RENA

Dear members, am I the first one to report ? Well, it`s been a few hours since I got back home still feeling exhausted ( the trip to the Island was a looooong one) but so happy. HAPPY to have been at the concert and Happy to have met Niki, Helen,Nikolas Regnis(Chris),Apostolis, Kate, and Anna. As I `ve already mentioned , it was a very tiring trip to the island-we had to WALK for almost an hour to get there.The place was already crowded when we got there . We tried to stay as close as we could to the stage but most of us were standing through the whole concert. At first some people talked about L Papadopoulos,then 3 actors read some of his poetry and then the first to sing was Alexiou (she performed 9 songs) She was great!!! In the first 2 songs Kotsiras and Basis sang with her. Then Irine Papa-a famous Greek actor- read from the poem ``ΑΣΜΑ ΑΣΜΑΤΩΝ`` Νikolopoulos and his orchestra now on stage. D. Basis sang 5 songs and then Kotsiras the same. The were both wonderful very happy to be there-we could see that. I personally liked Kotsiras performance more.He` touched` me more ,what can I say? And Now you know who is on stage. Our beloved G. DALARAS who performed 9 songs alone, one with M. Aslanidou and 2 more at the end with everybody else except Alexiou (I`ve kept notes about the songs everybody sang-if anyone is so anxious to know ,because we`ve recorded the cooncert and some how I believe we`ll be able to give it to everyone who is interested.) Well,I don`t have to tell you that Dalaras was the best of all as always .I `ll let the other members tell you more about the concert. Personally the big moment for me was ``Ηλιε μου σε παρακαλώ`` So as everybody has understood by now ,what we all expected never happened. WHAT A PITY!!!!! Not only they didn`t sing together as we all thought they would, but Alexiou didn`t come on stage at the end as every other artist did. I would like to know why. It was a big disappointment for all of us.

Dear Kate, I checked the LP`ΟΙ ΜΑΗΔΕΣ ΟΙ ΗΛΙΟΙ ΜΟΥ` and Dalaras himself thanks ΧΑΡΟΥΛΑ ΑΛΕΞΙΟΥ for singing with him in the ΛΑΙΚΑ ΤΡΑΓΟΥΔΙΑ. `ΤΑ ΜΑΛΛΑΚΙΑ ΣΟΥ ΚΥΡΑ ΜΟΥ` is definitely such a song. RENA

Well, I called the TV station. The time is 8.30pm Saturday the 24th August. Of course we`ll give you a big report when we come back since we`re going to be a few of us at the concert. RENA

WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!!! I`ve just read that we can watch LIVE the concert on the 24th in honour of L. Papadopoulos on ET1 channel. It doesn`t say what time though. I`ll let you know as soon as I find out the exact time. RENA

DON`T FORGET!!!! today ,19th August they start selling tickets for Lissistrati in the Thessaloniki Megaro of Music(1st and 2nd of September) RENA

Dear Niki , don`t be jealus, I`d love to share everything I have about Dalaras with you or any other member who would be interested. You know that !!!!!! On the same video ,Alexiou was a guest. Dalaras announced her presence on the show and here is how he welcomed her: He took his quitar and sang to her as she was aproaching ``ΟΛΑ ΣΕ ΘΥΜΙΖΟΥΝ``!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How about that?

A kazantzidis song for me , sung by Dalaras on a TV programme together with Nikolopoulos. `Aπόψε σ`έχω στην Αγκαλιά μου`` RENA

Two more songs with Τσιτσάνης on the same TV programme that has already been mentioned: `` Όταν συμβεί στα πέριξ`` ``Το σκαλοπάτι σου`` I also found a wonderful New Years TV programme in 1990 where he sings together with Λίνα Νικολακοπούλου : `Εφτά τραγούδια` του Χατζιδάκη ` Πάμε τσάρκα` του Τσιτσάνη (Dalaras playing the quitar and Nikolopoulos his bouzouki unplugged)

