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We were on the papers!!
Ouest France Wednesday 13th October 1999
More than 5000 enthusiastic spectators last night at the Liberté Excalibur, a legend become reality A creation putting on stage over a hundred musicians to play the Excalibur legend. Alan Simon's bet was risky. (But) One must admit the results were worth all the energy put into it. Last night at the Liberté, 5000 spectators left under its spell. Listening to him, we understand why Supertramp was one of the world's greatest bands. Last night, Roger Hodgson's voice sent shivers through the crowd, reverberated on the Liberté's walls. The Englishman took part of three songs and each time, the softness of his voice was felt. He most certainly deserved to be Alan Simon's Arthur. Alan Simon, extraordinary orchestra leader of an Excalibur where the great moments were not lacking. With the Bulgarian Orthodox Choral to start the concert. They sang the mystery and and serenity of the legend. And the Prague Symphony Orchestra who followed them? A beautiful presence and an impressive string ensemble to the sweetness of the legend... The Tri Yan? Only one song but one which kick-started the show with energy. Dan Ar Braz? Guitar solos of such purity... Fairport Convention? A great folk-rock band led by a crazy violinist. Nicki Matheson? The voice and charm... And we could go on like this until the last remaining artist, with this roster of such rare quality. Which Roger Hodgson summarized in two sentences: "Alan Simon can be very proud of what he did, especially in so little time". And who cares if it didn't exactly follow the legend. You simply had to let yourself glide into the music, folk-rock, pop, traditional, classical... Voices, flutes, violins, bag pipes... took the audiences into Celt land facing both the legeng of the past and the interrogations of tomorrow.
They're named Monika, Luis, Gertrude, Piggy (sic), Kimberlay or Jorge. There are fifteen of them, gathering from all corners of Europe for Excalibur. From Lisbon to London by way of Berlin, Barcelona and Rotterdam. What do they have in common? They all share a passion for singer Roger Hodgson and the great years of Supertramp. They met on the Internet. Today, they meet for the first time other than the virtuality of the network. "We communicate regularly through Roger's website and we call each other sometimes. When we heard that Excalibur would take place in Rennes, we decided to come" explains Sarah, an English woman with a mischivious smile. "For the past four days, we rented a house in the neighbourhood. It's a great adventure. A super meeting and the result of a passion" summarizes Luis from Portugal. "And it's also a great way to discover Celtic mus
