but she
didn’t respond; perhaps this
inspired his choice of genre
— blues, which he called his
first love — author].
Blues and new
technologies
Still So Far To Go is your
jubilee tour. Usually, such
events draw us to look at
past achievements and plan
for the future. Do you have
any unrealised dreams?
What are your plans for the
years ahead?
Five minutes before our
interview began, I was working on a new project: a video
album using DVD-technology.
Fans could then enjoy new
music and watch the video at
the same time. I like to master
something new every now and
then; it’s no longer interesting
for me to just release another
album, with a dozen new
compositions. This happened
with my ‘Blue Guitars’ album
[165,000 copies were sold but
the album never appeared in
Belarus — either licensed or
pirate]. It included ten tracks,
I don’t know if you are
aware, but I’ve had my pancreas removed, which makes
life slightly more difficult.
I have to have seven injections daily and go to the gym
regularly to keep my blood
circulating. When I’m there,
I feel older and older [laughing]. In reality, age is a state
of mind.
Your fans — who follow
you everywhere — loved
your Moscow concert, saying you had reinvented
yourself and were freshly
inspired. Do you agree?
I do. I feel more lively and
no longer have stage fright;
it’s not a problem at my age.
About presents and
fans
Your recent concert in
Kiev coincided with a concert by Depeche Mode. Minsk
also welcomed Patricia Kaas
recently. Do you plan your
schedule to coincide with
other stars? This might ‘filter’ the audience, ensuring
only true fans come along.
It was entirely coincidental. Our arrival in Kiev also
happened to coincide with the
Ukrainian Presidential elections. People kept asking what
I thought of the candidates but
I could only comment that one
looked fine while the other was
a woman.
You have fans worldwide. What amazes you most
about them?
Actually, the reaction of the
audience here, in Minsk, two
years ago, was amazing. When
we began performing ‘Looking
for the Summer’, people joined
us in singing. This is a rare occurrence, especially in the UK.
About music
and stars
You have a tight working schedule. How do you
rest? What does rest mean
to you?
I have to take care of my
voice; the rest is less problematic. Rock stars have a much
more complicated life but I’m
not a rock star. They live as if
they’re in the army — with a
fitness regime, make-up, and
many suitcases of costumes.
They are also expected to be
moody, irritated by trifles.
Chris Rea plans to finish
his jubilee world tour in August. Afterwards, he’ll begin
promoting his new album
and his autobiography, dedicated to a man who loves music yet does not wish to be a
rock star.
Legs through arms and head We can learn from
spins in dancing competition our neighbours
By Inna Kabysheva
Visitors of Stolitsa trade centre
witness dancing fight
During the finals of the country’s open championship, breakdancers demonstrated their mastery at the trade centre, performing
headstands and spins, cartwheel
jumps and traditional elements,
such as ‘candles’ and ‘babymills’.
A skilful duo from Minsk
— Mighty Zulu — beat the other
27 teams to take first prize. Regional competitions preceded the
finals, proving that break-dancing
is extremely popular countrywide.
Young people everywhere are being
encouraged to express themselves
through so many media.
Joint performances by
Belarusian and Lithuanian
opera and ballet theatres
planned
The
National
Academic
Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre
has signed a co-operative agreement with the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, in
Vilnius. The Director General of
the Belarusian theatre, Vladimir
Gridyushko, and the Lithuanian
theatre’s Director General, Gintautas Kevisas, have agreed to
exchange tours, soloists and performing companies while organising master classes. Conductors,
producers and artists are also to
VITALY GIL
By Inna Kabysheva
Such dancing is impossible without physical training
Igor Matusevich, an entrant
from Baranovichi, has earned a
place on the country’s national
break-dancing team as a result of
the competition. He is certainly a
future star of this genre. “I’ll be able
to develop and grow,” he smiles.
“I’ve been keen on break-dancing
for a long time and hope to eventually teach others.”
share their experience.
Agreements on collaboration have been signed previously
— between the Belarusian Opera
and Ballet Theatre and the Latvian
National Opera. Belarusian soloists are taking part in new theatre
projects by the Latvian National
Opera while performances by the
Latvian theatre are being staged
at the Belarusian theatre venue.
Don Juan is being performed
as part of the 1st Christmas Opera
Festival, scheduled for December 2010 in Minsk. Meanwhile,
master classes are planned with
Latvian National Opera soloists,
hosted by the National Academic
Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre
of Belarus.