Dear Kate, Well, I don`t know exactly how many duets Dalaras has sung but I happen to have a cd with 17duets . The cd was released by the magazine ΔΙΦΩΝΟ. 1.Ερωτικό κάλεσμα με Χ&Π Κατσιμίχα (`Ζωντανές ηχογραφήσεις Ολυμπια-Περοκέ-Στ.Ειρήνης&Φιλίας``/1987) 2.Διδυμότειχο Blues με Λ.Μαχαιρίτσα (`` Διδυμ.Blues`` 1991) 3.Θάρθω να σε βρώ με Β.Παπακωνσταντίνου (``Νταλ.-Παπακ. Ζωντανή Ηχογράφησηστο Αττικόν`` 1991) 4.Πρωινό τσιγάρο με Χ .Αλεξίου (``Μ.Λοίζος-Αφιέρωμα 1985``-Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο) 5.Η μέρα εκείνη δε θ`αργήσει με Δ. Γαλάνη (``Μ. Λοίζος- Αφιέρωμα 1985`` Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο) 6.Νοέμβρης `90(17 χρόνια μετά) με Δ.Τσακνή (``Αλήτης Καιρός``1991) 7.Τσάμικο/Ωδή στον Γεώργιο Καραισκάκη) με Δ. Σαββόπουλο (``Ζήτω το Ελληνικό τραγούδι`` 1987) 8.Το Μικρό Βλαχόπουλο με Χρ. Αηδονίδη (``Τ`αηδόνια της Ανατολής`` 1990) 9.Σύνοψη με Μ. Θεοδωράκη (`` Ραντάρ`` 1981) 10.Αν θυμηθείς τ`όνειρό μου με Ε. Δήμου (`Ζωντανές Ηχογραφήσεις Olympia-Περοκέ-Στάδιο Ειρ.&Φιλίας`1987) 11.Σ`αγαπώ με Δ. Γαλάνη (`Ολη τη Μουσική μες στην Αγάπη βάλε` 1984) 12.Τάκα τάκα με Οπισθοδρομικούς (`Βαμμένα κόκκινα Μαλλιά ` 1993) 13.Φορτώθηκα τις τύψεις μου με Απ. Καλδάρα (`Ο Γ. Νταλάρας τραγουδά Απ. Καλδάρα `1971) 14.Ο Δερβίσης και η ’ννα με Χ Αλεξίου (`Χ. Αλεξίου-24 Τραγούδια !977) 15.Δεν θέλω πια να ξαναρθείς με Γλυκερία (` LATIN ` 1987) 16.Λίγο λίγο θα με συνηθίσεις- 17.Αυτή η νύχτα μένει Με Γ. Λύδια (`Καλημέρα Κυρία Λύδια` 1984) If you want more information about any of the above songs let me know RENA

Annemarie and Olga , how I agree with you!!!!!! ``Για τα τραγούδια και εγώ φταίω``is one of the albums I listened to a lot this summer. My most favourite one is ΠΑΡΕ ΜΕ ΦΕΓΓΑΡΙ ΜΟΥ. I trully adore this song RENA

Dalaras and G. Papastefanou in``My friends``ΟΙ ΦΙΛΟΙ ΜΟΥ``. Tonight on NET channel at 11.00p.m. I`m sure it`s a repeat programme from last year ,but may be some of you hadn`t seen it then . Enjoy it. RENA

Dear Francois and Marijke, NET and ET1 channels are ERT. I know that they broadcast some of the programmes we see on Greek Television on the ERT site . Maybe you should check it out. I hope I could help. RENA

Όσο ζω ,μαθαίνω . Ότι θα μου ειχε ξεφύγει κάτι σχετικό με τον Νταλάρα!!!!!! Νικόλα,σ`ευχαριστώ πολύ για την πληροφορία. Μήπως γίνεται να μου πεις κάτι περισσότερο για τον δίσκο.Συνθέτη, στιχουργό, ποιοι άλλοι συμμετέχουν, αν υπάρχει σε CDor LP,οτιδήποτε για να τον βρω. Σ`ευχαριστώ και πάλι. ΡΕΝΑ

