After the ‘Broken Dreams’ CD is released we will begin to record the soundtrack from the Piaf show. I am also going to do a Laurie Anderson show because I love her material. I feel like my meter is ticking -- so much to do, so little time. I am also into yoga, deep breathing and meditating. I’m an avowed non-smoker but I did start smoking for the show and actually started to enjoy it.

I get a very mixed crowd coming to watch me. I have a very large gay following. I don’t get many English people coming to watch me because I don’t do Gilbert and Sullivan. I get lots of Afrikaners coming to see me as well. We tour all over the country, doing our shows in all the small towns, dorps and farming communities. I played ’Faithfull’ in Worcester and the dominee said to me that he believed I was going to leave out ‘The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan’ and he said that I was to please perform it as it was his favourite song. We plan these tours very carefully and give six months’ notice and perform in the local school halls and theatres. I tour with my manager Eugene Lebreton and my accompanist, Johan de Kock. Our organisation is called Leo Productions; Eugene does my sound and lights and is my manager. We’ve been working together for 10 years now and we produce the shows together.

(Eugene and I) get to know all the people and the local socialites and have built up a network of friends -- we stay at their homes and they love having us there. We don’t stay in hotels, we take over their homes and they love having us showbiz folk around. We take copies of my CDs with us when we go on tour and we sell lots of copies at the performances.

My ‘Noel In Provence’ CD is the only Christmas CD in South Africa that sells for 12 months of the year. That was the first CD and was released in the late ‘80s. It was done on a shoestring: none of us got paid and it was done as an Aids benefit. It was also done on cassette.

I’m ready to do my own material. I would also like to have someone write some songs for me and I will perform them. I will also be doing some corporate work. We are the smallest touring company in this country. We travel in a car and trailer and come equipped with sound, lights and do everything ourselves and make magic. We’re trying to connect with the SABC to make a programme about us.

SS: We created a special category in Intekom’s online CD store, One World, just to accommodate your CDs. It’s a Cabaret section. The only other artist in this category is Nataniel.

DP: He worked with me before moving on, also Janine Neethling, Stefan Lombard, Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, who is now doing the ‘Abba-ish’ show. They all started with me. I prefer to only work with young people because they feed me energy.

I was born in France and lived in Algeria. I then returned to France and received a scholarship to study in Montreal. So I lived in Montreal during the 60s where I met and worked with Leonard Cohen in 1964. I was mainly an actress but I sang as well. Then I came out to Johannesburg on a sabbatical with my ex-husband to get into an acting circle. I stayed here and met Josie Broudie who suggested I contact Taubie Kushlik, who was doing Piaf and Brel shows. She had just cast a singer for her new Piaf show who unfortunately took ill soon after and Taubie contacted me a week later and asked me to do the show that night! Luckily I knew the Piaf material very well so I adlibbed the show and told her story and illustrated her different way of performing. That night I received a standing ovation and then Taubie told the audience that I had taken on the role that morning. That show was called ‘Bravo Piaf’ and was in a little theatre in Rosebank. We then took the show to Grahamstown and did very well. So now I’m doing Piaf again. I enjoy what I do and I love my work. I have no regrets. Nein regrets!

Danièle Pascal’s recordings on CD:

Danièle Pascal – Dance Me To The End Of Love (Songs of Leonard Cohen)
Danièle Pascal – Paris Berlin
Danièle Pascal – Noel In Provence
Danièle Pascal – Broken Dreams

All these CDs are available for online purchasing at One World http://www.oneworld.co.za

Danièle Pascal’s website is at: http://www.danielepascal.co.za
Danièle Pascal’s management c/o:
Eugène Lebreton - Marketing Manager @ Leo Productions Inc- Entertainment
Agents & Managers, Events Management, Conferences,
Translations/Interpreting, Staging, Publicity/PR
Box 2841 Durbanville 7551 Cape Town South Africa, Tel: +27-021-975 2566,
Fax: +27-021-975 088, Cellular: 082 569 4147,
email:leoproductions@intekom.co.za
Incorporating Crazee Records & Crazee Music Publishing
crazeerecords@intekom.co.za