SWITZERLAND: GLASWEGIAN BAND TEXAS, BRAZIL'S SKANK AND RICHARD GALLIANO WITH CATHERINE RINGER TOP THE BILL AT THE ANNUAL PALEO FESTIVAL

Record ID: 387059

  • Title: SWITZERLAND: GLASWEGIAN BAND TEXAS, BRAZIL'S SKANK AND RICHARD GALLIANO WITH CATHERINE RINGER TOP THE BILL AT THE ANNUAL PALEO FESTIVAL
  • Date: 25th July 1997
  • Summary: NYON, SWITZERLAND JULY 25, 1997 (REUTERS) *** PERFORMANCES MUST BE CLEARED BEFORE RE-USE *** TEXAS PERFORMING AUDIENCE APPLAUDING SKANK PERFORMING
  • Embargoed: 9th August 1997 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NYON, SWITZERLAND
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA5LSJZVHVGLFPNHEU27KORXDPS
  • Story Text: The Glaswegian band Texas and the Brazilian group Skank were the highlights of the Paleo International Music Festival on Friday (July 25).

    The festival has become one of Europes biggest events, celebrating the diversity of music and offering a bill mixing international stars and new talents. 200,000 music lovers were treated to a melting pot of sounds from all over the world during the six-day festival.

    A crowd of 20,000 people welcomed the legendary Scottish group Texas to the stage with a standing ovation.

    Since the bands formation in 1989 Texas have become one of the most successful acts in Scottish pop history. The band's latest album, "White on Blonde" rocketed to number one in the British charts as soon as it was released.

    They've now had two major hit singles "Say What You Want" and "Halo" from the album.

    Singer Sharleen Spiteri, who used to live in France, said that "Say Want You Want" reminded her of Serge Gainsborough's steamy sixties hit "Je T'aime", and some French speech and street sounds had found their way into the album.

    Other musical influences running through "White on Blonde" range from trip-hop to Motown.

    Texas made the album after taking a break, and by the time they started recording, they had 50 new songs up their sleeves.

    "The new Texas is like changing from winter clothes to summer ones. It is a progression. The music world has changed over the years, so it was time to withdraw and redraw the game plan. I was living in Paris for a year. Jonny was living in Glasgow. This was a great experience for both of us, something new but at the end, when Glasgow's studio was ready I went back." Spiteri was thrilled when Sly Stone's sister Rose agreed to sing with her on one track on the album, "Fade Away". Rose Stone told Spiteri that she was about to hit the peak of her vocal powers.

    "She said to me 'Your voice is coming, I can hear it, it's coming, you're finding it", Spiteri told Reuters.

    Judging by the response of the Paleo audience, Rose Stone was probably right.

    Another big hit with the crowd was Brazil's most famous band, Skank. The band's members, Manuel Rosa, Henrique Portugal, Lelo Zanetti and Haroldo Ferretti all come from Belo Horizonte. The band's name orginates from the sound of reggae guitar which adds a distinctively Caribbean flavour to their music, which is mixed with Cuban brass and traditional sounds from Brazil.

    Skank are immensely popular in Brazil and are starting to build an international reputation. Their first single "Garota Nacional" (National Girl) with its controversialvideo was the talk of Brazil and won an MTV award for the audience's choice.

    Skank started their international career at the beginning of 1997, with the release of "Samba Pacone" in in France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, USA and in many other countries. Now their fans will have the chance to experience Skank live.

    "This is our first official international tour," Rosa said, "Since the beginning of our career we wanted to play abroad and we felt 1997 as the right year, as in Brazil things are already solid.

    It's a real challenge though, just as it was in the start of the group. To play for a smaller group, people don't know us. We have one hour to convince them of our work and that's what we are searching for, for new things,... and the results have been great"
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