Αγαπημένο τραγούδι για πολλές βδομάδες τώρα``Νυχτερινό ΙΙ``(Καρανικόλα-Λαπαθειώτη). Αναρωτιέμαι γατί δεν το έχει ηχογραφήσει ακόμα. Αν κάποιος ξέρει κάτι γιαυτό το τραγούδι,παρακαλώ ας ενημερώσει. Το πρωτοάκουσα στην Ιερά Οδό. ΡΕΝΑ

As I`ve already said I `m going, too. I hope we meet there. RENA

What I saw on the news is Mr venizelos,the minister announcing the event ,Gavras saying how much he is moved by G.D.`s voice and Dalaras saying how happy he is to work with Gavras again after ``kai me fws kai me thanato....... ``some years ago. I`m sure there will be more on tomorrow`s newspapers.

Well, the Greek ministry of culture has decided that along with the Olympic games in 2004 there will be something like Olympic cultural events. This show is another event. Lysistrati by Theodorakis was -I think- another one. I`ll give more details about Kotinos awards as soon as I can. What I know is that kotinos is the branch(I`m not sure it`s the correct word) of olive tree with which they used to award the winners of the ancient Olympic Games.

Dear members, I totally agree with Niki. Dalaras is much more-at least for some of us- than a good singer and a musician. It`s also very important how he feels when he sings-I`m talking about concerts of course.Do you remember what I told you about The performance of PARE T`AXNARIA at Palais de Sports? I have been acquainted with Dalaras and his music for more than 25 years and I believe there will NEVER be another Dalaras in the future, and not because there aren`t any other good singers or there will not be. Let me explain myself: Talent is a natural ability to do something well. Was Dalaras BORN talented though ? Of course he was. It`s in the GENES. - And YES he was very lucky to have had the opportunity to develop this talent, because you know the family background and the difficulties he had in his life. -YES ,He was talened.At the age of sixteen he knew about 3000 songs by heart and could play them in different ways on his quitar(He `s said that in an interview). YES,he was lucky to have met and worked with musicians like M. Theodorakis and M. Loizos at the very begining of his career and I`m not talking about the songs they gave him ,but the political conversations which ``opened`` another world for him. -YES, he has worked far more than most of the singers in Greece.As M.Theodorakis said some years ago ``DALARAS is a small orchestra`` although he(Dalaras) is not very satisfied with his progress as a musician. -YES,It`s very important for a performer to be happy in his personal life. Believe me ,I know.For years in his concerts he NEVER looked at us while he was singing.He only looked at the m. instruments he was playing at the time. He was very shy, he never smiled.And then he met his wife Anna, and many things changed. He had at last lifted his head from his quitar and smiled. MY GOODNESS!!!! Have you ever seen anybody else change so much because he smiles?And don`t anybody think this is not so important, because I can assure you , a whole different ``relationship started for many of us who `followed him so closely for years.I don`t really know how to express this feeling. I can only say we felt closer to him. What I`m trying to say here is, that I again agree with Niki, that we have to consider the man behind the singer. And That man makes the difference. The GREATNESS in DALARAS is a combination of a lot of things and not just his voice.BTW you know that Dalaras doesn`t like his voice so much, but do you know that he once said he `d like to have HELENI`s VITALI voice? So to put it in a nutshell: A combination of : TALENT, FAMILY BACKGROUND, POlITICAL STATUS, PERSONAL LIFE, PERSONALITY, CLEVERNESS, LUCK, HARD WORK, Extreme LOVE for what you are doing, A SPECIAL TALENT TO TOUCH somebody`s heart and soul with his performance, are some of the things that make a performer differ from all the others. For me Dalaras is someone who brings magic in my life.Even in the biggest venues, he makes me feel he is singing only for me. I strongly believe that if everything around him are as he wants them to be, his voice,his eyes,his soul operate as one and the result is AMAZING. And allow me to say one more thing.No matter how much I try,I can not find any other artist,from such a small country and with such a difficult language,to have accomplished so many things for himself and for his country. RENA

