INTERVIEW WITH...
VICKY LEANDROS IS COMING BACK TO BELGIUM IN 2024!
Greek singer Vicky Leandros started out in 1965 (!!), and has never slowed down. A career spanning almost sixty years is seldom seen or witnessed. A truly impressive and remarkable achievement. In April 2024, she’ll be coming to Belgium with her ‘Ich liebe das Leben’ farewell tour. Two shows, one in Antwerp and one in Ostend, are scheduled. Surely a must-see for every Vicky Leandros fan. We catch up with miss Leandros via the telephone, while her chauffeur is driving her around during a promotional trip.
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Julian De Backer: ‘Hi miss Leandros! How are you?’
Vicky Leandros: ‘Everything’s fine, thank you. I’m in the car, on my way to a television show in Berlin.’ Julian: ‘You’re coming to Belgium twice in 2024 with your ‘Ich liebe das Leben’ tour. What can we expect? A selection of your biggest hits, and some surprises?’ Vicky: ‘Indeed, it will be a selection of my biggest hits. ‘Après-toi’, ‘L’amour est bleu’, ‘Ich liebe das Leben’, ‘Ich hab' die Liebe geseh'n’, et cetera. Some Greek songs, some French songs, like ‘Les moulins de mon coeur’. And my big successes, of course. I will talk about my life, about why I’m saying goodbye to my audience. Not too many, but there will be some anecdotes. The concerts will be very personal.’ Julian: ‘Can we expect a live album of your final concerts?’ Vicky: ‘Maybe, yes. I’m not sure yet. I’ll be performing in Paris and Amsterdam in 2025. My schedule is still quite full.’ Julian: ‘You have recorded hundreds of songs. It can’t be easy to decide on a final setlist, because you have so much material to choose from. How do you do that? How do you pick your songs?’ Vicky: ‘Hm, for this tour, I have really selected my personal favourites. But I always listen to my fans, so I’ll play some of their favourites too.’ Julian: ‘One of your best albums is ‘Jetzt’ (2000), on which you’ve (co-)written almost all the songs yourself. I was wondering: how do you compose a song? Do you start with the music, with the lyrics, or both at the same time?’ Vicky: ‘It depends. Sometimes, I have a melody in my head, and I’ll start with the songwriting. I’ll start to think about what could fit this kind of music. Other times, I have a sentence of a lyric. I started out as a lyric writer, you know, many years ago. Sometimes I have a story, and I feel like I need to compose a song for these lyrics. Let’s say I do it both ways.’ |
Julian: ‘Do you write your songs in Greek or in German?’
Vicky: ‘Most of the times in Greek. I still think in Greek, even though I have lived in many different countries. The Greek language will always be my first language. Of course!’
Julian: ‘On your album ‘Jetzt’, you also did a duet with Chris de Burgh. Did you know him from before, or did you ask him for this album?’
Vicky: ‘No, we knew each other from before. We have managers and friends who are working together, and that’s how it came to be. Even if I know someone, I will never just ask ‘Hey, would you like to work together?’ I prefer the polite, formal route. It was such a nice cooperation with Chris. He’s a great artist. I love his songs, anyway.’
Vicky: ‘Most of the times in Greek. I still think in Greek, even though I have lived in many different countries. The Greek language will always be my first language. Of course!’
Julian: ‘On your album ‘Jetzt’, you also did a duet with Chris de Burgh. Did you know him from before, or did you ask him for this album?’
Vicky: ‘No, we knew each other from before. We have managers and friends who are working together, and that’s how it came to be. Even if I know someone, I will never just ask ‘Hey, would you like to work together?’ I prefer the polite, formal route. It was such a nice cooperation with Chris. He’s a great artist. I love his songs, anyway.’
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Julian: ‘You’ve been singing for more than fifty years now. Do you remember the very first song you ever loved as a little girl? Was there a song that put you on the path of becoming a singer?’
Vicky: ‘One song in particular, from Jacques Brel: ‘Ne me quitte pas’. It’s featured on more than thirty of my albums (laughs). Always in the French language. I love the song. I had the opportunity to get to know Jacques Brel, when I was very young. I think I was fifteen or sixteen years old. He heard my version, and he said: ‘You’re a dramatic singer’. At the time, I didn’t understand if he meant it as a compliment. I turned around, upset, and ran to my dressing room. I’ll never forget that moment.’ Julian: ‘I’m sure he meant it as a compliment.’ Vicky: ‘Sure!’ Julian: ‘I’m very happy that a Belgian song made such a difference for you. Thank you for your time.’ Vicky: ‘I hope to see you at my concert!’ Julian: ‘Have a lovely day, miss Leandros.’ Vicky: ‘You too, thank you.’ |
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VICKY LEANDROS WILL BE PERFORMING IN ANTWERP AND OSTEND IN APRIL 2024.
Tickets and info
Tickets and info
Julian De Backer © 2024 for Keys and Chords