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... Indubitable proof
of the slim talents required to win fame in Kiev came soon after my
arrival, when my 'fixer' Sasha -combined impresario, computer-games
importer and estate agent - persuaded me to record a song he had composed
with English lyrics. The recording took place in a freezing flat in a
suburban housing block. In a squeaky schoolgirl voice, I warbled over and
over the words 'Dreaming girl/In the sky/Have a ball/ Live your lie'. A
few weeks later we were filmed for television. Tucked away in a basement
of the sports stadium, the studio had been decked out with bottles of
vodka, a tinsel Christmas tree and posters of AEG white goods. I came on
after a group called the 'Twenty Verhovinas' - a brand of cigarette. The
compere asked me to introduce myself. 'Well, actually' -nervous giggle -
'I'm a journalist.' Sasha kicked me under the table: 'Anna is an artist, a
singer from misty Albion!' The result - vodka-flushed face, hopeless lip-synch,
novelty camera-work -went out nationwide on New Year's Eve. I was a
Ukrainian pop-star...
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Weidenfeld & Nicolson London
© 1997 Anna Reid |