UK: Famous French pianist Richard Clayderman tries to put new life into London Zoo through his music

Record ID: 863581

  • Title: UK: Famous French pianist Richard Clayderman tries to put new life into London Zoo through his music
  • Date: 7th February 2013
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (French) PIANIST RICHARD CLAYDERMAN, SAYING: "It's touching to see these animals that are so old, these tortoises are 80 or 90. I don't know actually. I'm very touched because I like animals a lot. My mother has lots of cats, and I have a dog at home. So I'm very happy with animals."
  • Embargoed: 22nd February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • City:
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Arts,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVADAVZGVAS9CZDQUHJI8RE4GN2L
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  • Story Text: Richard Clayderman, the French pianist whose trademark hit "Balade pour Adeline" is one of the highest selling singles of all times, attempted to put new life into London Zoo by playing his tunes to the Galapagos tortoises in an attempt to make them mate.
    With a grand piano set up outside the enclosure for the Galapagos tortoises, he began his tinkling at 9:00am GMT on Thursday (February 7) but by the time he'd finished at 10:00am GMT there were no signs of frisky behaviour among the shelled beasts.
    Perching on the piano stool, he told Reuters:
    "Well I know that the animals are in danger and I hope that my music and my piano will make people more aware of this, yes."
    He played his classic hit "Balade pour Adeline," "Time to Say Goodbye," and bizarrely for tortoises, the classic sprinting track "Chariots of Fire" but to no avail.
    When asked why he'd decided to play for these animals, he replied: "It's touching to see these animals that are so old, these tortoises are 80 or 90. I don't know actually. I'm very touched because I like animals a lot. My mother has lots of cats, and I have a dog at home. So I'm very happy with animals."
    The enclosure contained five Galapagos tortoises, four females and one male, Dirk, who is now over 70 years old.
    However, it's not his age that affects his prowess in the bedroom, as for a Galapagos tortoise Dirk is considered barely middle-aged as they are known to live for over 150 years.
    Richard Clayderman (real name Philippe Pages) is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Record as "the most successful pianist in the world." He's sold around 70 million records world-wide, and has 267 gold and 70 platinum discs to his name. He is particularly famous in China, where his song "A Comme Amour" is commonly used as a default ringtone.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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