The interview is going to be broadcasted today 3.00-5.00pm Greek time. I`ve just called the station and they confirmed it. The Thessaloniki station is goinng to broadcast it ,too. RENA

Dear members, I`ve always wanted to share this memory with people who admire G. D. It was many many years ago at Palais de Sports in Thessaloniki.The two unions of Greek composers and singers were giving concerts all over Greece.M. Loizos was the president of the composers and G.D. the one of the singers.They gave 2 concerts in Thessaloniki.There were many of them, so half of them appeared on each night. Of course we chose the night DALARAS was inthe concert. It was like this:A composer got on the stage to conduct his own songs, and various singers sang one after the other. I remember Galani, Parios and many others.That night Akis Panou joined the concert although he had been in hospital.As he himself told us It was DALARAS who took him from the hospital and brought him to the concert. Anyway,when Mr Derveniwtis came up on stage, I heard G.D. sing -for the first time in my life`Pare t`axnaria`you know the Kazantzidis song. I`m not sure I can describe my feelings.I had never until then heard him sing like that.There was complete silence and I was so moved that I suddenly burst into tears.I felt very embarassed, I thought everybody was looking at me,so I closed my eyes but i couldn`t stop crying.For a moment I thought that he was singing only for me-You all know exactly what I mean- I dared looked at my cousin who was sitting next to me and,SURPRISE she was crying, too. I looked around and I was shocked ,many people were crying also.It was incredible.The song ended and you won`t believe what happened. We all stood up ,cheering ,clapping,throwing things in the air ,like a jacket, a sweater, what we were sitting on ,but the same thing happened near the stage.I remember the other singers hugging Dalaras ,Galani kissing him ,others trying to lift him up in the air. I `m sure you all know now what `Pare t`axnaria reminds me of. I wish you had all been there because it`s something nobody can describe with words. RENA

Dear members, I think it`s a hard choice for those who love GD`s voice so much,but I agree with some of you that it should happen in a small place where he would preform songs that he ALMOST never does in his usual concerts. Here are some of the songs I would like to listen to in this ``perfect`` concert: -Εσμεράλδα(Μικρούτσικος) -Ξημερώνει(Ραντάρ) -Μη γυρεύεις ομορφιές(Τρελοί&’γγελοι) -Φωτιά χιονίζει ο ουρανός(Μη μιλάς....) -Εσύ το τσιφτετέλι σου(Μη μιλάς....) -Είναι αργά(καλημέρα κ. Λυδια) -Ήτανε Απρίλης μήνας(Γ.Μητσάκης) -Πάρε με φεγγάρι μου(Π. Τζαβέλλα) -Για πάρε γύφτο σφυρί κι αμόνι(Βυζαντινός Εσπερινός) -Έτσι κι αλλιώς σε περιμένω(Καλώς τους) -Νυχτερίδα(Η άσφαλτος......) -Ο έρωτας που τόσο αργεί(Νυχτερινή κυβέρνηση) -Λογαριάσατε λάθος(Ες γην εναλίαν Κύπρον) -Ηρώων γη(Των Αθανάτων) -’σπρο πουκάμισο φορώ(I only heard it once in Diagwneios 23 years ago.Every chance I get ,I ask him to sing it but he never does). - Σαν ραγίσει το ποτήρι(Στα ψηλά τα παραθύρια) -ΑΧ Ο ΜΠΑΓΛΑΜΑΣ(Απ.Καλδάρας) -Εγώ ποτέ δεν αγαπώ(οΓ.ΝΤ.Τραγ.Απ.Καλδάρα) -Να ονειρεύομαι (Ερωτική πρόβα) -Στον Πειραιά(Μεθυσμένα τραγούδια) I could go on for ever..... I also agree that the concet on the 24th August will be PERFECT.May be I can meet some of you there,since I`m a new member and I don`t have the pleasure of knowing anyone.