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B.O.Njie: I think i have always been involved in the UK showbiz one way or the other. As i said earlier me and some friends did the tour with Lemzo Diamono, a tour which brought them to the uk and if i remember right that was the first major Senegambian event involving a band in the uk. Beside that i did the first euro tour with Viviane back in 2001 and i have since then been responsible for her bookings in the UK. I will also mention that i did the only tour that The Jololi Hits Band has done so far back in 2005. A tour that brought Saanex for the first time to the UK. So u see, i am involve in UK showbiz. Ukg: Grand Bal is a new concept to the Uk. what is the concept? B.O.Njie: The Grand Bal, famous from Bercy, Paris is a concept that Youssou came up with and the idea is to bring performances that is typical of Dakar and The Gambia to the Diaspora. Bringing it to London is pretty much my idea and the reason behind it is first of all because i felt there was a demand for it. Being responsible for the distribution of the Bercy tapes in the uk, people will always ask me "how come Youssou never do these kind of performances when he comes to the uk?" and the answer is simple. Youssou usually comes to the uk when he is promoting an international album and when you are promoting an album, you would wanna play tunes from the album. This is what he will do all over Europe. Bercy is special because there is a crowd for the hardcore Mbalax with the large Senegalese community in Paris. He has started the same concept in New York because the crowd is there. I have over the years been trying to convince him and his management that we've got the crowd in the UK and that we are ready, WALABOK? Now, since Youssou was coming to play in London and promote his latest release, Alsaama Day, we agreed to give it a try and see. A Big thanks to my good friend Bouba Ndour for making it possible. Am hoping Senegambians in the UK will prove me right and come to the Grand Bal London in numbers and if everything goes fine, who knows, London might establish its own yearly Grand Bal just like Paris and New York. London is a Big city too u know. Ukg: We are hearing two different shows, and some people are a bit confused. Can you explain? B.O.Njie: Indeed there are two shows. Youssou is performing between 7pm and 10pm for the regular world music crowd which is promoted by Aeglive and the Grand Bal for the Senegambians/Africans will start later. Doors and box office will open at 11pm and we've got license till 6am. I am with the help of all the Senegambian promoters in the UK promoting this show. It might be too good to be true to some because we all miss Youssou but its happening and its live. Ukg: Can Youssou do two shows B.O.Njie: Youssou has been doing two shows before for a very long time. Each time he plays Stade Demba Diop he will proceed to Thiossane to play until the wee hours. The same thing applies when he plays shows at the Independence stadium in Gambia and would later proceed to Teranga for a soiree. 2 shows, no problem. The Super Etoile will be ready. Ukg: Why is there a £1 charge on top of ticket price. B.O.Njie: I have been receiving a lot of queries about the £1 fee. It is to cover printing and administration costs. Its not printed on the tickets as it is not part of the artist fee. All ticket gents charge booking fees and our charge is significantly lower than other agents. The alternative was to sell all the tickets from ticketmaster and their charge is £3.25 per ticket. I think our customers are making a significant saving by buying their tickets through us. This was the idea. Make it affordable. Ukg: We've got some very good promoters here in the UK, so why you and not them? B.O.Njie: It’s a project and all projects must have a project co-ordinator. It happens to be me this time but all promoters are on board and are supporting it. They all are doing their bit to promote it and Big up to them all. Ukg: How long is Youssou playing? B.O.Njie: The program for the night is like this: Dj Ebra Taal will be playing before Youssou and the Super Etoile go on stage. Doors will be open at 11pm and we’ve got license until 6am. How long the band is gonna play is basically up to how much we are enjoying ourselves. Ukg: What's the difference between the V.I.P ticket and the regular? B.O.Njie: The £30 plus the £1 fee ticket is for the sitting area with a perfect view of the the stage. The £25 plus the £1 fee ticket is for the standing and dancing area. Ukg: Where is the Indig02? B.O.Njie: The Indig02 is part of the multi-million pound redevelopment of the 02, former Millenium Dome,at Greenwich SE10. Ukg: Are tickets sold out? B.O.Njie: Tickets sales are going pretty well but no, they are not sold out. I will still advice all to buy their tickets now as presales will close on Sat the 14th. Ukg: Where can people buy tickets? B.O.Njie: We've got different ticket outlets all over the country. By calling the ticket hotline 07984488545, people will be referred to the nearest outlet. Ukg: How much would it cost at the door? B.O.Njie: We haven't determined yet how much it’s gonna be at the door but its sure going to be more. Ukg: After party? B.O.Njie: No, there is no after party involving the band on the Sunday. Ukg: Feature plans? B.O.Njie: My hope for the future is to set up some sort of promoters network that would look out for our interest. Ukg: Thank you very much Sir for the interview. I hope you have answered all of the question that people have been asking about the Youssou show. "CHI JAM MA" B.O.Njie: Thanks! |
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