Last night saw the eagerly anticipated Big Four party take place at the Euroclub venue in Athens. Not only were the representatives from France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom present, but several other performers from this year took to the stage with one very special performance by 1971 Eurovision Song Contest winner Séverine.
The French singer sang to a simple piano accompaniment in front of a heaving crowd in Euroclub's D7 hall. Without exception, Séverine was given a rapturous reception by everyone present. "So moving" said one spectator. "Tears in my eyes!" said another fan after the unexpected multilingual rendition ofMonaco's single winning entry,Un banc, un arbre, une rue. She concluded by singing a short version of the song in English before retiring from the stage to enjoy the rest of the party.
Texas Lightning steal Daz's thunder
Germany's Texas Lightning kicked off the proceedings early in the evening with a fun set of performances including their own country take on ABBA's Dancing queen. It was a case of Texas Lightning stealing Daz Sampson's thunder, however, as Daz and the girls later appeared to perform an acoustic version of the very same song.
It was Texas Lightning who set the standard for the evening's entertainment, who generated perhaps the most enthusiastic cheering and applause from the party-goers. Daz and his girls sounded great live on stage, although they may have been disappointed at the lack of audience participation that Jane Comerford's crew managed.
French-Greek relations
Also during the evening, France's Virginie Pouchin appeared on stage with Alex Panayi to sing the French-Greek version of Il était temps that was first unveiled at her press conference. Alex is a Eurovision Song Contest veteran, having represented Cyprus in 1995 and 2000, and performing as a backing singer in 1991. His support of Virginie is certainly gaining France some well-needed attention in Greece.
Las Ketchup of course performed their international hit Aserejé as well as this year's Spanish entry Un bloody mary, both with a lone pianist on backing. Other highlights included a small fully acoustic set by Treble and an appearance by Dima Bilan, who sang an a cappellaverse and chorus ofNever let you go by way of a warm-up for the Russian party, which followed straight afterwards.
Eurovision week is now well under way,and more exciting Euroclub events are to follow!
